A Belated Remodelling Update

From Dan: This post is a couple of months late, since we finished our remodeling back in May. We were in such a hurry to get it done that we forgot to post anything here about it. Basically, we ripped out the threadbare carpet, put in a new floor, and painted the walls in the half of our store that we originally occupied before our expansion 2 1/2 years ago. We meant to do it sooner, but...well, it was a really big job. Millie and I did all the work ourselves.
^ That's me getting ready to paint the walls.

We immediately noticed an improvement in our air quality after we took the carpet out. After seeing how yucky it was after 8 years of use, I don't think we'll ever install carpeting in our home or store ever again. We replaced it with commercial VCT tiles, which aren't necessarily a green product, except in the sense that they will last a long, long time and don't offgas like carpet does. You see them in a lot of high-traffic retail spaces because they're virtually indestructible. Most places don't choose bright blue and green colors, though.

With the remodel, we've also done some rearranging. Our aim was to group stuff togther better so that all the baby stuff was together and all the big kid toys were together, etc.

We also updated our light fixtures in that half of the store, adding more light toward the back. We found these new CFL spot lights, which burn cooler and are more efficient, to replace some of our halogen bulbs. Our lighting is now about 85% CFL and 15% halogen.

Someone asked me in the middle of the project who our architect was, which I thought was funny as I explained that we, um, did it ourselves. Which is maybe an example of what makes an independent business different from a chain store. That guy with the paint in his hair and that woman with floor adhesive on her leg? They're the owners.