Okay, so I wanted to redo my floors. You know, get rid of that old, nasty carpet and put down something… nicer. I’d been seeing all these cool DIY projects online, and I figured, “Hey, I can do that!” I decided on this “cushions dancing birch assembly wooden flooring” thing – mostly because it sounded fancy, and the pictures looked good.

Prep Work (The Not-So-Fun Part)

First things first, I had to rip out that ancient carpet. Let me tell you, that was a workout! And dusty? You wouldn’t believe. I wore a mask, of course, but I still felt like I was coughing up dust bunnies for a week. Underneath the carpet was this… padding stuff. I yanked that up too, and then swept and vacuumed the subfloor like crazy. I even went over it with a damp mop a couple of times to get rid of any lingering dust.

Laying Down the Cushions

The “cushions” part of this flooring is basically these foam squares. They interlock, kind of like giant puzzle pieces. So, I started in one corner of the room and just started snapping them together. It was pretty easy, actually. The only tricky part was cutting them to fit around the edges of the room and the doorway. I just used a regular utility knife for that, and it worked fine, though I definitely measured twice (or, let’s be honest, three times) before I cut anything.

The “Dancing Birch” Part

This is where it got a little more interesting. The “dancing birch” is the actual wooden flooring. It’s not solid wood, more like… planks made of layers of stuff. But the top layer looks like birch, and it’s got this slightly wavy pattern, hence the “dancing” part, I guess. Anyway, these planks also interlock, but in a different way than the cushions. They have these little tongues and grooves on the sides.

I laid down the first row along the longest wall, making sure to leave a little gap between the planks and the wall (for expansion, I read). Then, I took the next plank, angled it slightly, and slid the tongue into the groove of the first plank. Then, I gently pushed it down until it clicked into place. And so on, and so on, across the whole room.

• Angle the plank.
• Slide the tongue into the groove.
• Push down until it clicks.

The Tricky Bits

The door frame was a pain.I used a handsaw to get it right.

Going around the corners wasn’t super easy either. I ended up making a few mistakes and having to redo a couple of planks, but eventually, I figured it out. It’s all about taking your time and not getting frustrated (easier said than done, I know!).

Finishing Touches

Once all the planks were down, I installed some baseboards to cover up that expansion gap around the edges of the room. I just nailed those in place, and that was pretty much it! I stood back and admired my handiwork. It actually looked pretty good! Definitely an upgrade from the old carpet, and I did it all myself. Now, whether it’ll actually “dance” or not remains to be seen, but I’m happy with it.