People, particularly men, are often surprised that fashion and décor have so many connections. Think about it for a minute though, your clothes and your home are the most direct visual expression of who you are.

Rita Wilson shared ten wardrobe tips on a recent episode of “Oprah.” Eight of them can be translated from your closet to your home. Let’s see how number five translates to our homes.

It’s normal to fear altercations, but not alterations.

One of the most frustrating things about shopping for clothes, other than price tags, is the fit. What do you do if you’re between sizes? Rita recommends investing in alterations to make your clothes fit you well. Well, the same solution is possible in your home. Most people assume customizing is too expensive in a home, but every time you select your own flooring from a broad selection, pick some accent tiles, and choose just the right grout color for your backsplash, you are customizing your space. Have a limited budget? Think about choosing a less expensive tile for the bulk of your space, and then invest in a border or medallion to make your home feel unique. Or how about considering a sculptured carpet to create a sense of style even in a neutral color choice? When the time comes to select your furniture, many stores provide a selection of fabrics for upholstered pieces for only a small additional charge.

From flooring to furniture to accessories – make your home a unique expression of who you are. To see the other tips in this series, click here.

Reader Question:

Help! My massage therapist is about to head to the grocery store to buy all of the carpet cleaners she can in order to attempt to remove a massage oil mishap on our carpet! What should we do? Our carpet is really nice (and new) and I don’t want to ruin it!

– Thanks, Dr. Allie from Denver , CO

Answer:

Dear Allie,

Stop that therapist! Don’t let her run out the door yet and waste your money or her time! Below is how you should treat this stain. First, the most important thing is to NOT use multiple cleaners on top of each other when you don’t like the result of the first one. This can cause a reaction and permanently damage your carpet. Second, if you try anything other than the detergent option, test first in a closet for colorfastness. Use a white rag only. Third, remember more is not always better. Drowning a stain can only dilute it and make it spread.

Here’s your answer:

Nail Polish Remover – Two types of nail polish removers are available. One type contains acetone, a dry cleaning solvent. Use the same precautions as with other dry cleaning solutions. The second type contains amyl acetate, which is used in many paint, oil, and grease (POG) removers. Many POG removers leave residues that may cause rapid soiling. When using a POG remover, always rinse the area thoroughly with a dry solvent. (See Residue Precautions.)

Solvent – A non-flammable spot removal solution, or dry cleaning type solvent, is preferred. Exercise caution when using a solvent. Never pour it directly onto the carpet or allow it to reach the backing, because it can damage the latex that holds the primary and secondary backings together. Acceptable solvents include Carbona®, Energine®, K2R®, Goof-Off®, etc.

Detergent Solution – Mix one fourth (1/4) teaspoon of a liquid dishwashing detergent per one (1) cup of lukewarm water. NEVER USE A STRONGER CONCENTRATION! Thorough rinsing is necessary to remove detergent residues that may cause rapid soiling. It may be necessary to rinse with warm water several times to completely remove residues. (See Residue Precautions.) Care should be used in selecting a detergent. Never use a laundry detergent of any type, because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners (fluorescent dyes) that dye the fiber. Do not select an automatic dishwashing detergent because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibers.

Warm Water – Lukewarm tap water should be used in most cases to rinse the cleaning solutions from the fiber. Failure to completely rinse the solutions from the fiber may cause accelerated soiling.

Ammonia Solution – Mix one (1) tablespoon of household ammonia per cup of water. Please note: Be aware that ammonia, if used improperly, can cause a color change. Be sure to test a hidden area.

http://www.carpetsnmorecolorado.com/contentpage.aspx?Id=16797#Oil,%20Lubricating

For more stain solving tips, click here.

Thanks for doing the right thing and asking an expert first!

We’ve been taking a look at fashion tips from Rita Wilson, actor, producer and fashion columnist for Harper’s Bazaar. On a recent episode of Oprah, she provided ten tips to make women look fabulous, no matter what age. Well, many of those tips also work for our homes, with a little tweaking. Let’s consider number 4.

Tip 4: “Wear comfortable shoes.” Frankly, this is the best fashion tip ever, particularly when considering times when you can’t enjoy yourself because your cute sling-backs were killing you! This is insightful for our clothing, but much more valuable in many ways for our homes. The lesson is to think about comfort as much as style when decorating your home. If you have a fondness for curling up in a big chair with a book, does your plan include that chair? If your family loves watching TV together, arrange for enough seating for everyone with good viewing lines to the set. Do your dining room chairs invite long conversations over dinner, or do they look good without feeling good?

You can be true to yourself and still have style. Make sure your home works – comfortably – for you and your family.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

Earlier, we took a look at two of Rita Wilson’s fashion tips, and how they connected to improving our homes. Let’s consider the next one.

Tip 3: “Your haircut and color tell people a lot about you.” This tip is about spending the extra money to get a good haircut and color. Let’s face it, no matter what you’re wearing; your hair is always visible on the top of your head. You may wear seven or more outfits in the course of the week, but always the same hairstyle. From a décor standpoint, when you’re deciding how to spend your money, the best places for splurging are the most permanent elements. These include flooring, cabinets and countertops. Everything else comes and goes over the life of your home. With a limited budget, spend on the permanent parts first, and upgrade furniture and accessories later.

Walk into some spaces and consider what you notice initially. Flooring, paint and architectural elements generally catch your eye. Make sure these are all at the level you want them to be in your home.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

We have touted wool carpets as being among the most luxurious options you have for carpet in your home. When you’ve spent more money on wool, you want to maintain it correctly! The single most effective method of maintenance on wool carpet is regular vacuuming.

One of the most common issues with wool carpet is a red wine spill. Have you heard it said that if you want to treat a red wine spill on wool carpet, you pour some white wine on it? Don’t do it! Not only will it be a waste of some good white wine, it will simply spread your problem!

The best way to treat a wine spill (or any water-based staining agent) is to immediately soak up as much of the spill as possible with an absorbent cloth or paper. Start at the outer edges of the spill and work your way to the center, blotting rather than rubbing. This is important! Blot, don’t rub! If you can still see the spot after blotting, use a spot remover specifically designed for water-based stains on wool, like any spot removers that carry a WoolSafe® label. In particular, do not use regular detergents, as they will likely leave a residue that will cause soiling quickly at the spot of the stain.

For oily stains, don’t be afraid to use a dry cleaning solvent (again, best with a WoolSafe® label). Remember that most high-quality wool garments recommend dry cleaning! Just be sure that you use the solvent sparingly as it can damage the backing of your carpet.

In our last blog post, we took a look at the first wardrobe tip presented by Rita Wilson on a recent episode of Oprah. Well, there are seven more than can be directly applied to our homes.

Here’s number two:

“Trust your personal style.” Many people are tempted to simply adopt a style rather than really explore their own taste preferences. No one, no matter how talented, is more qualified to decorate your home than you are. First, sort through your style options. Look through various magazines and books. Window shop at flooring and furniture stores. Visit model homes; and really pay attention when you go to the homes of friends. Start taking notes, tearing out pages, and writing down information on your preferences. Take your time. After all, you will be living with your choices for quite a while. It’s OK to ask for advice. Your salespeople are generally knowledgeable and helpful, and want your home to turn out beautifully.

Your budget may require you to start small. Maybe you add just a piece of art or an accessory that catches your eye initially. But if you find yourself smiling whenever you pass that piece, you’ve discovered the real pleasure of making your home totally your own. To see more tips from this series, click here.

The correlation between wardrobe and décor often surprises people. If you think about it though, both reflect your personal taste and provide a public vision of you. On a recent episode of Oprah, Rita Wilson, an actor and producer, as well as a style columnist for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, provided 10 tips for looking fabulous at any age. Let’s take a look at how the first of these can be applied to our homes.

Tip 1:

If you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it. I have personally never been able to live with this idea in my closet, but I do try to apply it in my home. Do you have accessories, curtains, pillows or mementos that really are dated or inconsistent with your taste today? Has your home become a museum instead of a living changing space that reflects both your changing taste and lifestyle? Have those once-comfortable dining room chairs gotten flat because the foam is shot? Is your carpet tired and in a color you no longer care for? Whether you’re considering a major overhaul or just replacing several dated lamps, an update in your home can be as uplifting as a new pair of shoes…or two…or three.

Stay tuned for more tips!

We are so excited to share another kind note from someone we were able to help with their flooring! Please read below.

Steve,

I wanted to thank you so much for assisting us during these tough economic times.   My husband Bart told me all of your staff and installation employees were top notch and provided excellent customer service.   This is exactly why people are repeat customers.  I hope to recarpet my other bedrooms in the future, and know who to call.

Best personal regards.

Cyndee and Bart  J

Do you find it challenging to match colors and styles when shopping for your home? There’s a simple tool you can create to make this process so much easier. Set up a set of kits with samples of all of your flooring, countertops, paint and fabric – organized by room.

When you have new flooring installed, grab a small piece of carpeting, a tile fragment or a piece of wood or your sheet vinyl. That’s your start. Next, as you paint, cover a sturdy piece of paper with your paint. Don’t rely on paint chips for your color, because the actual paint color will always be different. If you started your painting with a poster-board sampler, just cut a corner of your selected sample to put into your book.

Having furniture recovered? Ask for the fabric scraps and add a piece to your collection. If you can’t get your fabric or for existing furniture, check the hem to see if you can clip a little bit to give you that color or pattern. Do the same for any curtains in the space. To do color matching for other key pieces of furniture or accessories, go to your home improvement store and grab some paint chips in the right color range, and take them home to find the best match.

Finally, take a couple of photos of the room. You can put everything in a sturdy notebook, or even put each room’s samples in separate large envelopes or photo boxes and label them. When you go shopping for additional pieces, or even replacements years from now, you will be ready with the samples you need to match colors and styles.

When you say, “polyester,” do you mean just plain polyester, PET polyester or PTT polyester? There is lots of confusion about what the terms really mean. Recently, most of the polyester fibers used for carpet construction have been of the PET variety. PET polyester is manufactured primarily from used plastic soda bottles. It is an improved fiber over the original polyester, but still retains some of the performance issues, about which you may have heard stories.

The high points of PET carpets are that they are inexpensive, and the fiber is highly colorfast and resistant to water-based stains (though susceptible to oil-based stains).  Additionally, there is a particularly soft and lush feel (carpet folks call it good “hand”) to new polyester carpet. The main complaints about carpets made from this fiber are that they crush and mat quickly, and that oil-based stains are difficult – if not impossible to remove.

PTT polyester is a late generation fiber refined and introduced by DuPont in 2000, under the trade name Sorona. It has some interesting characteristics, like 37% renewable resource content (corn-based) and reported extra stain and performance capabilities over earlier generations of polyester. Because of its unique performance characteristics in carpet construction, the FTC (in March, 2009) authorized the new generic fiber name and classification, Triexta. Mohawk’s Smartstrand carpets are manufactured from this fiber.

According to DuPont and Mohawk, carpets constructed from triexta fibers will perform every bit as well as nylon – and yet retain the soft feel (the hand) and stain-resistance of polyester.