If you have kids, you know that they can be tough on your house, especially floors.  For a kid’s playroom or bedroom, there are plenty of flooring options that will please your style and stand up to the daily rigors of life with kids.  If your kids don’t have a designated playroom, having the right flooring in your living room and family room is even more key.  Once the toys and games are put away, you’ll want to feel like you are sitting in your room and not a play zone.

If you are putting in new flooring, talk with us about the best options for kids.  You can also take our “How I Live Quiz” to learn more about the best flooring options suitable for your lifestyle and home. There are many stain resistant and stain repellent carpets on the market. This means you can put carpet in a kids’ area and not fear every time something spills it will stain forever. Another option for carpeted rooms is to put a large area rug over the carpet to protect it.  Feel free to browse our area rug catalog to learn more.  As the kids get older, you can remove the area rug or swap it out for a new pattern or color. With this same idea in mind, carpet squares can be used and replaced if they get stained.

Hard surfaces like tile and stone are durable but might be too tough on little knees and elbows. Hardwood is good as is cork, which has a soft feeling under foot. Again, area rugs are your friends when it comes to protecting floors.

Kids and pets are probably the hardest on your floors.  Work with your flooring person to choose the best option that will be durable and stylish for years to come.

If your bedroom is feeling a little bland, you can easily spice things up if you have a good foundation.  A suite of bedroom furniture that provides a bed, nightstands and a dresser makes for good design bones for a bedroom. However, all the matching furniture and finishes need to be livened up with accessories and additional furnishings to create a lively and interesting bedroom.

This bedroom is a great example of having good bones.  The cream colored bedroom suite is a nice way to begin to decorate the bedroom.  The neutral cream color allows you to go in any direction with wall, floor and accent colors.  You could stick with the neutrals and layer in deeper neutrals like grey on the walls, pillows or duvet. An area rug could be used to add color, texture and pattern, and still show off the beautiful wood floors.

Color can be applied on the walls and windows as well.  Paint is a quick and inexpensive way to bring color into a room. Curtains can also be used to add color and pattern to the space.  Smaller pops of color could be done in accent pillows, a colorful lampshade, or a lampshade trimmed with bright ribbon. Swapping out the lamp for a colorful one is another idea.

If you prefer neutral walls, add color to the walls with artwork or a hanging.  You could frame a collection of family photos—great for a bedroom. Paintings and prints are other ways to bring color onto the walls without painting the wall.

Hartco Flooring is now part of the Armstrong flooring family.  Armstrong Hardwood has a variety of species and finishes and will continue Hartco’s popular hand-scraped wood flooring collection.  Designs and styles include distressed and rustic, exotics and contemporary dark stained flooring. This collection has something for every décor style.

The Armstrong Hardwood collection has hundreds of wood flooring choices, from distressed to fine grain. Oak to maple to walnut and more woods are available in a range of stains, widths and board lengths. One of our favorites in the collection is the Antique Natural Maple. This flooring has the distressed feeling of true antique or reclaimed wood floors. Combined with the durability and technology of contemporary flooring, this antiqued floor gives you the best of both worlds.

Hand-scraped hardwood floors are a popular flooring trend. The term “hand-scraped” refers to the type of surface treatment wherein the surfaces have been carefully sculpted to create unique finishes. Hammered, chiseled or sculpted by artisans using a variety of tools, these floors that have a natural-worn looking appearance. Despite these floors having an aged appearance, they are available in popular colors that suit every décor from contemporary to rustic farmhouse. One of our favorites is the Toasted Wheat walnut. The warm, rich brown has an aged, antique patina look to it. Would look lovely in a kitchen or bedroom.

For more information on these and other Armstrong products visit us online at Carpets N More website.

If you love this color, there’s good news for you this year. Pantone, the company that provides color palettes to manufacturers, graphic artists and designers has selected a pinkish red, called Honeysuckle, as its color of the year for 2011.

When Pantone highlights a color like this one, you will soon see it in a variety of consumer products. From fashion to furniture, designers and manufacturers focus on color trends and recommendations.

If you want to bring this color or any other light bright tones into your home, you can’t do better than a light wood floor such as this one as the foundation. You can see from the photo that light pinks and blues work beautifully with this floor.

This particular floor is a maple hardwood, but bamboo would also complement the colors. If you want your color options to change with the trends, the seasons or your own mood, this floor is a good start. Add in furniture with washable white slipcovers and other neutral shades, and then use pillows, throws, area rugs and accessories to focus your color choices. By changing out a handful of easily-replaced elements, you can create an entirely new feel for any space in your home. This is a perfect option if you love color but don’t want to settle for just one combination.

Light wood floors are a perfect choice for the changing needs and desires of children. Beautiful in a nursery, this wood floor grows as the child does, allowing for dramatic variations in color and style over time. Even a dramatic adolescent choice of black for the walls would be softened to some extent with the light floor.

If you’re looking for flexibility and durability, consider the advantages of a light wood, bamboo or laminate. It will provide the range you need to make décor changes over time.

This is the month for Surfaces, the largest flooring event in the world. As all the newest in flooring is presented, demonstrated and sold, it’s worth taking a few minutes to consider how flooring started and how far we’ve come.

Bill Bryson, the author of a number of books including the best-selling A Walk in the Woods, recently wrote a book about the origins of everyday aspects of our homes, called At Home, and in it, he talks about the origins of flooring.

When people first started building homes, the focus was on protection from the elements rather than comfort. Flooring reflected that. You would find dirt floors in almost every home in the 1600’s, and in rural England and other parts of Europe, dirt floors were common until the early 20^th century.

To provide some protection from the cold and dust, the wealthier households spread rushes over the dirt, with a new layer about twice a year. Unfortunately, they often didn’t remove the old rushes, which left plenty of space for insects and even mice and rats.

Once wood and tile floors became more common, carpets began to appear. However, these were so valuable that they were almost never laid on the floor to be walked on; rather, people hung them on the walls or placed them over tables. Because of transportation costs and limitations, the wood, tile or stone used for homes and floors was all local. This is one of the reasons why in England, most floors, moldings, and furniture were made of oak.

Today, instead of cutting rushes when you want new flooring, you can visit our showroom and choose carpeting, tile and wood from around the world. Rather than having carpets too valuable to walk on, you can warm your feet on them in every room in your home. We’re happy to have a hand in making flooring a source of pleasure and style rather than just the basic protective covering it once was.

Pets are members of the family. Like all other family members, pets create unique cleanliness issues that are battled daily. No matter if your pets stay inside; or are allowed to go outside they constantly shed hair and dander. Don’t allow this battle to become overwhelming. There are some things you can control to help with this never-ending battle.

1. Use washable fabrics for upholstery and drapery. Expensive, delicate fabrics are not practical in a house with pets. Don’t allow yourself to become stressed with constantly protecting expensive luxurious fabrics.

2. If pet hair is an omnipresent entity within your house, a cheap, low power vacuum is not going to help. You’ll need high suction vacuums that may cost more, but will remove more amounts of pet hair embedded in carpet and upholstery.

3. Carpet on the floor where pet traffic is high, is never a good idea. If you have the choice of choosing the flooring, select tile over carpet (carpet can be stained) and wood floors (can be scratched by pet claws). If you don’t have the option to choose your flooring in theses high traffic areas, buy inexpensive rug runners that can be replaced once they become worn out.

4. As far as décor is concerned, you might want to design your pet’s sleeping and eating areas with mats and bowls. While shopping for these, keep your house’s décor in mind and buy accessories that would fit in, not stand out.

5. A toy box with a lid to house all of your pet’s toys.  This can be anything from an attractive basket to a trunk type box. Buy a toy box that will blend in with your décor. A box that can be closed off from your pets will allow you to keep a handle on the amount of pet toys laying around. If the toy box is open to your pet, you will find yourself constantly picking up toys and your pet dragging them all out again!

Pets are members of the family. Like all other family members, pets create unique cleanliness issues that are battled daily. No matter if your pets stay inside; or are allowed to go outside they constantly shed hair and dander. Don’t allow this battle to become overwhelming. There are some things you can control to help with this never-ending battle.

1. Use washable fabrics for upholstery and drapery. Expensive, delicate fabrics are not practical in a house with pets. Don’t allow yourself to become stressed with constantly protecting expensive luxurious fabrics.

2. If pet hair is an omnipresent entity within your house, a cheap, low power vacuum is not going to help. You’ll need high suction vacuums that may cost more, but will remove more amounts of pet hair embedded in carpet and upholstery.

3. Carpet on the floor where pet traffic is high, is never a good idea. If you have the choice of choosing the flooring, select tile over carpet (carpet can be stained) and wood floors (can be scratched by pet claws). If you don’t have the option to choose your flooring in theses high traffic areas, buy inexpensive rug runners that can be replaced once they become worn out.

4. As far as décor is concerned, you might want to design your pet’s sleeping and eating areas with mats and bowls. While shopping for these, keep your house’s décor in mind and buy accessories that would fit in, not stand out.

5. A toy box with a lid to house all of your pet’s toys.  This can be anything from an attractive basket to a trunk type box. Buy a toy box that will blend in with your décor. A box that can be closed off from your pets will allow you to keep a handle on the amount of pet toys laying around. If the toy box is open to your pet, you will find yourself constantly picking up toys and your pet dragging them all out again!

Bamboo, traditionally used for roofing and walls has become a sustainable environmentally-friendly material for floors.

Bamboo is a grass that grows quickly and regenerates easily. With the impetus on green housing, bamboo has become a valuable flooring option. Bamboo grows to a height of 20 meters in 5 years. The root system of bamboo naturally regenerates the plant, making bamboo an ideal renewable resource for flooring.

Bamboo floors were not popular because there was a misconception that bamboo wasn’t sturdy and bamboo floors were uneven. Actually, bamboo floor manufacturers make their flooring in the form of flat planks like hardwood for easy installation. Bamboo floors come in a range of tones to suit all types of room décor.

These floors are low maintenance, durable and easy to install. Bamboo floors are strong and will not crack or splinter even if you place heavy furniture on the floor.  Bamboo floors are laminated and water resistant enough to be used in rooms such as bathrooms, kitchens and dining areas that are exposed to moisture.

Be careful! Bamboo floors may dent or scratch if you walk on them with high heeled shoes. Bamboo floors fade when exposed to direct sunlight and are not compatible with all subfloors. You need to check with the manufacturer on their suitability to your home before choosing bamboo floors.

Bamboo floors are an environmentally friendly, emission free and durable option when choosing your flooring.

Are you a Food Network fan? How about Home and Garden TV? If you enjoy both, consider what would happen if the two channels merged. It would be interesting to see what some of the celebrity chefs would do about decorating.

Bobby Flay has such a distinct style in clothes, personality and food, it’s easy to put some ideas together that would suit him. Living in New York City, his high-rise condo would shine with ebony wood floors. The rich dark tones fit perfectly with his taste – an eclectic mix of vintage mid-century modern and some contemporary pieces.

Flay’s spicy cooking approach can be matched with bold colors. A vivid red tailored sofa sits across from the open kitchen. Several rich yellow chairs sit to one side, with a golden wood asymmetrical coffee table straight from the 1950s linking everything together. Orange pillows and several orange glass bowls bring the room together.

The bright colors echo in the bright red wall behind Bobby’s kitchen countertops, a bright stainless steel to match the pots and pans hanging above. What’s Bobby making tonight? Something from the grill to feed the friends who will be dropping by soon. The space matches the food and the chef – spicy and cool at the same time.