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Nov-13-2015

The At-A-Glance Guide to Home Flooring Options

Posted by creatingyourspace under Specialty Flooring

If you’re in the early phases of remodeling or building a home, the endless options on your mind can be quite overwhelming. In hopes of making those first steps a little easier we’ve created a simple, basic guide to the different types of flooring. Use it to select a few that initially appeal to you and then visit with us to further explore the options.

Porcelain or Ceramic Tile

Squares crafted of porcelain or ceramic and glazed. These have been used for centuries because they are easy to clean, hygienic, and durable. This functionality combined with how aesthetically pleasing they are has made them immensely popular. Especially in bathrooms and kitchens.

Carpet

Available in both natural and synthetic varieties, this reliable flooring option can be made of wool, polyester, nylon, or polypropylene. Carpet is available in thousands of colors and patterns so those who like options will appreciate it versatility. It’s best suited to dry environments.

Engineered Wood

This product employs a veneer of hardwood over top of layers of wood underneath. It is also known as composite wood. It is often pre-laminated. Finishing techniques include either processed or machined.

Cork

A flooring derivative made of bark from the cork oak.  It’s exceptionally sustainable and therefore a very popular choice among environmentally minded home owners. It’s also ideal for rooms where a natural, earthy vibe is desired.

Vinyl

Vinyl is a polymer flooring option that is 100% synthetic. It includes pigmentation and it is thus available in many colors. It’s also non-porous and flexible which makes it ideal for tricky rooms that aren’t well suited to less flexible and higher maintenance options.

Stone

Stone flooring makes use of various types of natural rock. It is initially carved out of a quarry and then sized and cut for use as flooring. Well loved stones include marble, slate, limestone, and granite. Quartz has recently risen in popularity as well.   

Bamboo

Application involves installing bamboo reeds over sub-flooring. Bamboo is exceptionally durable and it is a great natural option if you are avoiding synthetics in your home design. It’s very renewable and eco-friendly as well.

Hardwood

Hardwood is a flooring option that is milled from a single piece of timber. It’s very durable. It tends to always be in demand because it’s a valuable flooring upgrade that instantly raises the bar in terms of style and luxury. Common types of hardwood for floors include oak, maple, hickory, and walnut.


Sep-25-2013

Kid Friendly Floors

Posted by creatingyourspace under Area Rugs, Carpet, Hardwood / Laminate, Hints and Tips

14763695_SIf 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.

Dec-18-2010

Wallpaper Today

Posted by creatingyourspace under Design and Decorating

People typically associate wallpaper with being out of style and dated. This is not the case, with faux finishing on the rise. Wallpaper companies are trying to keep up and compete with faux finishing, and doing a great job at that! There is an abundance of variety and styles available in wallpaper today.

The days of floral dated wallpaper are over. Sheik wallpaper is available in all decorating styles from traditional to contemporary. If not done right, faux finishes can look cheap and rushed. In many cases, wallpaper looks better than faux finishing.

Textured wallpaper is available in all types of styles and many different materials, such as Grass, Cork, Stucco, Rock and Embossed Leather, and the list goes on and on. Tromp L’oeil style wallpapers are popular. Tromp L’oeil means realistic imagery that creates an optical illusion of being the real thing. For example there may be a wallpaper that looks like an old rock wall or a marble wall.

Patterned wallpapers are really sheik and interesting. The traditional Damask pattern has gone under a makeover. A wide variety of modern damask patterns are available in an array of sizes, colors and even metallic.

Use wallpaper to turn an ordinary room into an extraordinary room with character. Dinning rooms and powder rooms are great spaces to install wallpaper. These rooms can handle drama; use wallpaper to add instant drama and appeal!