Choosing the right flooring for each part of your home is essential to making the layout work for your lifestyle. There are a lot of different materials out there, and each one has its pros and cons. Here are some popular flooring materials used in homes today and how they can benefit your living space, as well as some disadvantages they may pose:

Carpet

This material is excellent for living rooms and bedroom floors, where you want to add some warmth to a space while also creating a comfortable underfoot. Carpet protects the floors underneath and provides cushion to children, the elderly, and pets while providing a soft place to land in case of falling. Disadvantages are its lack of water-resistance, and the material needs to be vacuumed on a regular basis.

Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is a less expensive flooring choice that can stand up to a lot of foot traffic. It is available in a variety of colors and patterns and has the ability to reduce noise underfoot-which is good news if you have noisy children and pets! Disadvantages include the tendency to dent if it comes into contact with sharp objects, possibly fading in prolonged direct sunlight, and its inability to withstand extreme temperatures.

Stone

Stone flooring has always been popular mostly for foyer areas, but it is gaining more popularity in other places in the home-even the bathroom. Available in a variety of colors and textures, this material adds an earthy flavor to any room. Disadvantages of this flooring choice include the need for regular resealing to prevent water damage, a higher tendency towards scratching, and the need for constant cleaning to keep it in pristine condition.

Hardwood

Hardwood is a truly timeless flooring choice. Most homes have this material installed somewhere inside them. Bedrooms, hallways, and dining rooms are all popular places to have hardwood. Its natural origins give any space a down-to-earth look while adding class at the same time. Some disadvantages to hardwood are its tendency to warp in moisture-prone and high0humidity areas. Additionally, the installation also takes longer than most ready-to-go flooring choices and can be more expensive.

If you would like to learn more about any of these flooring choices, one of our expert sales associates would love to assist you. Call or visit us for more information!

Now that you have installed beautiful hardwood floors from Carpets N More, we wanted to share a few helpful tips for prolonging the life of your floors. Of course, you want to protect your investment and preserve the natural beauty of your hardwood floors. That is why we wanted to focus on five precautions you should take with your hardwood floors. Let’s take a look!

Clean Flooring

This is an essential task for maintaining and extending the life of your floors. Just like other chores, if you maintain the chore on a day to day basis, the chores will not pile up. Simply sweep and dust mop the floors daily to prevent dust and dirt from spreading. This will also eliminate allergens in the home and prevents the floors from becoming scratched. Also, you will not be chasing those pesky dust bunnies, especially if you have pets! For additional cleaning procedures, only clean your floors with products recommended by the manufacturer.

No Sharp Objects

Do not forget that high heeled shoes can scratch and damage hardwood floors. Simply remove your shoes when you enter and place them in a designated storage area in the foyer. If you are a pet owner, keep your pet’s nails trimmed or purchase footies for your pets.

Floor Protectors

Invest in inexpensive floor protectors to place under furniture to prevent scuffs and scratches. These protectors are also marvelous for sliding large pieces of furniture over hardwood floors. They not only prevent scratches but make it so easy for one person to move furniture, especially for cleaning.

Direct UV Sunlight Exposure

Do not forget that sunlight can and will fade the color of your hardwood floors. During the peak hours of the day, use window coverings to eliminate the sun from directly hitting your hardwood floors. Area rugs are another great way to prolong the life of your floors while adding comfort, texture, and pops of color. Another helpful tip is periodically rearranging the furniture to allow the flooring to age naturally.

Accidents and Spills

Clean spills quickly with a dry cloth or paper towel to prevent staining and discoloration of the natural color. Again, only use cleaning products recommended by the manufacturer.

For advice on your specific hardwood floors, it is always a good idea to look at your manufacturer’s website. Additionally, a Carpets N More sales representative would love to help you with any further questions.

Are you thinking about replacing your current flooring? If so, please keep in mind that choosing specific flooring can actually increase the value of your home. Your home is most likely the most substantial investment you will ever make. In fact, replacing your floors is a good thing that will not only fit your budget but will upgrade the design style of your home. Below, you will find some tips that will answer your questions and motivate you to start this project.

Hardwood Floors

Homebuyers will pay more for hardwoods because they are beautiful and timeless. Harwood offers many species and styles to fit any style. You can choose from Oak, Pine, Maple, Brazilian Cherry, Hickory, and many more. Harwoods are easy on your back and feet, compared to tile floors. Plus, they are easier to clean than carpet.

Natural Stone

Travertine, slate, and other natural stones are stylish, durable, and timeless. Not to mention, they are perfect for indoor and outdoor use. Natural stone is a product that blends well with other décor and flooring. It comes from the earth and has been around forever, and will continue to be popular!

Porcelain & Ceramic Tile

The toughest residential tile is porcelain tile. If you have children and animals, tile is your best bet. It is water-resistant and does not succumb to scratches. Tile is also beautiful and stylish. If you choose neutral colors like white, gray, and beige, they will mesh beautifully with your decorating style and other floorings.

Vinyl Flooring

With new technology, vinyl floors are quite the rage now. With improved printing processes, vinyl really looks like hardwood and tile floors. Vinyl plank flooring is installed by the individual planks, just like hardwood. Consider luxury vinyl tile (LVT); it is durable with fantastic style.

Looking for additional advice? One of Carpets N More‘s expert sales associates would love to assist you. Please do not hesitate to call or visit us today!

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.

  Have you been thinking about changing the flooring in your home?  Carpets N’ More and Mohawk are  having a special finance offer going on now until August 6, 2012!

Here are there details:

• No interest if paid in full within 18 months
• Available on all Mohawk products in the store
• No minimum purchase

Fine Print: This offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases

VIsit our website to get started!

 

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.