Infloormation

There’s no hiding how this store perceives itself. Check your wallet before you walk in – if it’s too thin, walk on by.

Most of us would not be drawn to a store that promotes itself as expensive. High prices are not the same as high quality, and the focus should be on quality and value, not just the “bottom line.”

When it comes to flooring, often people perceive many choices as expensive. In reality, there is almost as wide a variety in flooring materials, construction and workmanship as there is in clothing. When you’re making purchasing decisions, it’s important to look beyond price to find the quality and style you want and determine the true value of your choice.

Sometimes a silk shirt is the right choice, and for other purposes, cotton may be better. Silk is more expensive than cotton in general but it might be just right with the outfit you’re planning so you’re willing to pay more. In the same way, one flooring material may be more expensive but worth the price for your purposes.

When you’re debating about the right flooring for you, how about taking the cost difference between the two options and dividing it by the number of years you plan to live in your home. Are you willing to pay that much more a year for the more expensive flooring? If you plan to move in a few years, take a look at resale issues. For example, homes with wood floors sell faster than homes with any other type of flooring.

When you’re choosing flooring, don’t discard price issues, but be sure to look beyond cost when you make your final choice.  When you are ready to look for new flooring for an update to your home, visit one of our convenient showrooms and see what we can do for you!

Many homes that have an open floor plan end up feeling like a one-trick pony – a barnlike space with no clear functional definitions to outline the different uses of a space.

This home uses design elements to take full advantage of the open concept while still creating clear transitions from one functional space to another.

Flooring varies both in material and level. The living room in the foreground shines with large stone tile while the wood step up to the rest of the home provides a built-in transition point. Varying levels also appear in the three steps to the kitchen, allowing that space to stay separate while still having a connection to the rest of the home. Wood beams on the ceiling and various ceiling heights and soffits also provide transition lines.

The wall elements such as the pillars outlining the separations bring design elements together even as they define the corners of the different functional spaces. Other surprise architectural touches such as the stone wall to the right and the triangular skylight in the living area provide additional personality.

This room is beautifully decorated, but it would be inviting even with no furniture. The secret comes from an architectural approach that is integrated and adventurous. This home provides a good example of how good bones – the basic design and plan of a home – combined with a good eye for design on the fundamentals such as flooring and the use of varied materials – can make a space work

Would you like your home to echo the exotic feel of a market such as this tourist bazaar in Tripoli? By borrowing just a few elements from this photo, you can recreate the mood of another country with your back patio.

Let’s consider three architectural features that can easily be reproduced in a modified form. To start, the arches add character with their clean curves and depth. As they move into columns, the second feature – a rim around each – provides an appealing design element. The final feature – the stone sidewalk – adds interest with its light and dark elements.

The photo below shows one approach to borrowing from the old to create the new. The arches are different, but provide the same curves and interest to the patio. The circular ridges on each column suit the feel of the home while adding another color to the mix. Finally, the patio’s tile floor has added personality thanks to the choice of two colors of tile in a simple repeating pattern.

What else needs to be put in place to complete the look? How about a few pots in earthenware colors leaning against the columns, or even positioned with plants and flowers?

While you may not be able to supply your “marketplace” with the rich supply of rugs shown in the Tripoli photo, a few outdoor area rugs in an oriental pattern and some brightly-colored hangings would be a good step in the right direction.

One of the most common decorating mistakes homeowners make is having all the furniture hug the walls rather than take advantage of the whole space. This room shows an extreme example of this situation.

The light wood floor sets a wonderful tone. The window trim and the room’s molding carry the warm wood theme, as does the furniture. With just a few changes and additions, this room can meet the potential provided by the architectural decisions.

A colorful area rug would suit this room well. Consider a combination of greens and blues to reflect the view out the windows. A cream sofa and dark brown chairs would echo the wood and wall shades while providing contrast.

The row of wood furniture doesn’t show off the potential of each piece. Breaking up the four pieces and moving them around the room would be a better use of both the function and look of this furniture. It would also be nice to keep that right window unblocked by pieces such as the television.

The art seems like an afterthought. Bringing the pieces down to eye level could help. With the large view through the windows, art could be eliminated or kept to abstracts to keep distractions to a minimum. Customized wood blinds to match the wood frames or the flooring would provide light and privacy management without compromising the look of the windows or their vistas.

Take a moment to step back and look at each room in your home. Does your furniture and accessory placement take full advantage of your home’s potential?

It may seem that this photo cannot be related to your home, but looking through the archway to the street beyond it is similar to looking through a doorway or opening to the next room. You can use what you learn from this photo to make your home just a little more special.

The eye is immediately drawn down the street. This is because the street itself pulls you through the photo. The rough stones and the sidewalks along the edges pull your eye all the way back to the large stone-surrounded doorway.

In the same way your flooring pulls people into your home. If you have tile or wood which contain natural lines, the eyes will be drawn along them until they end. With that in mind, make sure that what they see is what you want them to notice. Just as the doorway is the focal point of the photo, your room’s focal point should be positioned to draw the eye.

Light and dark mingle in this image, keeping your attention even though color is limited. Do you have enough contrast in your rooms? Stand at your doorway and decide.

Finally, there are simple touches for the eye to focus on as it moves to the focal point. The bicycle leaning on the right wall and the multiple posts in the background are interesting stops along your destination of the doorway. Do your rooms have places to catch the eye?

It’s time to stand in your own doorways and room openings and take a look at what all of your guests see. What can you do to improve their impressions?

Would you like to use discoveries you’ve made on your travels to personalize your home but you’re not sure where to start? Let’s take a look at one approach that works well.

This room carries off a number of elements from other countries while still feeling cohesive and inviting. Careful initial planning created a space that is well-designed for a variety of styles.

To begin with, the wood floor invites flexibility. This floor has a rich mid-tone that will work with any other type of wood or materials such as metal and fabric. The simple coffee table is a good fit with the floor. Having a tone similar to the floor and simple lines, it allows accessories to play the most important role.

The large upholstered furniture pieces also provide a simple background to the more intriguing international elements. The light cream walls and black trim suit the space well.

One very smart decision by these travelers is focusing on more than art and accessories with their purchases. The light fixture, carved chair and bench in the hall are all from other countries. The light fixture is the most striking – catching the eye and setting the mood. The chair is a nice foil to the sofa and coffee table with its strong character. The light lavender seat complements the purple/pink cushion on the ironwork bench. Thanks to the other neutrals in the room, this room can and does carry a number of different colors.

If you like to travel and want to bring special pieces home, plan your décor to support the interesting souvenirs from other places that will make your home unusual and inviting.

We may dream of having wood flooring and furniture that has the look of an older time, but most of us would not trade the comforts and conveniences of today’s homes for a space like this. However, we can appreciate the rich variety of wood and the charm that this room offers.

Let’s start with the most beautiful and useful element – the table. This is a multi-use piece of furniture. It probably worked as a counter for food preparation, as the family dinner table, and for any other purpose we would use a table or desk today. The wood has a patina earned over the years with much use and good care.

Kitchens in the past often consisted of the family table, the hearth or a cast iron stove, and a hutch like the one on the back wall to hold supplies and kitchen tools. The blue shelves are the only painted wood in the room. This particular color came from a product known as milk paint. People would buy a tinted powder and mix it with milk to create a thin paint. Colors were limited and coverage was not good, but it provided a nice change from wood. Notice that the paint matches the enameled metal pot on the table. That was about as good as kitchen décor got at that time.

Some of the wood surfaces are reproduced for homes today. The hand-scraped walls have a feel similar to the hand-scraped flooring currently available. The light pine on the back wall matches light pine or maple flooring you can have today.

We may not want to live like this, but consider adding some similar elements to warm up your home and capture some of the charm of the past.

We hope you enjoyed your Independence Day weekend!  Hopefully you and your friends and family had a wonderful time with lots of great food!   Just in case any ended up on the carpet, we thought we’d share some tips with you on how to remove it.  We hope you find this useful! 

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.

Vinegar Solution – Mix one (1) cup of white vinegar per two (2) cups of water. White vinegar is a 5% acetic acid solution. It is used most often to lower the alkalinity caused by detergent solutions or alkaline spills.

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.

Call a Professional – Professional cleaners have the ability and the equipment to use more aggressive cleaning solutions to remove stubborn spills. Always consider consulting a professional cleaner regarding any spot removal question. CRI – 1-800-882-8846.

This dining room is striking yet simple. The clean lines and limited color palette help you appreciate every element.

Let’s start with the flooring. Choosing a light neutral tile allows a great deal of flexibility for decorating. The white walls also open up the options.

The decision to go extremely modern works well in this room. The dark ebony wood table and chair frames bring the rich tone that’s needed to keep the room anchored. The white leather chairs are simple with just enough design to them to add interest. Then there’s the big finish – red.

By adding red to two chairs, some artwork and the three bowls sitting on the table, the room moves from bland to daring immediately. This choice tells you that the home’s owner doesn’t want to play it safe.

It might be tempting to carry more red into the room, but it would be gilding the lily. By choosing only a few pieces in the exact same shade of red, the statement is modern and clean without becoming boring.

Although the look is contemporary and fresh, the tile floor and wipe-down leather chairs make this room easy to maintain even after quite an elaborate dinner. It is also child-friendly. The simple look opens up a rich variety of possibilities for table linens and serving elements. It would also be really tempting to kick it up even further with a bouquet of red poppies to add to red’s pop in the room.