Girls need a little glam. Use wall decals in a creative way.

Use your tween’s favorite color and whimsical patterns.

Add shelving and a desk. Not only is this a good place for your tween to study, but it also allows them to display their treasures.

Get artistic and paint a mural on the wall. Add accessories in the same theme to complete the look.

Keep your tween’s room current. Pick bright, bold colors and experiment with bold patterns.

Don’t be surprised if you get big hugs for helping your tween makeover their room.  After all, they’re not teenagers yet, whew!

Once you enter the home create a custom mosaic on your floor for personalization. Add a monogram, or just decorative tile. Remember that your entry way is your house’s way of saying welcome home.  Wide maple plank flooring or beautiful area rugs are also good ideas.

Whether you live in an opulent loft or a modest ranch, making a beautiful first impression goes a long way in making a design statement. If you have a large entryway be sure to use furniture large enough to fill the space. If you have a smaller entryway mirrors help make a tight hall space feel larger.

Among the other areas to consider showcasing in the foyer are the walls, ceilings and lighting. If you like color, using bright colors or wallpaper can create a fun transitional space. Don’t forget about your ceilings  – your fifth wall. A faux painting finish can make an average entryway more intriguing. If you have a two-story foyer hang a two or three level chandelier. Always make sure your lighting fixtures match your stair railings.

Remember your foyer is the prologue to the rest of your house. Start by making a great first impression.

What are your biggest goals this year? Do you want to replace all your carpet, update the kitchen or redo your master bath?

Have you thought about getting trendy in 2012? Did you know color palettes are changing? Indigo is the new “black”. Dimensional wallpaper, lighter floor finishes, and colorful, bold patterned furniture are also “in”. Peacock patterns, antiques, chandeliers, animal prints and high beds are also popular.

Don’t feel as though everything in your home has to match. Do you like a headboard that doesn’t match your nightstands and dressers? That’s ok.

Look for one-of-a-kind pieces from local artisans. There’s nothing like having a beautiful centerpiece in your home that no one else can duplicate.

Make small changes like adding a backsplash to your kitchen or add a glass tile mosaic in your bathroom. These seemingly easy projects can make an old room look new.

Wallpaper is back. It goes way beyond what you can do with paint. Powder rooms are a great place to use this idea. Create a jewel box effect by using a larger pattern. It’s fun to go big and bold in small spaces.

We’re here to help you. Our in house designers can help create “your look”.  And with our free in-home estimates, virtual design center and on-line financing we can make your project as easy and effortless as possible.

If you choose this room you like urban chic. You hate clutter, or at least you want your countertops to look bare and clean. View other urban chic rooms here to get more decorating ideas.

If you choose this room you love stately elegance. Your style is orderly, conservative and formal. View other stately elegant rooms here.

If you choose this room you love Rustic Reflections. Based in the arts and crafts movement, sophisticated Southwestern influences and mountain living, this style demonstrates true craftsmanship, simple design and the loving, organic combination of home, hearth and nature.  View other Rustic rooms here.

If you choose this room you love Seaside Simplicity. Seaside Simplicity is a light, easy-going lifestyle, think Tommy Bahama. View other Seaside Simplicity rooms here.

If you choose this room you love Italian Impressions. You crave objects aged and worn, rooms of heavy woods and wrought iron. View other Italian Impressions rooms here.

At Pierce Flooring we can help you design any room in your house in your own personal style. Our design center will help you get started.

Every element in this room contributes to the mood. The tile floor is off white, but with touches of darker tones to add warmth and connect the floor to the black pieces. The floor is offset by an area rug in a floral pattern of black and white – the black prevalent to offset the light floor.

The other strong note of black comes from the loveseat, which provides a perfect foil for the brightness of the rest of the décor. Black and white floral patterns come through again in throw pillows and the lampshade.

Crystal and glass abound in this room in many forms. The coffee table is topped in glass, allowing the daring area rug to shine. The room divider behind the buffet is also glass, with a large floral etching to add separation and style. Crystal comes from the chandelier and the amazing column of crystals that run behind the sofa.

Silver is the other strong element. Old world silver candlesticks and a bowl top the buffet. Two small graceful tables and simple picture frames are covered in silver leaf for a distinctive sparkle.

This room was made for a party, but the glamour doesn’t come from any one thing. Instead, it’s a smart mix of old and new that creates the feeling of yesterday in the style of today.

The first step in decorating is to determine how your lifestyle affects how you decorate. The design center at Pierce Flooring is a great way to begin. At the design center you can complete a fun quiz about How you Live. You’ll answer questions about color schemes you enjoy, how you want the atmosphere of your home to feel, how many family members live in the home and where they spend the majority of their time. At the end of the quiz you will receive solid decorating advice, everything from what types of carpet are better for a playroom to how to decorate with warm or cool colors and how to maximize the resale value of your house.

Pierce Flooring also offers a What I like quiz. Created by their design and decorating experts this is a quick and easy 10 questions that will help you determine what type of style you enjoy. Do you like Urban Chic, or is Seaside Simplicity more your thing? Pierce Flooring even offers a Virtual Room Designer where you can “practice” putting together tile, flooring and paint combinations. How fun is that?

By determining the style you enjoy and the most practical flooring, carpeting and design questions you can easily begin your home décor projects.

First it’s light and appealing in a simple way. The window adds so much appeal both because of the view and the abundance of natural light. As a room that you walk into and out of constantly, the window reduces your need to turn a light off and on all the time.

The floor is so smart. The small tile mirrors bathroom tile and is neutral enough to provide for almost any color approach in the room. Tile can also handle the potential water issues if your washing machine floods. The second smart decision is the drain in the floor. This will protect the rest of your home’s floors from any machine mishaps.

The simple decision to hang a rod over the machines provides a place for finished ironing or hanging dry any clothes that can’t take the dryer’s heat. A second circular hanging clothes rack over the ironing board handles smaller items. One option offered in this room comes from the window – opening it on nice days can add fresh air when drying clothes.

If you have the room, take advantage of your utility space to add both additional functionality and some design touches to make the room more than just for laundry. If the space is small, look for opportunities to create additional storage for clothes drying and folding. With a little effort, you can make this weekly task both easier and more enjoyable.

Let’s start with the first photo. This entryway has everything lined up to make it special. The dark color on the door contrasts well with the cream walls, making it a significant entrance. The two-step lighting keeps the actual entrance area bright while the sconces set the outer steps in a light shadow that expands the sense of contrast.

The tiered steps set in brick expand the feeling that the front door is framed by the house itself. Everything about this arrangement draws the eye to the front door as the focal point of the home.

Now, take a look at the second photo. With this brick townhome something needed to be done to emphasize the doors, keep some similar features and yet make them different. Subtle differences in the wood surrounds and the brass door features contribute, but the decision to use two door colors really sets them apart.

Take a step outside and look at your front door. Are you happy with it? If not, consider simple upgrades such as paint, door knobs, or even a wreath. Change your light fixtures to add personality, and take a look at improving the surface of your walkway or entrance landing by using tile or stone to make it more memorable. If you make a few changes, you can really improve the first impression people have of your home.

These photos show a home where the transition from room to room is critically important. With French doors set to allow visitors to see four rooms at once, the challenge is to balance variety between the rooms with enough consistency that you know that it’s the same home with the same design aesthetic.  Let’s see what this homeowner did to address this.

First, the homeowner chose mid-tone wood flooring for the entire first floor living area. This eliminates the threshold impact as you move from room to room and creates a cohesive design approach. The next step was adding a number of Oriental rugs. For each red is the primary color, but the amount of red, the size of each rug and the designs vary throughout the rooms. This balance of different and yet the same keeps the décor interesting.

Another choice was to alternate light and dark walls from room to room. The dining room shown in the second photo is a rich red. The entryway is painted white, contrasting with the dark wood paneling in the living room. On the other side of that room, the warm cream tones of the sunroom continue the contrasting design approach.

Finally, furniture and accessories grab colors and bring them across this selection of rooms. The red of the dining room shows up again in the red cabinet that graces the entryway. Once again red comes into view with the chair in the sunroom.

Think alike and yet different as you consider your room transitions and you will add interest and variety to your home.

One trick that can help you find the right option for you is to wait and see which choice haunts you when you walk away.

You may have already made a choice subconsciously, but all the options in front of you make the decision confusing. By walking away and looking at something else, the right selection may just stay in your mind.

By stepping back and letting yourself recover from the confusion of choices you face, it’s much easier to select the one option that you want for your home.

Here are the steps to take to see if you find yourself haunted by the right choice.

• If you’ve narrowed down your search, review each option briefly before walking away.
• Spend some time looking at unrelated options. You may even want to go home and postpone the decision until tomorrow.
• As you think about and do other things, see if one choice seems to stay in your mind. This may mean that you visualize it, or that you find yourself worried that you choice may not be available when you get back.

The value to this approach is that you only have those things you love, that you can’t bear to leave behind, in your home. And as you look at your home and realize that you picked out just the right pumpkin, or home design element, you will not be haunted by the ghosts of bad decisions past.