The Best Flooring For Your Pets

With pets often being the most spoiled member of the family, it’s important to take into consideration their needs, along with your own. Everyone wants a home that is comfortable and safe for their pets, and that means choosing flooring that will provide them with comfort and safety, while also meeting the needs of your family as a whole.

What are the Best Hardwood Floors for Pets?

Hardwood floors are a fan favorite, but when you own pets, specifically dogs, you will want to consider a harder species like oak or hickory. These woods have a distressed appearance and a tough Urethane finish, which will help hide everyday pet wear and tear. Since hardwood is slick, cold, and susceptible to scratches, it’s not going to be the best dog friendly flooring option for you.

What is the Best Laminate Flooring for Pets?

If you’ve ruled out hardwood due to cost and lack of comfort for pets, laminate flooring is an option, as it can give you the look of hardwood while also providing your pets with more support and comfort.

Laminate is made of 4 layers which work to absorb the heavy traffic and day-to-day use of a household. The wear layer protects the floor from pet stains, fading, and surface burns, making laminate flooring and dogs a great mix.  With a water-resistant and easy to clean surface, pet accidents are no longer a big deal. Its slippery surface might cause your dog to have trouble with grip, so adding rugs to a room with laminate can make it comfortable and cozy for your pets.

 

Are Luxury Vinyl Floors Good for Pets?

For households with pets who are accident prone or messy, vinyl flooring is a wonderful choice for you. Not only durable and waterproof, vinyl flooring makes clean-ups a breeze. Vinyl has a protective top coat that provides ease of maintenance, which makes your floor resistant to scratches and scuffs and offers a wipe clean finish. The rugged versatility and waterproof characteristics make vinyl flooring and dogs a perfect pair.

What is the Best Carpet for Pets?

There is a general consensus that carpet and pets don’t mix, as fur and the dirt that comes off of them can get trapped in the carpet, or their accidents are difficult to get out of carpet. There are however ideal carpets for pets that can resist stains and accidents.

For a family with pets, it will be best to choose a carpet with nylon fibers, as nylon is the most durable and stain resistant carpet fiber when treated with stain protection. The best carpet for pets and high traffic areas are carpets that have been treated with static, stain, and soil resistant treatments, making them easy to clean and maintain.

What is the Best Tile for Pets?

Tile may be the best flooring choice for a home with pets due to its long wearing durability, moisture resistance, and ease of maintenance. Tile is scratch resistant and easy to clean, making this a practical option; just remember that it can be hard, cold and slippery for both pets and humans.

When considering the best flooring for pets and your family, always take into consideration how easy it will be to clean up accidents and how comfortable the flooring will be for both you and your pets. As always, make sure that you talk with a professional about choosing the best product for you and your family.

How to Add Color in Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the hottest rooms in the home, and there is always the desire to keep it updated for maximum functionality as well as to keep up with the trends in design. Whether you’re interested in a kitchen renovation or just want to make subtle changes, one of the hottest kitchen trends we are seeing is an increase in color. Adding color can be a simple task that you can complete in an afternoon, or it can be a bit more elaborate.

Lately we have seen a substantial amount of kitchens with the white on white, or the soft brown on white look. We are still big fans of neutral-inspired kitchens, but there has been an upswing in kitchens that are bringing a fresh dose of color to their walls.  Blue and grey will be popular colors, but don’t be afraid to choose a more daring color. If you don’t have plans to replace cabinetry, just make sure that the color you do choose for your walls pairs well with your current cabinets and appliances.

We also love the idea of choosing a less than common color for your cabinets or kitchen island. Consider a turquoise island in a white and cream colored kitchen or cabinets in a moody grey or black for a bold statement.

If a low risk change is what y interested in, consider making simple changes to your kitchen towels, curtains, rugs, or dinnerware. These are great items to experiment with bringing in bold, bright colors or patterns. If you want to paint, but not your walls, try painting your chairs or stools in a sunny color. While not an extensive overhaul, subtle changes like these can make quite the impact.

How would you add color into your kitchen?

Cozy Winter Bedroom Ideas

With colder weather and darker days upon us, now is the perfect time to make your bedroom extra cozy and comfortable. While it’s important to have a living room that promotes relaxation, some nights we just want to venture into our bedroom to unwind for several hours. Follow along as we share with you our favorite ways to create a warm and cozy winter wonderland in your bedroom this season!

Winter Color Scheme

White is going to be a color that you will want to incorporate into your bedroom this winter. Not only does it give off a feeling of the holiday season, but it’s also an ideal color for bringing peace and relaxation into your bedroom. Whether it’s a fluffy, white throw blanket, a furry white rug, or sparkly white accent pieces, there’s a magnitude of ways for you to incorporate the color in your room.

Cranberry and gold are also winners for your winter color palette, and when combined, these two work together to create a sophisticated and classic holiday statement. Whether its holiday décor or throw blankets, just like white, you can take these colors and incorporate them in a variety of ways.

 

 

Layer with Texture

Thick duvets and knitted blankets are an easy way to ramp up the coziness factor in your bedroom. They evoke feelings of warmth and make you want to curl up under your blankets with a movie and a mug of tea or hot cocoa. By layering your rugs, blankets, and pillows, you can add both texture and warmth to a room anytime of the year, especially during the colder months.

Add Plush Rugs

Add warmth with fluffy and luxurious rugs or carpet to your bedroom floors, because on cold winter mornings, the only thing better than a pair of slippers is a plush rug to sink your feet into as you start your day.

Soft Lighting

In the late afternoon or evening when you’re ready to unwind and relax for the night, choose soft lighting to create coziness. A dimmer is a great way to adjust your bedroom’s overhead lighting, and when you can, choose soft white or warm white for the temperature color, as this will create a warm, cozy ambience.

What are your favorite ways to create a warm and cozy atmosphere in your bedroom?

Easy Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas

Thanksgiving feels like it has snuck up on us, and with the holiday being a week away, we have several decorating tips that can make your home feel like Thanksgiving in no time.

To create a space of warmth and coziness, decorate with colors that are inspired by the season, such as soft brown, burnt orange, and cranberry.

 

Before your guests even walk into your home, you want them to feel comfortable and relaxed. An easy way to do this is to welcome your guests by hanging a festive fall-themed wreath on your front door. This sets the tone that once they walk inside, there will be a warm, festive atmosphere awaiting them.

Near your entrance, have a thankful board either hanging on a wall or resting on an accent table, where your guests can write down something or someone that they are thankful for. By the end of the day, your thankful board will be overflowing with reasons that everyone can be thankful.

If you’re hosting a holiday dinner, it will be important to have a festive dining table. Add festive table linens to each place setting, and create fall-themed place tags for your table. You could use pretty leaves gathered from your yard, or use mini pumpkins with a name written on a tag, tied around the stem. For your centerpiece, use decorative vases that are layered with twigs, berries, pine cones, and corn kernels to create a full fall effect.

Remember, when it comes to decorating, less is more, and sometimes having too many decorations can be overwhelming. Keep décor simple, stick to several colors, and decorate with what you already have to make your home feel warm and welcome for your friends and family.

What is your best tip for decorating your home for the holidays?

The Pros & Cons of Luxury Vinyl Tile

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is a popular style of flooring that is made of multiple layers that are strategically placed to provide design, durability, and ease of maintenance for the home owner. Thanks to innovative manufacturing, luxury vinyl tile has the look of stone or hardwood at a fraction of the cost, making it an easy choice for busy families and households with pets.

Any type of flooring will have its pros and common misconceptions, so we’ve compiled a list to assist you in determining if luxury vinyl tile is the right flooring for your home.

 

3 Pros of Luxury Vinyl Tile

Ease of Maintenance & Extreme Durability

With LVT floors, cleaning away spills and scuff marks is as simple as using a damp paper towel. Luxury vinyl tile is constructed of multiple layers, and because there is a clear top layer over the design, the design is actually safe from fading, stains, and scratches. Thanks to the protective top layer, luxury vinyl tile can also withstand moisture, pets, children, and heavy foot traffic.

Installation is a Breeze

Not all luxury vinyl is installed the same way due to the brand, but regardless of whether glue or grout is used, or whether they lock together or have peel-off backing, installation will be simple and painless.

High-End Design

Thanks to the innovative manufacturing techniques that we have in place, luxury vinyl tile can bring a luxurious look to your home while also providing ample cushioning to your feet. The high-end design of luxury vinyl tile makes it possible for you to have it in your kitchen, bathroom, family room, and/or den. Since it can be used in both casual and formal settings, this flooring option looks great in any room in your home!

3 Misconceptions of Luxury Vinyl Tile

Lacks Design Depth

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the design is printed flat, thus creating the fallacy that the floor lacks texture and depth. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as manufacturing techniques are so advanced that visual depth and realistic texture is built into the design, making it look just like hardwood or stone.

Luxury Vinyl Tile is Laminate

Luxury vinyl tile is a synthetic product that is waterproof and scratch resistant, while laminate is made up of recycled hardwood, and thus, not waterproof.

The Design Will Wear Off

There’s been talk that because of foot traffic that the design will wear off, but because the design layer is protected by the wear layer, luxury vinyl tile is in fact resistant to the scratches and dings that come from walking on the floor.

What rooms in your home would you add luxury vinyl tile floors to?

Hot Design Trends for Fall 2017

With fall upon us, there’s never been a more perfect time to make décor changes in your home. In order to make room for the latest design trends, old trends such as all-white interiors and plain bedding must leave.

Follow along and you’ll learn our top tips for incorporating the latest home interior design trends into your space.

Emerald Green

Used to evoke feelings of luxury and strength, emerald green, a rich jewel tone, is gaining momentum in home design.  Emerald green is a great for accent pieces in your home such as chairs, decorative pillows, throw blankets, and even artwork. To make more of a bold statement with emerald, consider using it as your wall color for quite the impact.

 

Relaxing Retreats

With the rise of social media, more homeowners are seeking solace from their electronic devices and taking it a step further by deeming their bedrooms a technology-free room. Homeowners want their bedroom to be a relaxing retreat, and this will be a hot trend this fall and continuing well into the new year.  To create a cozy, bedroom, consider decorating with a canopy bed, textured throw pillows, and lace curtains, along with textured pieces such as reclaimed wood furnishings or knitted blankets.

Dark Paint

Brace yourself, because dark wall colors are making a bold impact in home design. Add black to your walls for a strong yet cozy statement. If black is a little too dark for your taste, consider a chocolate brown that can still give your space a rich, dramatic look.

 

What are your favorite design trends for the fall season?

How to Create a Relaxing Bedroom

The bedroom is the one place in your home that you can turn to when life gets to be a little stressful and hectic. It’s the room where you can escape from the craziness of day to day life and enjoy a little bit of rest and relaxation. Utilize the below décor tips to create a tranquil bedroom that encourages relaxation and peace.

Decorate with a Serene Palette

Different colors have a different impact on our mood, so incorporate calm and soothing colors like soft blues and greens, lavender, grey, and beige, to bring peace into your bedroom. These colors work best in décor such as curtains and bedding, and for a bigger impact, consider repainting your walls in a soothing color.

Lighting Plays an Important Role

After a long day when we want several minutes of relaxation, the worst thing for this is harsh lighting. To avoid a brightly lit room in the evening, choose lighting that has a warmer tone to it, which will allow you to recharge your batteries without the obstruction of bright lights. Another great option is to install dimming lights in your room, which allows you to control the brightness of your room depending on the time of day.

Cozy textures

Textured décor will transform your space into a cozy sanctuary. Fuzzy area rugs add warmth to your feet, knit throw pillows add comfort and warmth to your bed, and a plush comforter makes for a comfortable place to curl up under, allowing for the release of everyday tension.

What is your favorite way to make your bedroom feel like a retreat?

It’s Never Too Late To Jump Into Summer Trends

Summer is the time when the sun shines just a little more brightly, colors seem to be a tad more dazzling, and the carefree nature of the season makes everything all the more vibrant. With the hottest, most laidback season upon us, why not use this time to try something new for a change? Your home décor may be still be caught up in the neutral décor days of winter and needs a touch of summer fun, or it could be that you never got around to a spring redesign and now you’re itching to add some unique nuances to your home. Whatever it may be, take advantage of these long summer days and try out some trendy seasonal updates.

Something Borrowed, Something New

You know the saying, but this time we’re not talking about weddings! When it comes to decorating, we tend to buy all brand-new pieces, which give homes a fresh, updated look. However, don’t steer away from pieces that have lived through the ages. Vintage antiques, family heirlooms, a vase found at a local yard sale, all of these will add a flare of character to your home and give a complementary contrast to décor in pristine condition.

Monochrome with a Bold Twist

All white interiors is a clean and classic look. However don’t be afraid of using a color, instead of just plain white, for a monochromatic look! Decorating with one color is very flattering if done right. Use the same shade or stay within the same color family, with only small variations in tone, to keep it visually appealing rather than overwhelming to the eye. If the bathroom tile is light, go for a bolder color such as emerald green. If the tile is dark, go for a lighter color such as ocean blue. To execute the monochrome design in a more subtle way, choose just one color that is incorporated into every room of the house. This will create a sense of unity in your home design without the boldness of a monochrome room.

Design from Head to Toe

Why stop incorporating creative design when it comes to your feet? Carpets come in many different subtle patterns, textures and colors. With a unique carpet, your home will be eye catching from any angle! If you find yourself needing a new carpet entirely, opt for one that will add an exciting flare.

Which summer trend will you try out?

Indoor Plants for Your Interior Style

Summer is the time when nature radiates beauty. There are people across the world that get together to hold outdoor parties, go hiking, or to the ocean just to get outside and enjoy the natural scenery. With so much desire to be surrounded in natural foliage, why not bring a piece of nature indoors to give your home and sanctuary a summery flare? Whatever your interior style is, there is a plant that will complement it perfectly and provide a beautiful essence to the space.

Modern

This style is all about clean lines, bold colors such as black, and the use of abstract décor pieces. Modern style has little room for frills and distractions, and this guideline extends into incorporating indoor plants. Bamboo stems and fiddle leaf trees are a wonderful addition to a modern home because they are sleek with linear lines. They do not add a feeling of unnecessary clutter, yet they add an interesting dimension to any room.

Big and Bold

Do you like standout décor that your guests are sure to never stop talking about? You’re interior style may consist of red-orange, canary yellow, hot pink, or any bold color under the sun. Texture is abundant, and rather than the philosophy being “less is more,” it’s “more is more.”

This thinking should extend to indoor plant selection. A bold space can be made even more memorable by adding a cascading palm tree plant or a towering ficus. Unexpected and stylish, these plants are perfect for your larger-than-life interior décor.

Minimalist

Minimalist styles strive for simplicity and creates an inspiring design with only the most special and unique pieces on display. Clutter is a minimalist’s nightmare, but even minimalist spaces can benefit from a little bit of greenery, and there are plants that won’t sacrifice the understated nature of the home.

Succulents are small but will add a significant amount of character to a space. Lemon butter ferns are delicate and textural, and will not disrupt an uncluttered space. Both are fairly low-maintenance plants, tying back into the simplistic lifestyle of which minimalists cherish so much.

Light and Airy

A home with natural light flooding in through high windows, muted colors such as dusty rose, blue-grey, and sage green, and delicate fabrics such as chiffon and lace all work together to create a place that is dreamy and elegant. With a whimsical home such as this, it’s important to choose indoor plants that will complement the lightness that each piece of décor offers to the space. Calla lilies are sleek and beautiful, and in a stark white color they are sure to add a touch of brightness to the room. Polka dot plants are dainty and delicate, and soft pink day lilies go perfectly in a room full of sunshine.

What’s your favorite summer houseplant?

Keep it Light for Summer

Summer is the time for barbeques, family outings, swimming, camping, and simply taking time out to relax. Along with the season also comes blistering heat, which can sometimes bog you down. As homes across the country replace their window screens for AC units or swap out their heavy-duty comforters for thinner quilts, you can get ahead of the curve to conquer the red-hot sun with the latest trends. This summer, light and airy home décor will turn your home into the coolest of the neighborhood, literally and figuratively.

Dark colors pale in comparison . . .

Pale colors are not only chic, but their cool undertones are perfect for creating that easy-breezy feeling in your home. Colors like baby blue, blush pink, sage green, and mellow yellow, will bring a soft touch to dark living room walls that may be too harsh for summer months.

Step into the season . . .

Do your floors need an update? What better time to swap out your old carpeting or dark hardwood floors for something in a lighter shade.

Hardwood not only keeps your feet cool in the summer heat, but looks cohesive with the light and airy colors previously mentioned. Opt for a low-gloss hickory, such as Millwood Stream by Floorcraft, or something more rustic, such as Canunda pinewood by Floorcraft.

White tones will transform your home . . .

If you’re not in the market for re-painting your walls or changing your flooring altogether, then adding carefully cultivated, beautiful décor to a space can upgrade it in a pinch. Ivory and creamy whites are a great way to incorporate airiness and elegance into a home that has darker, bolder colors.

There is something ever so serene about billowing white curtains swaying in the summer breeze as the sun floods in through the window. Whatever style home you have, décor in shades of white is sure to lighten up the space in no time.

Choosing to upgrade your home with colors and décor that add a light and wistful vibe to your home just might make the summer months feel a little less hot and a little more amazing.

Remember to stop by your local Flooring America store for your flooring needs all year round!