Floors We Love: Brazilian Walnut May 27, 2011
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Hardwood / Laminate , 2comments
Brazilian Walnut is also known as Ipe or Lapacho. One of the most dense hardwoods available, Brazilian Walnut has a rating of 3680 on a scale of 4000. Its hardness is practically unmatched by any other woods.
The color of Brazilian Walnut can very from an olive brown to near black, with most being a warm chocolate brown. Like many exotic woods, Brazilian Walnut will darkened in color over time and with sun exposure, becoming a richer, deeper brown over time. Grain patterns vary from uniform to straight to irregular; clearly a wide range of grain patterns.
Brazilian Walnut is available in solid hardwood flooring as well as parquet flooring. Parquet will give your floors a lively pattern.
We love the rich warm brown of Brazilian Walnut for many rooms in the house. The hardness and durability of Brazilian Walnut floors can withstand busy traffic from family and pets. These hardwood floors are less easy to scratch or ding. Kitchens, halls, entry ways, living rooms and dining rooms are all perfect places for Brazilian Walnut. Because it is moisture resistent, you could even put Brazilian Walnut in a bathroom or laundry room, or other rooms where moisture may be an issue.
While Brazilian Walnut is a wonderful durable hardwood for the interior of your home, it also makes a smart choice for outdoor decking or steps. The extreme hardness of the wood makes it moisture and pest resistant—perfect for decking.
Whether you chose to use Brazilian Walnut indoors or outdoors, this dense hardwood is a good investment for its durability and rich, warm color.
What Can You do to Help? May 20, 2011
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Hints and Tips , add a comment
Almost everyone has been in the position where a friend or family member has been temporarily limited by illness or injury. If you know someone who is stuck at home most or all of the time, you can help make the time past faster, or at least better.
Your efforts will depend upon who else is there to help. Often other close family members will step in when needed. The first thing you can do is make sure someone has taken responsibility for the situation. This involves care and attention.
One thing you could offer to do is to take care of getting the room or home ready for the patient. This may involve rearranging furniture so that the patient has easy access to a bathroom if they’re a bit shaky or have limited mobility. Be sure to check the flooring to ensure that the paths are smooth and not slippery as well as free of any obstructions that may hamper movement.
Make sure the room is cheerful and light, but with blinds to ensure semi-darkness during the day when the patient needs to sleep. A good reading lamp near the bed will help, as well as a table for meals and entertainment. Is there a television in the room? This can reduce boredom.
Fresh flowers can get expensive, but a few blooms in a small vase, refreshed regularly, make a room feel more inviting. Find a place to display get-well cards and cheerful pictures of family and friends.
Bring food. Lunch from a favorite restaurant or homemade breakfast muffins can provide a nice treat. But your best gift is your time – visits, phone calls, emails and notes will help your friend or family member realize that you’re thinking of him or her, which has real value.
A New Home May 13, 2011
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Design and Decorating, Hints and Tips , add a comment
Once you’ve chosen your home and completed everything you need to do to buy it, it’s time to consider some decorating decisions. By selecting and installing flooring and window coverings and repainting what you want, you will save yourself a few headaches.
If you know you want to replace your flooring and you have the budget for it – don’t wait until later. First, it’s much more difficult to replace flooring once you move in. the process can be dusty and you have to find a place to move your furnishings temporarily. Also, many people who decide to wait until later end up stuck with flooring they don’t like much longer than they planned. By making those changes, you make the home your own from the beginning.
Window coverings also help you avoid the “sheet taped to the window” look for the first few months. You may also find that your decisions on paint colors will change once you change the flooring and window coverings. By finishing these aspects of decorating, once you move your furniture in you will be almost finished with your decorating.
Make the move easier by measuring your rooms and pre-planning your furniture placement. Also label all of your boxes with the right room location. You and your movers will appreciate your forethought.
Finally, once you’re moved in, don’t rush to add furniture or hang pictures. Give yourself a chance to spend some time in the space and you will have a better idea of what you need.
With just a little effort you can quickly turn your house purchase into a house that is perfect for you. Take the extra time and you will be glad you did.
Moving to a Condo? May 5, 2011
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Hints and Tips, Moving , add a comment
Are you ready to move from your family home to a smaller, easy-maintenance condo? If you want the ability to travel at a whim or walk to work downtown, a condo can provide these advantages and more. Planning your condo’s flooring has some similarities to flooring for a house, but a few differences too. Here are some suggestions.
- Aim for as few flooring transitions as possible. Those transitions can chop up a space, and with limited square footage, that can make the place seem smaller. Consider choosing one tile for the bathrooms and kitchen, and another type of flooring for the rest of the space.
- When buying flooring, fewer square feet is an advantage. You can budget for more per square foot, allowing you to buy higher-end flooring without breaking your budget. This may be the time for those wood floors you’ve always wanted.
- Use area rugs to define living and dining spaces in open-concept condos. If you’re used to a separate dining room, area rugs can help give that sense of individuality to segments of your space. A splash of color or texture will draw the eye and substitute for lots of walls while still allowing the room to feel spacious.
- Plan for the future with your flooring. You may start your condo life with some of the same furniture you had in your home, but over time plan to update your look. Choose flooring that will work now and later.
Making this kind of lifestyle change can be exciting. We hope we can help add to that excitement with flooring that matches your new plans and goals.
Let Your Floor Provide A Warm Tone May 1, 2011
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Design and Decorating, Design Perspectives, Hardwood / Laminate , add a comment
This is a simple room, but don’t dismiss it quickly. Choices made in this room make the space work particularly well.
The room itself is well proportioned with enough architectural detail to create interest even with no furniture. The fireplace surround coordinates with the crown molding. The appealing French doors serve as the focal point of the room with the side and top windows combining with the window frame and molding to draw the eye.
The floor is also a strong player in this space. The medium hickory adds the only warm tone in the room, and its lively grain and rough edges highlighted by the dark brown glaze give it a strong personality. The boards provide color and carry the eye through the room to the focal point in the back.
It would be easy to choose furnishings to hide this room’s beauty, but instead the simple modern choices in white and black allow the room to show off its assets. There’s one more piece of magic that makes this room work, the chandelier. Clearly vintage, the delicate lines and unique glass globes make it a strong almost sculptural element in the space.
Even if your home is newer, many of these architectural features are available to you. Take a look at today’s wood floors to find choices that reproduce the character of yesterday’s options. Molding and door and window frames are also available in rich traditional styles. For a chandelier that stands out from the average, take a look at stores that sell vintage light fixtures to find a remarkable selection. Even contemporary lighting choices may provide you with a look that mirrors your desire for an unusual piece.
Don’t be afraid to add personality to your home, or to combine old with new to create the look that makes you happy.
