Floor Talk!

Interested in remodeling your home, but don’t know what you want? Are there too many choices to choose from? Are you nervous about the commitment of changing your floors? If so, Good Housekeeping and the WFCA have just the thing for you.

Look for the May Issue of Good Housekeeping to enter for a chance to virtually design a room in YOUR home. There are a lot of free virtual room designers out there, like the one on the WFCA website. These room designers have pre-chosen room scenes that may or may not look like your home. However, by going to the WFCA home page and entering the Good Housekeeping giveaway, you can take a picture of a room in your home, upload it and then try on different floorings in your home without ever leaving your computer! Imagine getting to see what different new floors look like in your home without leaving your home or committing to one type of floor and wondering what another type would have looked like.

If you are one of the first 200 people to enter the sweepstakes, you can try this virtual remodel FREE. If you are not one of the first 200 people to register, then the cost is only $25. So, get online and visit the Good Housekeeping Website or the WFCA website and enter today!

Let us know if you upload a photo of your home and have an experience to share!

Remember the days when your choices for flooring were carpet, wood, vinyl and tile? Then came along bamboo and cork and that was really branching out? Recently, I did a post on floors made from peach pits. Now, I am happy to have discovered tiles made from coconuts!

These tiles are from a company called Ekobe in Brazil. Ekobe translates into “life” in the TUPI GUARANI language. They pride themselves on respect for life and the environment while being a sustainable environmental solution for design and architectural products. Their mission is: Without destroying the environment, and based on 100% natural materials, to sustainable environmental pavements and surface materials, with a high degree of quality and design, allowing new creative experiences (my favorite part!) in projects that aim for originality, beauty, durability and comfort.

The tiles are designed for interior use only and can be applied on:

• walls
• floors (low to medium traffic)
• furniture
• accessories like photo frames and mirrors

In humid environments, a waterproofing sealer needs to be used. This should not be used in areas that have direct contact with water.
They can be applied to:

• glass
• metal
• plastic
• wood
• cement
• ceramic

It can be purchased exclusively in the United States from:

Nemo Tile

48 E. 21st Street

Manhattan

Here are some examples of the range of color offered in these tiles:

(212) 505-0009 or info@nemotile.com

Question: What height should my coffee table be? (from Ashely in Charlotte, NC)

Answer:

• the standard height for coffee tables is from 16 to 18 inches, but try to limit the height to 21 inches.

• use a higher table if you entertain a lot so guests don’t have to bend over so far to set their beverages down

• the height of the other upholstered pieces in the room should determine the height of the table. One guideline is that a coffee table should be about the same height or one or two inches lower than the seat height of the sofa.

• the length of a coffee table should be about two-thirds the length of the sofa (not including arms).

• the width should be determined by how much room you have between the soft upholstered pieces and the table in your seating arrangement - leave at least 16 inches around each side of the table.

Always measure what you fall in love with before buying or use craft paper to lay out the size on the floor. It will keep you from buying something too large or too small!

TODAY IS EARTH DAY!

Earth Day is a time to celebrate the gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress. Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day and every day is a time to act to protect our planet.

The first Earth Day was in 1970. It is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere in the spring and celebrated in the fall in the Southern Hemisphere. The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. A second Earth Day, which was founded by US politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in many countries each year, today on April 22.

The photo represents the unofficial Earth Day flag from John McConnell.


Progress that has been made since 1970:

• The air is cleaner
• The annual loss of wetlands has been reversed
• More and more industrial sites are being restored and redeveloped
• The backlog on the National Parks Service maintenance is being reduced

HOW YOU CAN DO YOUR PART AT HOME (tips provided by our government)
Save energy

• Use the Energy Star program to find energy efficient products for your home. The right choices can save families about 30% ($400 a year) while reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases. Whether you are looking to replace old appliances, remodel, or buy a new house, ENERGY STAR can help. ENERGY STAR is the government backed symbol for energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR label makes it easy to know which products to buy without sacrificing features, style or comfort that today’s consumers expect.

(more…)

Question: Can I get a laminate wood in the kitchen or will urine from my senior pet absorb into the seams? Also, if put at entrances, will the laminate scratch?

Answer: Although laminate flooring has a tough finish coating, it is still primarily made up of wood so it may absorb pet urine which can ruin the floor. If you do choose laminate, your best bet is to clean up any spills or urine immediately, preventing penetration into the floor. You need to be very careful, though about the places where you might miss accidents.

For the scratching problem, laminate is scratch “resistant”, but is not scratch “proof”. Most laminate products are abrasion resistant, impact resistant, stain resistant and even resistant to cigarette burns. If you choose laminate, you may want to choose a product like Quick-Step’s or Pergo’s distressed products to hide any scratches. Also, most laminate companies have touch up kits for scratches. If the scratch or damage is really bad, a professional installer may be able to replace individual boards. (be sure to save leftover material)

You can see some examples of Quick Step or Pergo here. If you have questions, feel free to ask us and help others with answers to your same questions!