From the Floors Up

How to Add Character While Using Neutrals 

By Leave a Comment

Neutral color themes in homes are always a great choice. They are traditional and timeless designs that work in any environment. However, neutral colors are not typically found on a color wheel. They agree with almost any color without giving influence to a warm- or cool-tone atmosphere. That being said, colors are wonderful for adding character to a room. So without adding color, is it possible to achieve a full-of-character space? Of course, it is! Neutral colors can still have powerful impacts. Understanding other elements in your design theme can allow you to indulge in the neutral color palette and still create a very versatile and lively atmosphere.

Texture

While color can add a dramatic effect to your space, texture is another great tool to consider. Think of a room that was completely white from the floors and walls to the furniture and décor. What makes this room “pop” is the textures. A marble countertop has an entirely different texture than stucco walls or a plush carpet. Putting together different elements of texture like smooth, rough, fine, or coarse can make a room have more appeal. It does so by allowing each texture to stand out against one another.

Hard Contrast

When you are designing with all neutral colors, you are using colors like beiges, browns, blacks, whites, and grays. To create more depth to your design, allow for hard contrast. Black and white are very opposing colors. Having a white marble countertop with black cabinets can create a very hard contrast. These hard contrasts help create depth in your design. This depth is a great way to allow neutral colors to have an even more powerful influence in your home.

Metals and Woods

Neutral colors are commonly called “earthy tones.” Without incorporating warm- or cool-tones, you can still mix in woods and metals to your design. These materials will also add more character to your room since wood is full of character with its grainy texture and design and metal can also add a sheen or shine to your design.

These subtle but powerful tools will create your neutral-themed design and make it truly awe-inspiring. Neutral themed designs are perfect for any home, especially a home going into the real estate market. While not everyone may want a room with painted pink or lime green walls, generally speaking, neutral colors are accepted by everyone. A home can always feel the move-in ready with these tips and tricks.

Steps for Painting Your Garage Floor

By Leave a Comment

Garages can get a lot of traffic and become quite dirty over time. Concrete can muck up unwanted grease and oil and be challenging to clean. With a porous floor, concrete floor stains can easily ruin your garage appearance. A simple solution to make your garage look beautiful and be easier to clean is painting your garage floor. However, there are a few steps that you are going to want to take before beginning this task. Follow this step by step guide to ensure the best finished product. Let’s get started!

Remove Oil, Grease, and Stains

Oil and grease stains can be tough to remove. You can put down cat litter to help absorb some of the oil or grease. Allow it to sit for a day to continue to pull from the concrete. Sweep up the cat litter and apply dish detergent and scrub vigorously. You can also purchase oil and grease remover at your local hardware or car supply shop to assist with removing the stains.

Fill in Cracks

For the cracks in your concrete, consider using a thin-set material or epoxy paste. Smooth out your material and fill any voids. Allow these to dry and scrape away any unleveled areas. You may need to do some light sanding if the crack was very large and the epoxy comes out unsmooth.

Seal

Test your garage floor to see if it has been sealed. Start by pouring water on the concrete to see if it will absorb. If the floor has been sealed, the water will remain on top of the concrete. You will need to etch your garage if sealant present. Spread a commercial etcher and allow to dry overnight. This step will give your paint a better surface. Next, apply an epoxy sealant to your floor to prevent staining the next morning and allow it to dry.

Paint

Not all paints will work for different types of garage floors. Find an epoxy-based paint that is recommended for painting garages. Mix well and apply a thin layer using a roller. Repeat this method after each layer is fully dried. This process can take several days.

Painting your garage floor can take several days to complete; however, it is very rewarding. A clean, freshly painted garage floor can help prevent unwanted stains and spruce up the aesthetics of your space. For more tips and tricks on home improvement, make sure to subscribe.

Top Flooring Trends for 2020

By Leave a Comment

With the new year, new trends are making their way into the market. Throughout time, many flooring trends come and go. We have seen plenty of them in the last decade as technological advancements in flooring have changed the market. Since buying flooring is not something that you do every year, it is easy to get outdated information on what are the latest trends in the industry. Lucky for you, we are here to help keep your head in the game. Here are some of the most trending floors as we make our way into 2020:

Waterproof Flooring

Flooring advancements in technology have really answered the demand for waterproof flooring. Many different flooring options come with their own sets of pros and cons; however, a considerable drawback for many flooring options is not being able to withstand wet environments. That being said, we are seeing flooring like vinyl planks and even carpet coming as waterproof options. This feature can allow you a significant variance of flooring selections in your home in 2020.

High Variation Hardwood

A newer trend in the flooring industry is a high variation of colors and sizes in planks in hardwood. Hardwood is already desirable for its wide variety in character. Now, homeowners and businesses are allowing hardwood to be even more expressive with high variations of colors and sized planks being mixed together in a single room installation.

Greige Flooring

We saw grey rule the market for some time over the last decade. It came in as the neutral color choice that pushed out beige tones as the highest demand choice. However, now we are witnessing an exciting turn in tides. Greige is the mixed color of grey and beige together. It is becoming quite popular in the flooring industry, showing both interest in the colors beige and grey.

Encaustic Cement Tile

Encaustic tiles are typical handmade tiles with colorful patterns on designs. They are becoming very trending in bathrooms and kitchens lately. These designs can be incredibly unique and help create a stunning design pattern in any home.

These are just a few of the great flooring trends that we see staying around for some time. What are some flooring trends that interest you? Let us know your thoughts below in the comment section!

Creative Design Hacks for Your Apartment’s Bathroom

By Leave a Comment

Apartment bathrooms can come with their own series of problems. They can be smaller than some home bathrooms while also lacking the freedom to remodel. While you cannot install the tile of your choice or paint the walls the color you want in most leases, there are still several ways to make your bathroom personalized to your taste. Take your apartment bathroom’s aesthetics to the next level with these easy tricks.

Two Shower Curtains

If your apartment needs to have a shower curtain, this is an opportunity to get creative. Traditionally, you would purchase one shower rod, your rings, and the shower curtain. However, there is a creative, functional, and more aesthetically pleasing look to consider. Purchase two matching shower curtains. Allow them to part in the middle like curtains do on windows. You can also improve the look even more by investing in curtain hooks or a curved rod!

Add Another Mirror

Another common amenity your bathroom probably offers is a mirror. While the single mirror serves its own purpose, adding another mirror will double the benefits. You can find a framed mirror in any shape to add to your bathroom. This second mirror will move light even more around your bathroom and help eliminate visual barriers, making your bathroom look and feel bigger.

Floating Shelves

With limited space available in many apartments, functionality and aesthetics should be attempted to be used together. Add some floating shelves to your bathroom to allow you to add some personalized and stylish décor. Use these as extra spaces to help display your taste will providing more storage.

Upgrade Your Showerhead

While aesthetically, this feature will not make a significant difference, you will love this upgrade. Changing your showerhead to a more efficient and personalized one will make your shower time much more enjoyable. This feature is an easy fix that you can switch back after your lease ends.

Do not let a lease limit you from making your home feel like home. Add some personal, stylish, and creative additions to your bathroom with these tricks. What design tricks do you use in your own bathroom? Let us know in the comment section.

How to Design a White Room

By Leave a Comment

An all-white room is a blank canvas for you to create whatever you like. Perhaps, you love the crisp and clean feel of a white atmosphere. And while monochromatic spaces are rooms that use only one color in their color palette, white can be tricky. Unlike traditional colors like red, yellow, blue, and so on, you do not have the privilege to play with hues or darken the color. However, this does not mean making a monochromatic white room is impossible. There are several tricks for decorating and designing a white room that you might want to try. Let’s take a look!

Texture

With a monochromatic color palette, texture is vital. Texture will help create depth and contrast in your home. And since white on white does not pop, adding some texture will create clear, crisp lines.

Add Warmth Subtly

White is as neutral of a color as you can get. You will want to warm up your home with subtle influences of color. Never add too much to take away from the all-white look, but just enough to add warmth. Consider adding some light pastel tones to pillows or décor pieces in your room. These soft, muted colors will not distract from the overall design, but help enhance the space.

Wood

Another element you can add without taking away from the design is wood. Consider adding hardwood or wood furniture to the room. This feature can help give a classy and sophisticated look to your all-white color palette. Plus, wood will also help stay neutral and support your design rather than overpower it.

Plants

A key secret to any design is adding plants. Plants will add vitality to a room and help spruce up your space. This greenery is a great way to add a little color without distracting the eyes. With such a clean and crisp color palette, your plants will also work as a natural air purifier in your home as well.

Metal Accents

There are metal accents in many areas of your home. From door handles, accent pieces, trim, furniture, and drawer handles, all of these items can have metal to them. Making the metal trim agree in your design will help bring it to the next level!

A monochromatic room is a tremendous and foolproof way of styling your space. Simply buy everything in the color of your choice. When tackling white; however, remember to keep some of these tricks in mind. They will help make your monochromatic white room feel aesthetically pleasing and well balanced.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

Recent Comments

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive new post notifications via email.