Design & Decorating | From the Floors Up

5 Remodeling Projects To Take On Before the Holiday

November 28, 2022 By creatingyourspace Leave a Comment

Is your list of home improvement projects piling up? If you plan on hosting guests in your home during the holiday season you no doubt want it to look its best. Since it can be a huge challenge to get everything done in the nick of time, we’ve created a list of home improvement priorities you’ll need to focus on in order to get your house ready for visitors.

Below are five home improvement projects that will make a huge difference in your holiday season and for years to come.

Get New Floors: Now is a great time to get new floors! New flooring can change the entire look and feel of your home. Many flooring retailers offer financing programs that can help you get the floors you really want before the holiday. When you get new floors it also provides great timing for changing furniture layouts, cleaning out drawers and cabinets – all good things to do before the end of the year.
Upgrade Your Kitchen: Since there will be a lot of food preparation during the holidays you’ll want to ensure that your kitchen is both functional and stylish. Now is the time to invest in a new backsplash. Be sure to select a pattern that best represents your personality or that will be a timeless choice for resale, depending on your plans for your home.
Install A New Stair Runner: Do your stairs look old and tired? Chances are your staircase is in the middle of your home where everyone can see it. Stairs get so much traffic it’s expected that after a while, they begin to look used, worn and even dirty despite regular cleaning efforts. Before your guests arrive, wouldn’t it feel great to update your stairs with a new runner or new carpet? There are numerous style options when it comes to choosing a stair runner. Will you choose a pattern? Or something with color?
Make Over the Fireplace: Who doesn’t love to gather around the fireplace during the holidays? Give your fireplace a modern look by making an update. You can update the existing tile or stone that you already have. You can add more tile or stone by running it all the way to the ceiling creating a dramatic focal point for the room. You can add or update a mantle and change the look entirely!
Create A Focal Point in the Room: Why not do something to wow your guests a little and create something that you can enjoy the rest of the year and for upcoming years? Do this by adding a focal point to the room. A focal point could be painting an accent wall a bold color or even a beautiful painting. You can mix prints as well as layer different shades within the same hue.

Give yourself the gift of something new for your home this year! You’ll be glad you did!

Choosing the Perfect Bathroom Tile

September 19, 2022 By creatingyourspace Leave a Comment

When deciding to begin a bathroom remodel, we get excited to explore all the different ideas that can be incorporated. We look at countertops, sinks, cabinets, bathtubs, but most importantly, we look for the perfect tile. Tile is a timeless bathroom remedy that can functionally enhance the aesthetics of the the room. We generate a theme from what we have seen before and have liked. Maybe you saw a rustic design at a restaurant, or perhaps your friend’s house has a simply beautiful, all-white design. While we search through a plethora of Pinterest pins and available options in a store, you begin to form an idea of the direction you want your bathroom design to go. To help you guide you during your decision process, here are our top three rules to follow in choosing the perfect bathroom tile.

Design

The first step is that you will need to select a design style that is meaningful to you. Decide if you want dark or light tiles, ceramic or stone, a lot of character or simple, textured or smooth. Perhaps you want a patterned tile to be the focal point of the room. Try not to select more than three tile types in your bathroom. It’s not cost effective and as a general rule, too many styles can feel busy and chaotic. To make your design feel more uniform, you will want to pick a primary tile and secondary tile. Your other tile choices can be used for trim, accent, and added character throughout the room. Use accent tiles to create a dramatic effect or a custom look on the floor, in the shower, around the tub and even as the sink or tub splash.

Scale

If you are stuck on the size tile, consider the relative scale. If you select a 12×24, you can use it to accentuate the length of a room or give interest to the space. You can use more uniform and symmetrical options like 12×12, 16×16, 18×18 or 24×24 tiles if your bathroom has multiple fixtures to cut around in a small space. If you go with a larger tile, it can make a small room feel larger. Don’t be shy about using a large format tile in a small space, but be careful not to go too big in very small spaces, or it can look out of balance. Another general rule of thumb to consider is to never put larger tiles on the walls than the tiles on the floor.

Maintenance

Ask about the maintenance for different types of tile or stone. Be sure that the maintenance of the products aligns with your commitment to maintaining the product! Glass tiles are beautiful and can make great for accents but require a little more maintenance to keep them clean and bright. Look into some mosaic glass designs to add even more character in your showers or bath and only add a small amount of overall maintenance.

Picking the perfect tile can be fun. Trust your instinct, but do the math. Take the time to create a rough layout to make sure the size and pattern of the tile make sense for the layout of the space. Tile can be a significant investment so lean on the experts to help guide you. With these simple guidelines in mind, you are ready to create your bathroom that feels like your own personal sanctuary!

Backsplash Trends That You Will Love

March 18, 2022 By creatingyourspace Leave a Comment

With a new year, new trends are on the horizon. Some traditional styles still have continued to thrive, but new backsplash trends are emerging. If you are looking to add a backsplash in your home, it is key to know the latest styles and trends! Let’s explore some of the new trends on the market to help you decide which styles you may want in your own home. Let’s get started!

Subway Tiles

Subway tiles had their day, but also at one time became outdated. They are back and here to stay. The simplicity of the pattern makes them timeless and classic. Look for updated subway tiles that have texture, crackle or dimension to get the best this shape has to offer!

Bold Patterns

Geometrical shapes and bold patterns are also back and HOT! You can see this with encaustic tiles and other bold-patterned tile patterns. These geometrical patterns can become the focal point of any room. Be sure to choose a pattern in which you can complement other areas of your design.

Solid Slab

Solid slab backsplashes are another largely trending aesthetic look. These backsplashes eliminate any grout line or separation and are installed as one large piece. This style can create a very sleek and cleaned line look in your home.

Color!

Colored tiles are back on the rise. Earthy jewel tones, pastels and color trends from the past like greens, tans, beiges and Santorini blues are making a strong comeback. If colored tiles are too much of a commitment for you, don’t worry. Crisp and clean tiles are also trending.

Marble

If you are looking to add some character to the room, consider marble. The Baroque tile trend is bringing back dramatic looks with heavy veining. Marble has a ton of character throughout the intricate veining patterns in each piece. Each marble tile will offer its own aesthetic and unique look to the room. This style can quickly spruce up a dull area and make a stunning backsplash.

To the Ceiling

Backsplashes are also beginning to lose their limitations on height. Traditionally, backsplashes were just high enough for splashes or spills. However, we are now seeing homeowners backsplash the whole wall – all the way up to the ceiling. If you use this look, keep in mind the size of your tiles if you are looking to do this in hard-to-install areas. If you really want to be in the design know and trending – ask your local flooring retailer about murals made from tile. You’ll be the envy of the whole neighborhood!

Trends are significant to keep in touch within the interior design industry. Are you surprised by any of these backsplash trends?

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Displaying Children’s Artwork

January 26, 2022 By creatingyourspace Leave a Comment

If you’re like most families, you probably have a large stack of artwork that your children have created. Many people choose to display children’s artwork on their refrigerators however, this can get cluttered and messy fast. There are several other ways that you can incorporate your kids’ artwork right into the rest of your home’s décor, creating a much neater and more stylish way to show it off.

Feature Wall

Find an area in your home that could use some artwork. Rather than pinning or sticking your kid’s artwork directly on the wall which can damage the paint, create a feature wall that will look great on its own or filled with your favorite pieces of your kid’s artwork. Use luxury vinyl planks to create your feature wall. It’s easy to measure, cut and install on the walls. You can do it yourself or hire a professional flooring store to install it for you. You can place the artwork directly on the wall and change it out often. If your home is more modern, you can create this feature wall with tile or natural stone.

Next, let’s look at different ways to display the art on this feature wall.

Picture Wire

Picture hanging wire is usually strung across the back of a heavy piece of artwork to enable you to hang it on the wall. This doesn’t mean, however, that this is the only thing you can use it for. By inserting two eyelet screws into your walls, you can string the wire between them. Now just invest in some mini-clothespins or other clips and you can hang your children’s artwork on the wall anywhere in your home. There’s no tape or additional nail holes, and you can swap things out easily once the line gets full.

Temporary Frames

Purchase several unfinished photo frames. Now have some fun painting them in a variety of different colors. Hang them in a nice grouping on the wall and swap out your kid’s artwork in the frames. This helps show off their current art work and adds to your décor at the same time.

Posters

If your kids are particularly prolific, and you hate to take anything down, try scanning everything that they create into your computer. Now head to a photo printing site and arrange all of their artwork together into a large poster collage. Print the poster and have it framed; now you can show off hundreds of pieces of art work all at once. You can make several of these posters to hang around the house, and they all make excellent pieces of abstract and interesting art. Because you can’t quite tell what they are at first glance, they make great additions to gallery walls and other areas. Once you see them for what they are, they also become excellent conversation pieces as you discuss the many different elements within.

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How to Remove Gravy Stains from Carpet

November 24, 2021 By creatingyourspace Leave a Comment

If little Tommy drops his Thanksgiving dinner plate on the carpet tomorrow, don’t worry. This year, we’re sharing some of our best stain removal techniques with you. We hope you find these tips useful.

Nail Polish Remover – Two types of nail polish removers are available. One type contains acetone, a dry cleaning solvent. Use the same precautions as with other dry cleaning solutions. The second type contains amyl acetate, which is used in many paint, oil, and grease (POG) removers. Many POG removers leave residues that may cause rapid soiling. When using a POG remover, always rinse the area thoroughly with a dry solvent.

Solvent – A non-flammable spot removal solution, or dry cleaning type solvent, is preferred. Exercise caution when using a solvent. Never pour it directly onto the carpet or allow it to reach the backing, because it can damage the latex that holds the primary and secondary backings together. Acceptable solvents include Carbona®, Energine®, K2R®, Goof-Off®, etc.

Detergent Solution – Mix one fourth (1/4) teaspoon of a liquid dishwashing detergent per one (1) cup of lukewarm water. NEVER USE A STRONGER CONCENTRATION! Thorough rinsing is necessary to remove detergent residues that may cause rapid soiling. It may be necessary to rinse with warm water several times to completely remove residues. (See Residue Precautions.) Care should be used in selecting a detergent. Never use a laundry detergent of any type, because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners (flourescent dyes) that dye the fiber. Do not select an automatic dishwashing detergent because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibers.

Vinegar Solution – Mix one (1) cup of white vinegar per two (2) cups of water. White vinegar is a 5% acetic acid solution. It is used most often to lower the alkalinity caused by detergent solutions or alkaline spills.

Warm Water – Lukewarm tap water should be used in most cases to rinse the cleaning solutions from the fiber. Failure to completely rinse the solutions from the fiber may cause accelerated soiling.

Ammonia Solution – Mix one (1) tablespoon of household ammonia per cup of water. Please note: Be aware that ammonia, if used improperly, can cause a color change. Be sure to test a hidden area.

When in doubt, call a professional – Professional cleaners have the ability and the equipment to use more aggressive cleaning solutions to remove stubborn spills. Always consider consulting a professional cleaner regarding any spot removal question. Carpet and Rug Institute – 1-800-882-8846.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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5 Remodeling Projects To Take On Before the Holiday