flooring choices

How To Choose Flooring For A Kid’s Room

August 7, 2020 By Broadlume Leave a Comment

Flooring choices today seem nearly endless. There are products made of nearly every conceivable material in both hard and soft surfaces. Homeowners installing new flooring in a room of their home have a lot of choices to consider. These choices become even more important when the flooring is going into an area predominately used by kids.

Kids’ Flooring Considerations

While style or sustainability may be factors that you look for in the flooring used through the rest of the house, there are several other considerations that need to come to the forefront of the decision for kids’ room flooring.

What How the Room Is Used

A room that is used for crafts and playtime will need a very different floor than a room used mostly for sleeping or reading. Consider how the kids will use the flooring when making your choice. Will the kids be down on the floor playing? Will the children be doing activities such as painting and drawing? up above it?

Clean Up

Whether you are looking for flooing in a playroom or a bedroom, most parents are aware that kids’ floors tend to get messy. Spilled paint from a craft project or an overturned cup can quickly create a stain that requires some attention. That’s why choosing either a product that is stain resistant like luxury vinyl or a product that can be easily cleaned like stain-resistant carpeting make better choices than something that could absorb the stains. When possible, eliminating things like grout joints and other places that stains can settle is also a wise move in helping to keep the flooring looking great over time.

Resiliency

Some kids like to play rough. Others like to wrestle, and some occasionally are known to drop things. When considering the flooring, take its resiliency into consideration as well. Carpet, luxury vinyl, linoleum, and cork can all be softer underfoot cushioning falls and making for a more comfortable play surface. Bamboo and hemp flooring, on the other hand, will be harder—but more resistant to dents and scratches. Plus, they’re often more eco-friendly flooring choices.

Color and Style

Kids’ rooms should be a reflection of their personalities and things they do there. Consider choosing flooring that can be laid in a variety of colors or patterns or that comes in bold colors that can complement the rest of the kids’ décor.

Choose Wisely

The flooring in your home should last for as long as the room you put it into does. Make a wise choice considering the flooring in a kid’s room to help ensure it outlasts their activities.

Why Homeowners Are Choosing Concrete Floors

April 1, 2020 By Broadlume Leave a Comment

Concrete flooring can be an excellent option for homeowners looking for a trendy twist on their home’s style. Although concrete floors have been around for a while, we see a lot of homeowners veer more toward classic styles like hardwood or carpet. While hardwood and carpet can be excellent choices, we are here to share with you five reasons why you should choose concrete floors. Let’s take a look!

A Real Tough Guy

As you would assume, concrete flooring is extremely durable. Its resilience is quite impressive, making it a perfect solution for heavy appliances. Typically, you see homeowners use concrete flooring inside of their garages, because of its durability. But in fact, its durability can withstand daily damages throughout your home. Concrete can withstand high heels, heavy appliances and furniture, and pets. This type of flooring will help to put your mind at ease.

Easy Peasy

Considering that this type of flooring is mostly found inside of garages, it is extremely easy to maintain. Experts recommend to seal or wax it every three to nine months depending on its wear, but otherwise, it is recommended to clean it periodically.

Ability to Change

If you are unhappy with your concrete floors, its smooth texture makes it easy to install any flooring surface over it. This feature gives you the ability to change your mind at a later date without the fear of a huge project.

Long-Lasting

Under proper maintenance and care, concrete floors can last a lifetime. With concrete, you are investing in your future, and you can rest assured in flooring that you can trust.

Very Versatile

With concrete, people’s minds may go straight to the universal gray color that is unappealing; however, concrete comes in an array of colors and textures to match your style preference. You can now have the concrete floors of your dreams without compromising on the look.

Many companies carry a line of concrete flooring. It is a beautiful collection of modernized concrete floors that would be the perfect finishing touch to your home. Check with your flooring retailer to view their selection.

The Right Tile for Home Exteriors and Patios

March 18, 2020 By Broadlume Leave a Comment

Tile is a timeless and beautiful floor and wall covering. It has been being used in homes for centuries and continues to stay a staple in home improvement. Plus, there are hundreds of options available when it comes to shopping for tile. Different constructs of tiles will work best in different environments. However, no atmosphere is more demanding than your home’s exterior. In fact, the outside your home will experience extreme temperature changes and water exposure. These factors can make choosing the right tile a little more challenging. That being said, have no fear. This versatile flooring option can work in almost any environment! If you are looking to tile a patio, walkway, driveway, or anywhere else outside your home, here is what you should know:

Best Tile Option

When it comes to choosing tile for outside, you need a more durable option. While ceramic is excellent, it is not as durable as porcelain. For instance, when you install it over concrete outside, moisture is a considerable concern. Moisture can travel up through the concrete and underneath your tiles; therefore, you need to invest in a polymer-modified mortar to waterproof your concrete. This factor will give you porcelain tiles much longer longevity.

Slip-Proof

When looking for slip-resistant tiles, natural stone is your best bet. This factor makes sense because natural stone already endures nature daily. However, porcelain is still another great option yet, quarried marble, granite, or limestone are all excellent options. Do remember that some of these options will need to be sealed to protect their natural-looking finish. There is no completely slip-proof tile option, though. Remember, just because a type of flooring may be extremely slip-resistant to your bare feet, does not mean it will react the same if you are wearing heels or nonslip resistant shoes!

Grout Reminders

When choosing your outdoor grout, it is best to go with a sanded grout! Your grout lines will be traditionally larger visually with this option. It would help if you also looked into getting a grout sealer to help protect your grout from the harsh outdoor conditions.

Picking tile for outside comes down to its longevity and durability. Natural stone and porcelain are excellent options to explore. Just make sure you do not neglect your grout when preparing to invest in your patio tile or outside tile projects. For more insight on flooring, make sure to subscribe!

What Type of Flooring Do I Choose?

February 18, 2020 By Broadlume Leave a Comment

Are you in the market for new floors? If so, if you are anything like us, we tend to be guilty of overlooking the importance of flooring choices and how that choice will affect the style and function of our home. To help, we have listed a few tips below that will help you choose the right flooring for your lifestyle and family!

Daily Activity

Your lifestyle is critical when choosing the right flooring for your home. For instance, do you have children, pets, or friends and family coming and going? If so, your floors must withstand heavy traffic and be resilient to moisture and dirt. Ceramic tile and vinyl flooring are durable, tough, and ideal for high-traffic areas. Hardwood floors are durable, but will scratch and over time and require refinishing. If you prefer softness underfoot and have minimal traffic, consider carpet or using area rugs over hardwood and tile flooring. Just keep in mind the function and style of each room and choose your floors accordingly.

Specific Room Tips for Individual Rooms

Foyers

Foyer entryways should always say welcome and introduce your style. A key factor to remember for entryways is preventing dirt and debris from being tracked into the home. If snow, rain, mud, and sand are elements in the entry, consider stone, tile or hardwoods. Just make sure you place an entry mat outside before entering to trap and absorb much of the debris.

Interior Floors

To protect your entry interior floors, rugs are always the perfect solution while adding pops of color that enhance the entry foyer.

Living Rooms

Family and great rooms are active rooms, so remember that area rugs are ideal over tile and hardwood floors. They help add an element of comfort and style to your classic flooring options.

Bedrooms

Many people still prefer carpet in bedrooms simply for the softness and warmth on bare feet.

Kitchens, Bathrooms, and Laundry Rooms

Keep in mind that kitchens, bathrooms, laundry/utility rooms are considered work areas, and the flooring should resist water as well as be durable.

Flooring Cost

Flooring is priced per square foot for product and labor. Understanding flooring pricing is an essential factor to keep you on track and within budget. Keep in mind the product grades of quality and the padding or moisture barrier for carpet, hardwood, and vinyl plank flooring. Another factor for flooring cost is longevity. Floors need to be maintained, and the type of flooring you choose will depend on how often you must replace them.

Please reach out with any and all questions. We are here to help you make the best decision for your next floor!

Top Flooring Trends for 2020

January 22, 2020 By Broadlume 1 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, carpet, and even laminate coming in waterproof options, such as Mohawk’s RevWood. 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 the most durable wood flooring 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!

How To Choose Flooring For A Kid’s Room