From the Floors Up

Why We Love Laminate Flooring For The Kitchen

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Laminate flooring is small slice of genius when it comes to kitchen flooring. Its best attributes are all ideal for a kitchen that is a busy central hub in the home. It is the space where adults, kids, guests, and pets all converge and inevitably make some kind of mess. Children pour milk into the cereal bowl too fast and splash it all over the floor. Pets dance around excitedly hoping for a treat and add a lot of wear to the floor in the process. Dinner party guests accidentally tip their appetizer plate and the sauce creeps underfoot.  If this sounds like your kitchen and you’re getting ready to remodel we recommend you take a serious look at a laminate flooring option. Why?

To begin with, modern laminate flooring is designed to resemble real wood or tile and the effect is convincing. So if the cost to replace carpet with hardwood is too high, laminate can offer a great faux wood flooring alternative. But using laminate doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and good taste. Next, a huge benefit of laminate is that it is very easy to clean. To care for it just be sure to quickly clean up any spills, sweep it regularly, and use a damp mop to maintain the luster of the surface. If you do this consistently, upkeep of the floor over time will be a piece of cake because laminate flooring is resistant to stains and scratches.

It happens to be exceptionally durable because of the way it is constructed. It is comprised of layers that achieve both strength and aesthetics. There is one detrimental substance that compromises the integrity of the flooring and that is dirt/sand. It is very abrasive and if it is on the floor for extended lengths of time it will scratch it.

Another benefit of laminate flooring is the ease with which it can be installed! It’s amazingly simple.  Both glue-free and glue options are available.

The last reason we’ll share, although there are certainly more, is the fact that there are so many options. Once you start exploring the details of this type of flooring you’ll find that it’s available in a wide variety of colors, textures, shapes, and finishes. All things considered, it’s an excellent choice for a household where function is the number one priority in the kitchen!

Leave us a comment if you have any questions about the process or how to get started with this amazing option for your home!

Transitioning Between Flooring

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Having a single type of flooring throughout a home or story means you don’t have to worry about the transition between two types of flooring at a doorway or opening. If you have more than one type of flooring or unique wood floor patterns, creating the smoothest transition between materials is important to give your home a polished look.

Transitioning between different types of flooring can mean going from hardwood to carpet between the hall and bedroom or from carpet to tile between the bedroom and bathroom. Sometimes the transition will be between hard surfaces like tile and hardwood.  Each of these types of transitions may require something different to protect the materials.

This picture illustrates a smooth transition from tile in the kitchen to hardwood in the hall. There is a nice and tidy line between the two materials. Having similar colors between the tile and wood also eases the visual transition as well as the texture transition.

Some homes use raised threshold between rooms and different types of flooring. When used with wood, the door threshold, sometimes called a saddle threshold, will be made of the same types of wood flooring and in a matching stain as the wood floor to aid in continuity.

How you transition between two types of flooring is both a personal choice and what is best for the longevity of the materials. Carpet will have different considerations than tile or wood. For decisions involving flooring, it is always best to ask your flooring retailer or installer. They can recommend the best option for both you and your flooring.

Hot Flooring Trend: FiberFloor

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The newest category in resilient flooring is fast becoming a hit with homeowners, design mavens and consumer product experts alike. Debbie Travis, international television host and renovation expert, recently featured the new Tarkett FiberFloor product on her show. Consumer Digest ‘Best Buy’ awarded the new FiberFloor its prestigious Consumer Digest Best Buy Honor.

The Consumer Digest editors said of the honor, “You would have to pay more than double the price to get as many color choices as Tarkett’s Easy Living line offers. The line’s three collections – Classic, Fun and Fashion – have the most varied selection of vinyl designs that we’ve seen.”

FiberFloor combines the benefits of carpet, vinyl and laminate flooring all in one product. It also boasts over 200 designs in three collections, colors and textures, which include impressive faux stones, wood grains and rustic tiles.

Gary Finseth, Director of Marketing for Tarkett Residential said, “Consumers shopping for flooring in this economy want a dependable floor that provides ongoing value. Smart homeowners are discovering that today’s fiber-backed resilient sheet flooring products aren’t their grandmother’s vinyl. The latest options, like FiberFloor, offer incomparable design, style and durability – at a price that doesn’t break their budget. These floors look great every day and resist scuffs, scratches, indentations and even water.”

It is estimated that American homeowners change their interior décor every five years. One issue they face in “redecorating” is they feel stuck with the flooring they have no matter what else they may change. Well, apparently FiberFloor makes changing your flooring almost as easy as changing your paint colors. Choose a faux stone tile one year and replace it five years down the road with faux distressed wood planks.

Question 3 In the Series Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Flooring

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Today we are answering the third question in the 1o part series: Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Flooring.

Question: Is laminate a good choice for homes with kids and pets?

Answer: Laminate flooring is an excellent choice for homes with children and pets. Laminate is a manufactured product that simulates the look of hardwood, ceramic tile, natural stone and many other types of flooring. In the past, laminate floors have been easy to spot, but today’s technology allows manufacturers to create realistic visuals and textures for an elegant and quality floor.

Laminate characteristics:

  • Extremely durable
  • Moisture resistant
  • Scratch resistant
  • Easy to maintain
  • Many color ranges to choose from (more grain and movement hide dirt!)
  • Less likely to fade in sunlight
  • Great impact and indentation resistance
  • Easy to replace if damaged or desired

Considerations:

  • Some styles can be slippery for children in sock feet – use area rugs here
  • Pet urine needs to be removed as quickly as possible
  • Walk off mats should be used at every entrance to minimize dirt that can scratch the floor
  • Using area rugs will reduce the noise of children playing

Do you have a home with children or pets where you have used laminate flooring? What have your experiences been?

Laminate Flooring – Reader Question

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Question:

I am considering putting new flooring in my family room. I have 2 small dogs, a cat and 3 small children that are all very active. Would laminate flooring be a good choice for my home? I like the look of wood, but prefer the cost of laminate. Also, what happens is the floor is damaged, can it be repaired? Thanks!

Betsy from Yuma, AZ

Answer:

Betsy,

Laminate flooring would be a great choice for your home, especially if you are on a budget and have active children and pets in your home. Laminate flooring is a great choice because it is extremely durable, stain resistant and does not need to be varnished or waxed so it is very easy to keep clean!

Today’s laminate styles offer products that look exactly like real wood. You can choose from narrow strips or wide planks in a variety of species and colors. There are even some styles that have texture to feel like real wood.

With an active household, be sure to choose a laminate flooring with a good warranty.

In the event that you damaged your floor with scratches or indentations, these can be repaired using color fill kits. Since you need to purchase these from your retailer, be sure to keep a record of the style and color floor you purchased. If a board is damaged beyond what a fill kit can do and needs to be replaced, this is the  time to call in a professional. It can be done, but it’s not something you want to attempt yourself.

I hope this information helps! If you are looking for a retailer in your area, try Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet. Click here for their website.

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!

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