Our Favorite Fall Trends

It’s time to cool off from the summer heat with fall’s most popular trends. Bring out the bold colors and warm color accents, cozy fabrics, houseplants and velvet. Yes, you heard that right. We’ll give you all the details to bring some of that summer warmth into your home this fall.

As the season gets a little cooler, it might be time to refresh your living spaces. Using the following styles, you can help transition your space from summer to fall. While these trends may be popular for fall of 2018, you should create a space that makes you feel at home no matter the season. Although, we must say that the velvet couch may end up being your new best friend as the colder months approach.

Black and White

During this past year we have seen a lot of black and white décor that is paired with tropical, earthy vibes. This black and white décor trend will carry well into the fall with its neutral and bold palette that works with a variety of textures and accent colors.

Velvet and Mustard Accent

Expected to be one of fall’s biggest trends, velvet will bring a new sense of style and comfort to your living space. The sleek and soft texture will make you want to spend your afternoon curled up reading your favorite book. Paired with one of the most popular accent colors this fall, mustard will bring a little pizazz to your neutral rooms. Now you can create this charming fall composition we know you’ve been waiting for all year.

Navy and Blush

The perfect backdrop to the changing seasons, berry tones will be the biggest color combo this fall. Blues, blushes and lilacs will offer a serene tone to your space, and when combined with white, will offer a crisp and fresh look.

Jewel Tones

Bring the luxurious and rich colors of emerald, garnet and sapphire hues into your home this fall. Combined with berry tones, these colors are a striking way to add warmth to the home as the weather gets cooler.

Houseplants

Bring the outdoors inside to create a natural and welcoming space. Tropical greenery and succulents are the most ideal houseplants that can give your space new life. If you’re going for an earthy style, pair your houseplants with warm cozy fabrics and natural wooden tones.

Cozy Vibes

Everyone’s definition of cozy may be different, so it’s important for you to create your own cozy vibe. Whether you’re a fan of art and paintings or a fan of vases and ornaments, take your own personal interests and use those items to create one big cozy home. Use this freedom to express yourself and make your home yours.

What trend are you most looking forward to this fall?

What’s Hot in Kitchen Design

It’s 2018 and every single home is different, including the kitchen. Everything from countertops, appliances and cabinetry to disappearing hood vents. Poof! We’ve got you covered with today’s hottest kitchen design and décor trends.

Put aside your chef hat, just for a minute, and say hello to the designer in you. The kitchen has extended beyond cooking in this age of advancing technology; it’s become your new design paradise. While these styles might be the hottest in 2018, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to create all these styles in your kitchen. You should choose a style that fits your own needs and your own personal life. But, we must say that marble or quartz with metal inlays would make your kitchen look stunning!

Eat-In Kitchens & Banquet Seating

Does your family crowd around the kitchen like it was your living room? We thought so, us too. Eat-in kitchens and banquet seating having become an extremely popular alternative to the traditional dining room setting. Granted you have enough space, this trend makes a long day easier when you don’t have to walk to and from the kitchen carrying food or dishes. Now you can conveniently sit down and enjoy dinner with the family.

Marble

Marble isn’t something too new to 2018, but its timeless style has gone beyond countertops to now walls and floors. Real marble can be expensive and hard to maintain, but luckily there are alternative options like man-made quartz or porcelain look-alikes that look just as good as the real thing with less maintenance and expense. Now, you don’t have to be royalty to make your kitchen look sleek, elegant and stunning.

Cabinets

Cabinets are being taken in all different directions. Everything from flat-front cabinetry, no upper cabinets, open shelving to warmer and sleeker styles. As a result of a minimalist style trend, homeowners are opting for a more open and airy look with no upper cabinetry and open shelving simply for display purposes. Pulled off successfully, this can create a minimal and sleek kitchen style. While shaker style cabinets will always be in trend, flat-front cabinetry has also become popular by opting for less hardware and more minimalism on the surfaces. Warmer and darker colors have become a favorite for these flat-front cabinetries.

Dark Fixtures & Metal Accents

It’s true, black will work with just about any style and color palette while delivering a sleek look. Dark fixtures like cabinetry, lights and stools and hardware like faucets have been a popular go to. They add a certain simple, modern and visual aesthetic and the best part is they don’t show wear and tear as easily. However, stay away from making your kitchen too dark by placing these elements strategically throughout the kitchen. This isn’t a bat cave!

Wood (like) Floors

Wood looking floors can offer a kitchen a warm and cozy feeling unlike any other flooring options. This is a solid choice when it comes to kitchen flooring; it’s a trend that will always be popular. It has the ability to unite an open floor plan and adapt to various kitchen styles. There are a wide variety of flooring options that are able to come in the style of a wood look, making it extremely easy to customize your floors appearance and feel to your liking.

Hidden Hood Vents

Hood vents have become an essential appliance to homeowners, keeping the kitchen air fresh and clean. However, depending on your kitchen style and your type of vent, it may stick out like a sore thumb. The newest trend is hiding and concealing the hood vent to seamlessly blend into the kitchen environment. This allows your kitchen’s style to flow smoothly and not make any appliance the star of the show.

Square and Personalized Tiles

While tiles may have been popular in the 80’s and 90’s, everything makes a comeback with good reason. They’re not only great looking, but easily accessible and affordable. Square porcelain tiles are one of the most stocked items on shelves and therefore easily inexpensive. If you’re feeling up for it, you may even want to use personalized tiles to add specific design or handcrafted feel to your walls. Add these tiles to your backsplash or specific areas on the wall to create a sleek and clean style.

What’s your favorite kitchen trend?

What Is Laminate Flooring?

What Is Laminate

A popular choice in the consumer market, laminate flooring comes in a wide range of finishes, allowing you to create a room that fits your needs and wants. Due to its construction and durability, laminate is great for entry ways, hallways, and living rooms.

Is Laminate Flooring Plastic?

Laminate flooring is not made out of plastic. In the early years, due to appearance and design being sacrificed for affordability, laminate did in fact look as if it were made of plastic. Now, due to innovative manufacturing, laminate looks as if it is solid hardwood or stone, but is much more affordable.

What is Laminate Made Of?

Laminate flooring is constructed of 4 layers; wear, design, core, and the back layer. Each layer serves a distinct purpose and is fused together using high heat and intense pressure. Below is a breakdown of these layers.

• Back Layer: bottom layer; responsible for protecting the plank against moisture, and balances the floor.
• Core Layer: above the back layer; is a durable, high-density board that protects from indentations and moisture.
• Design Layer: above the core layer; has a high-resolution photograph of the floor’s surface appearance.
• Wear Layer: top layer; is a clear layer that is made of aluminum oxide that protects against fading, stains, and surface burns.

How Durable is Laminate?

Thanks to its multi-layer construction, laminate makes for an extremely durable product. Laminate is resistant to scratches, fading, and is easy to clean. Laminate’s durability allows for the absorption of heavy traffic, making it an ideal flooring choice for active families who have kids and pets running around. This product is good for kitchens and baths only if proper precautions are put in place like a moisture barrier, but we do not recommended laminate for areas with high moisture. With proper care, laminate can look as good as day 1 for years to come.

For more information on laminate flooring, stop by our store or give us a call and we’d be happy to help you with your flooring needs!

How to Incorporate Timeless Design Into Your Home

Timeless design incorporates key classics that stand the test of time, can be used in any room, and never go out of style. By having a home that has a timeless design, you’re ensuring that it will never feel stale and instead, will always feel fresh and up-to-date. Follow along for ideas on how you can implement designs that will never go out of style into your home.

A classic home has balance, so it’s important that you keep this in mind when you are decorating your home. In a bedroom you’ll want matching nightstands and lamps, and in a living room you’ll want to incorporate matching chairs opposite your couch. With timeless design, it’s all about symmetry.

Having a focal point is another key component in creating a timeless look in your room. Focal points allow you to feel at ease as they give your eyes a place to rest. Elements such as a fireplace, a large window, or furniture are great focal points for a room.

Incorporating classic patterns are another way to create a timeless design. Stripes, plaid, and florals are all patterns that can be used to create this look, but make sure that you stay away from trendy patterns, such as chevron.

Marble and wood are materials that have remained timeless and have a longevity that will keep you from feeling restless. Choose the spaces that need a classic wow factor and these materials will never disappoint.

Metal finishes always come and go in terms of what’s on trend; however mixing metals will allow you to have a balanced look that can evolve through time. A matte iron finish paired with a soft, brushed brass or chrome paired with brushed nickel are pairings that lend to timeless decor.

What is your favorite timeless design look?

What Is Engineered Flooring?

What is engineered flooring and what are the benefits? Flooring America explains how engineered flooring is made and how it can be used in your home design.

What is Engineered Hardwood?

Engineered hardwood is constructed with durable, high-performance qualities in mind. It is constructed with multi-layers of hardwood and plywood; each layer is positioned in a different direction. This construction prevents the engineered hardwood from warping and bowing the way a hardwood floor might in moist areas.

What are the Benefits of Engineered Hardwood?

Available in today’s hottest species; hickory, oak, maple and more, engineered hardwood can offer a variety of styles for your home. Not only are there multiple finishes available in matte, semi-gloss, and high-gloss, but engineered hardwood comes in a variety of surface effects such as hand scraped for a time worn appearance, distressed for a slightly rustic appearance, or wire-brushed.

No matter your style, you can find a hardwood floor that best suits your home, and you can be sure it will be a beautiful, eye-catching statement with a durable surface.

What is the Durability of Engineered Hardwood?

Depending on the thickness of the veneer that tops the flooring, the quality of flooring used, and how well you maintain your floors, engineered hardwood can last a lifetime. All 3 factors play a big role in determining the longevity of any floor in your home.

Due to innovative manufacturing techniques, engineered hardwood can be installed in any room in your home, including your basement and bathrooms; as long as there are no extreme moisture issues and a protective moisture barrier has been installed. Less expensive than hardwood, selecting engineered hardwood will allow you to install this excellent flooring style in multiple rooms, getting more bang for your buck.

For our quality, beautiful, and reliable engineered hardwood, visit our Floorcraft page for more information!

The Best Flooring For Your Pets

With pets often being the most spoiled member of the family, it’s important to take into consideration their needs, along with your own. Everyone wants a home that is comfortable and safe for their pets, and that means choosing flooring that will provide them with comfort and safety, while also meeting the needs of your family as a whole.

What are the Best Hardwood Floors for Pets?

Hardwood floors are a fan favorite, but when you own pets, specifically dogs, you will want to consider a harder species like oak or hickory. These woods have a distressed appearance and a tough Urethane finish, which will help hide everyday pet wear and tear. Since hardwood is slick, cold, and susceptible to scratches, it’s not going to be the best dog friendly flooring option for you.

What is the Best Laminate Flooring for Pets?

If you’ve ruled out hardwood due to cost and lack of comfort for pets, laminate flooring is an option, as it can give you the look of hardwood while also providing your pets with more support and comfort.

Laminate is made of 4 layers which work to absorb the heavy traffic and day-to-day use of a household. The wear layer protects the floor from pet stains, fading, and surface burns, making laminate flooring and dogs a great mix.  With a water-resistant and easy to clean surface, pet accidents are no longer a big deal. Its slippery surface might cause your dog to have trouble with grip, so adding rugs to a room with laminate can make it comfortable and cozy for your pets.

 

Are Luxury Vinyl Floors Good for Pets?

For households with pets who are accident prone or messy, vinyl flooring is a wonderful choice for you. Not only durable and waterproof, vinyl flooring makes clean-ups a breeze. Vinyl has a protective top coat that provides ease of maintenance, which makes your floor resistant to scratches and scuffs and offers a wipe clean finish. The rugged versatility and waterproof characteristics make vinyl flooring and dogs a perfect pair.

What is the Best Carpet for Pets?

There is a general consensus that carpet and pets don’t mix, as fur and the dirt that comes off of them can get trapped in the carpet, or their accidents are difficult to get out of carpet. There are however ideal carpets for pets that can resist stains and accidents.

For a family with pets, it will be best to choose a carpet with nylon fibers, as nylon is the most durable and stain resistant carpet fiber when treated with stain protection. The best carpet for pets and high traffic areas are carpets that have been treated with static, stain, and soil resistant treatments, making them easy to clean and maintain.

What is the Best Tile for Pets?

Tile may be the best flooring choice for a home with pets due to its long wearing durability, moisture resistance, and ease of maintenance. Tile is scratch resistant and easy to clean, making this a practical option; just remember that it can be hard, cold and slippery for both pets and humans.

When considering the best flooring for pets and your family, always take into consideration how easy it will be to clean up accidents and how comfortable the flooring will be for both you and your pets. As always, make sure that you talk with a professional about choosing the best product for you and your family.

Luxury Vinyl & Is It Waterproof?

Luxury vinyl is durable, waterproof flooring that offers you the look of hardwood, tile, or stone, without the hefty price tag of real hardwood. Luxury vinyl is constructed of multiple layers that provide in the realistic design, durability, and ease of maintenance of the flooring, making it a great option for your entire home.

Luxury vinyl is waterproof, and because of this, it’s a great choice for the kitchen and bathrooms. Thanks to its layers, luxury vinyl does a great job of withstanding moisture, heavy foot traffic, scratches, and spills, so if you have kids or pets, this flooring is for you.

Luxury vinyl is available in 3 types:

· Luxury vinyl plank – best if you are going for the hardwood look, as the plank is designed to mimic the look of cut hardwood.

· Luxury vinyl tile – used when replicating stone or an intricate pattern

· Luxury vinyl sheet – commonly used in areas that are prone to water, such as bathrooms or kitchens. Sheet can look like hardwood, stone, or tile, making it the most versatile type.

For more information on luxury vinyl, stop by our store or give us a call and we’d be happy to help you with your flooring needs!

What’s the Best Flooring For Your Kitchen?

We know that choosing new floors for your home isn’t a small task, and when you’re selecting new floors for your kitchen, a room prone to spills, dents, and heavy foot traffic, it’s imperative that you make the right choice.

One of the most important factors in choosing flooring for your kitchen is taking into consideration the function of your kitchen. Do you host parties, enjoy cooking, have kids or pets? If you answered yes to any of these, it’s important that your floors can withstand such things.

What Material is best for Your Kitchen Floor?

It’s incredibly important to keep function and durability at the top of your mind, making luxury vinyl, laminate, and tile great options to consider.

Luxury vinyl tile is best for those who enjoy making a mess in their kitchen. Luxury vinyl is durable, can hold up to scratches, and is one of the most water resistant options on the market. The protective top layer allows for ease of maintenance and makes clean-up a breeze, which is what you want after spending time prepping and cooking a meal!

For those who spend a substantial amount of time in the kitchen, consider laminate. Laminate has 4 layers that will absorb heavy foot traffic and protects against stains, burns, and spills. Better yet, it is affordable, easy to install, and comes in a variety of styles, making it a great option.

Tile is also going to be a competitive flooring choice for your kitchen. It’s scratch resistant and easy to clean, but take into consideration that it does not have the softest cushioning, so if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, tile might not be your ideal choice.

Which is the Most Durable?

Hands down, it’s tile. Due to its long wearing durability, ease of maintenance, and resistance to moisture, and because of its resistance, tile is ideal in those moments when pots are dropped… just maybe not dishes!

If you’re in the market for kitchen floors, stop by our store and let our experts guide you toward your best flooring choices.

How to Add Color in Your Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the hottest rooms in the home, and there is always the desire to keep it updated for maximum functionality as well as to keep up with the trends in design. Whether you’re interested in a kitchen renovation or just want to make subtle changes, one of the hottest kitchen trends we are seeing is an increase in color. Adding color can be a simple task that you can complete in an afternoon, or it can be a bit more elaborate.

Lately we have seen a substantial amount of kitchens with the white on white, or the soft brown on white look. We are still big fans of neutral-inspired kitchens, but there has been an upswing in kitchens that are bringing a fresh dose of color to their walls.  Blue and grey will be popular colors, but don’t be afraid to choose a more daring color. If you don’t have plans to replace cabinetry, just make sure that the color you do choose for your walls pairs well with your current cabinets and appliances.

We also love the idea of choosing a less than common color for your cabinets or kitchen island. Consider a turquoise island in a white and cream colored kitchen or cabinets in a moody grey or black for a bold statement.

If a low risk change is what y interested in, consider making simple changes to your kitchen towels, curtains, rugs, or dinnerware. These are great items to experiment with bringing in bold, bright colors or patterns. If you want to paint, but not your walls, try painting your chairs or stools in a sunny color. While not an extensive overhaul, subtle changes like these can make quite the impact.

How would you add color into your kitchen?

Our Favorite Interior Design Trends for 2018

A New Year means new interior design trends to lust over, and while there are so many to choose from, we’ve selected our top 4 trends that we can’t wait to see in more homes this year. Follow along to learn our favorite picks!

Darker Colors

Dark colors will continue to be a hot trend in home design this year, as they will be used to add extra drama to your space. Dark colors still give off feelings of warmth and coziness so don’t worry about these colors making your room feel dark and lonely. Whether you add these colors to your walls, furniture, or décor pieces, you can’t go wrong!

Natural Wood

Natural wood is still maintaining a strong presence in home design, as owners are taking advantage of its ability to evoke an earthy and natural feel to their home. Natural wood elements harmonize the different textures and colors in your space, allowing for the room to come together harmoniously.

Moody Green

Moody green continues to be prevalent in home design. Moody, luxurious, and calming, this shade of green is bound to make a statement. If used in furniture, take it one step further and make it a velvety green on your couch or chairs. On your walls, we love pairing it with white accents to truly make the color pop and come to life.

Metallic Finishes

Whether in hardware, furniture, wall coverings, or accent pieces, metallic is being used in various ways in the home. Don’t be afraid to mix and match metals either, but if you do, make sure to incorporate the same color metal in other areas of your room.

What are your favorite design trends for 2018?