All posts in Featured Designers

Getting Started with New Flooring by Shaw Flooring

Think about room logistics:

• How do you use the room most?
• What types of activities are common in this room?
• What are the room’s lighting sources?
• What is the size of the room?
• Does the room flow into others or stand alone?

Think about existing or intended aesthetic:

• How do you want to feel when you’re in this room?
• What types of furnishings do you have?
• What’s the style of the room? Traditional? Contemporary? Rustic?
• What’s the feel of the room? Casual? Formal? Somewhere in between?

Consider risk factors for the room:

• Will people have food in this room?
• Will kids play in this room?
• Will kids play with their food in this room?
• Does the room directly open up to the outside?
• Do you have indoor pets?

Understand expectations for the room:

• Is your new flooring purchase motivated by style or practical reasons?
• Are you living with this new flooring or planning to sell your home?
• What’s the first thing you want to notice when you enter the room?

The better prepared you are to answer these questions, the easier it will be to select the best flooring for your home.

Smart Surfaces by Shaw Flooring

KIND ON THE EARS

Carpet and Area Rugs aren’t just stylish choices, they’re a sound one. More than just soft to the touch–it means soft acoustics; great for homes with children or grandchildren, or aging parents.

ALLERGEN CATCHER

Living with asthma or allergies? Don’t shut the door on carpet. Unlike hard surfaces known for dust bunnies, carpet fibers can trap allergens and hold them until you remove them with a strong vacuum.

NO-PROBLEM REPAIRS

If one tile breaks, its easy to pop it out and replace it. If water spills, even a lot of it no problem there, either. Plus, with a dark grout sealed to repel soil and stains, maintenance is a breeze.

AGED TO PERFECTION

Bring the warmth of wood into any room, especially your kitchen. Hardwood floors stand up to daily spills with just a damp mop and gets more handsome with more wear. It can make the most popular room in the house also the coziest.

CARPET COUTURE

We’re seeing a definite trend toward fashion in carpet. Textures, different types of yarn systems, different colorations, patterns, tone-on-tone prints, looped carpet, tip shears anything that has interest or fashion seems to be very accepted.

Design Tips by Shaw Flooring


WHAT DO I WANT MY HOME TO FEEL LIKE?

Ask yourself this? “What do I want my home to feel like when I walk into the door?” “Do I want it to be a quiet oasis with soothing color palettes?” This can be achieved by layering multiple patterns in fabrics and soft luscious carpets.The soft surfaces not only absorb irritating noise, but also insulate the interior space. What’s more soothing than kicking off your shoes and wiggling your toes in the soft carpet.

CALL ME COSMO

If you have always wanted to live in a skyscraper overlooking Central Park but reside in the heart of “suburbia”, guess what? You can achieve the look of cosmopolitan living in subtle but effective ways. Silvery gray and mysterious plum are suggestions of colors that speak to the city lifestyle.Taupe, weimeraner gray, and a variety of browns also work well into the city palette.

RULE NO. 1: THERE ARE NO RULES

Colors are more adaptable than you might think and they don’t just disappear after a season. Gradually lighter or darker over time, color can give your room the flexibility you need to express the style you love.

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

Don’t be afraid of your favorite color. If it makes you feel good when you use it in a room, then use it on your floor, the largest area.

Color Cues by Shaw Flooring

Cloud Gray

The absolute perfect gray is comparable to the color of the clouds just before it rains. Warmer than it is cool, gray is rarely boring. Starting on fashions runway we have seen the emergence, expansion and ultimately the saturation of gray in the market place and have enjoyed its sophisticated simplicity in infinite ways. Suffice it to say, gray will stay.

Safari Taupe

Classic taupe is the stepping-stone between the gray trend and its predecessor, the chocolate brown trend. Taupe is best described as a grayish brown or brownish gray. Taupe can be found in nail polish, couture, ready-to-wear, active-wear, accessories and is evident in the home furnishing markets. When the taupe trend is translated into furniture, it offers the very popular reclaimed look.

Ivory Coast

Today we are seeing different influences on our neutrals. The first influence is a warm camel color while the other is a cool flax such as finely woven belgian linen. Whites and off-whites continue to expand and grow in lockstep as the brightness of the colorful colors grows. White performs as the ideal backdrop for a show-stopper piece of art to really stand out. White is elegant, it is high tech, it can be as casual as a white t-shirt or as formal as a tailored tuxedo shirt.

Aquamarine

Known for its soothing and calming effects, aqua has evolved beautifully from its early days, enjoying long-standing partnerships with chocolate, lush greens, creamy whites and silvery grays. For homeowners who are drawn to living near the water, aquamarine infused interiors are very coastal and tranquil.

Persimmon Orange

Running the gauntlet between a juicy tangerine and a spice-colored persimmon, this color brings an energetic vibe to an interior space. Orange is often used as the signature color for key pieces of furniture or accessories. It is especially stunning when dropped strategically into an all-white interior.

Pink

Pink has grown from symbolizing baby girls and ballerinas into a color that is couture-worthy. Boldly representing breast cancer awareness has also helped create a resurgence in pink’s popularity. As a color that works well with any style, any gender, any complexion, pink can be counted on to be around for the long haul.

How to detect if what’s making you clean is also making you cough, giving you a headache or worse.

We get regular calls from clients wanting to spruce up their showers.

Most of the time they just need a deep cleaning and sealing, something

we accomplish for them in a matter of hours.

Unfortunately sometimes what you think is a really hard to clean grout joint is actually something worse – microbial staining from mildew and mold.

Even though mold and mildew are in the air both in and outside the home when you can visibly see it in your shower it can lead to headaches and respiratory distress among other symptoms.

The moment I see it I ask if anyone in the home is having these symptoms and many have been suffering but never thought their shower could be the culprit.

In order for mold and mildew to grow it needs two things: a water source and food.  While microbials like to eat almost anything it needs a constant source of water.   In a matter of days a few spores floating invisible in the air can colonize into thousands and millions of spores.

But I turn on the vent fan and dry my shower with a squeegee.  Isn’t that’s enough right?

While that works for most, for some it isn’t enough. Cracks in the wall joints where two walls meet or where the wall meets the shower are allowing water and steam to into the walls long enough for mold and mildew to grow and present itself in your grout joints and caulking.

What can you do?

1. Regularly inspect your grout joints.  Make sure there are no visible cracks especially where two walls meet.

2.  Re-caulk if needed.  If you do find a crack you can fix it by removing the bad material and replacing it with a flexible caulking that won’t crack.  We suggest one that has an anti-microbial ingredient in it like Microban

3.  Remediate the problem.  If you think you have a problem talk to someone like us or a trusted contractor.  Likely you can start by doing lighter remediation like apply mildewcides and anti-microbial treatments that can improve the situation.  Just make sure to use the safest products possible and if you need help we have a couple of products we really like.

If you aren’t sure what to look for or need some help call me and I can help you inspect the shower (for free).  I can even make suggestions on what you can do next.  If you aren’t up for weekend warrioring the problem we also have services to replace caulking, treat the wall cracks, fix the staining, clean the showers and seal them up so they not only look great but make your shower a healthier place to be.

Barry Louks – Haugland Brothers -708-354-2337

If you like to learn more or if you would like a free estimate give Barry at Haugland Bros. a call at 708-354-2337 and mention DeSitter Flooring for a $50.00 DeSitter / Haugland Brothers Gift Card on your next cleaning.

Haugland Brothers is a preferred referral partner of DeSitter Flooring which handles all of our client’s carpet & tile cleaning and wood care needs.