Furniture Selections
Gone are the days of aluminum and plastic serving as your only choices for bringing together the look, feel, and comfort of your patio.

Now there are many wood, metal and wicker pieces of furniture treated to withstand even the most harsh of weather. Plus, they are designed to make your outdoor living as visually appealing as possible.

Teak patio furniture is an eye-popping choice for home and patio decor. The weathered look of gray and silver teak patio furniture adds a subtle beauty that draws a gratifying smile when walking onto a patio.

Floor Covering
With the many choices of carpet, tile, stone and specialty floor covering that is available it is easy to carry the inside out. Make creative selections and your very own yarn becomes a wonderful vacation spot.

Home Away from Home
There are many means of making your yard and patio more than simply an extension of your home. Home and patio decor are a part of that package. Creative homeowners can develop it into a bit of a vacation getaway.

A hammock is another a fun way to enjoy your outdoor furnishings while snoozing or watching the beauty of the sky – and don’t forget the iced tea and a book.

Lighting
You can also create something of a tantalizing nighttime escape in the backyard of your home – patio decor simply adds to the illusion.

By stringing up patio lanterns, locating comfortable, resort-style furniture, and maybe even setting up a fire pit, you can almost pretend you are visiting a 5-star hotel instead of simply stepping into your own yard.

If that doesn’t spark your interest, create a small do-it-yourself project by purchasing a low voltage landscape lighting kit. Bring a little attention to your overall landscaping efforts when the sun goes down by illuminating it with a garden pathway.

Bonsai Trees
Perhaps you’d prefer to turn your patio and garden into a “retreat center” for yourself or family members. An attractive option might include a layout of bonsai trees for your backyard and patio decor.

Whether you go for Juniper or Maple bonsai, you can convert this portion of your property into a source of inspiration and beauty. Add a few indoor bonsai trees and your entire home can provide its guests a few moments of serenity.

Of course your choices for enhancing your home and patio decor are as limitless as your imagination. Do some experimenting (you can always return what you don’t want to keep) and find the combination that keeps you longing to visit again – in your own backyard.

If you worry about stains in your carpeting, choose a product that is stain resistant. For durability, the best type of carpet to pick is nylon. If you want a carpet that generates less electricity, choose acrylic or olefin. For fade resistance solution dyed carpets are the best choice to resisting the sun. If you have someone at home with impaired movement, try using low-pile carpets. Whatever style you decide on, match the performance of the carpet with the space requisites.

Now that you have your carpet, you must take care of it if you want it to last. Carpets easily accumulate dirt. Hence, there is a need for frequent vacuuming. Use a vacuum that has stable beater bars and with good suction. To effectively remove dirt from the carpet you are vacuuming, make sure to replace vacuum bags and filters regularly.

If you have a carpet of lighter shade, you may need to clean it more often. If there is a stain in your carpet, clean it immediately. You can use a spoon or a dull knife to gently scrape off food spills. If the spill is liquid, dab it with white cloth towels or white paper. They absorb the spill quickly. Remember not to scrub or scrape, just dab the liquid spill. If you do scrub it, it would have a fuzzy effect on your carpeting. There is also a technique in blotting or dabbing. When you try blotting the moisture, start from the outer edge toward the center to avoid spreading the spill. Later, you may wash the stain using water and the appropriate cleaning items. Again, use white towels over the wet spots to absorb the remaining wetness. You can use a heavy object to weigh down the white towels and make it absorb the moisture faster.

To summarize, what you need to clean spills are the following: white paper towels or white cloths and a detergent solution that is a mixture of a mild liquid soap and water. You may add a non-bleach dish-washing detergent. You will also need a vinegar solution, with one part white vinegar to one part water and an ammonia solution, which is composed of one tablespoon ammonia to one cup of water. Please do not use this solution on wool or wool-blend carpets. You will also need a non-oily nail polish remover, chewing gum remover and spot remover. Now, you should be ready to stop any accidental spills from completely destroying your carpet.

First, do you want self-stick tiles or ones that requiring glue? The peel-and-stick type are easier and less messy to put down. However, they are also more prone to curling edges and loosening.

Next, what size of tile do you prefer? You can get planks that resemble hardwood flooring. Tiles are often found in one square foot sizes. There is also an 18-inch size. Each size can lend a different look to the room. Also, the 18-inch size will have fewer cracks for liquids to get under and to peel up later. The one-foot size or planks may be easier to handle when laying the tile, however.

What patterns do you like? You can find many different designs. Some are simulated to look like hardwood flooring. Others may look like various stone floors. Still more are solid color. These can lend themselves to interesting designs where you alternate tiles of different colors or maybe use a different color tile to edge the room or highlight a focal point. You can also find other designs such as floral.

What is your price range? While your first instinct may be to go with the cheapest tile, this probably isn’t your best option. Vinyl tile vary in thickness and durability. If you are putting the tile in a very light traffic area, you may be able to get by with cheaper tile. If you have pets and/or kids or lots of foot traffic, then you will want to get a floor that will hold up to the abuse.

Where are you planning to put the tile? Bathrooms and kitchens tend to be high-moisture areas. In this case, the tiles that require gluing may work better since the self-stick tiles may loosen over time. Tiles coming up can also be a concern in areas that are below-grade such as basements. In fact, vinyl tile may not be the best choice for such areas.

Do you want to match a pattern? Some tiles have obvious patterns like stripes. Others may have arrows indicating which side is up, but the pattern isn’t as obvious. Getting a pattern to line up can be tricky and may not look good if your room isn’t square and your striped tile emphasizes that fact.

By taking the above considerations into account, you should be able to select the best vinyl tile for your floor.

Not only are there many carpet benefits there are also many choices. Carpet is the most practical, fashionable, and versatile flooring on the market today. Carpet accounts for more than half of all flooring purchases that are made each and every year. The fact is, carpet has outsold every other type of flooring for more than 60 years.

Carpet offers you several advantages that other flooring options can’t compete with. Below, you will find many of the features that carpet will add to your home.

Warmth
For warmth, carpet is the best choice you can make. A carpet under foot brings warmth to any room from your bedroom to family room or living room.

Insulation
A benefit so often overlooked is that of insulation. Wall to wall carpet over carpet pad increases the insulation of a floor significantly over any other floor covering.

Safety
Unlike tile and other smooth surfaces carpet offers a slip resistant surface that will prevent accidents along with a natural cushion in the event of someone falling. Safety is a very important concern especially for the elderly and young children.

Sound Reduction
Do you have a house full of kids or live above another residence? Carpet will reduce noise better than any other type of flooring. Carpet works to dampen noise in three ways:
1. Reduces surface noise from foot traffic
2. Absorbs airborne sound
3. Blocks transmission of sound
These qualities are valuable in apartments as well as semi-detached homes.

Hiding Surface Irregularities
Adding carpet to a room can also disguise many existing damage to the floor. While it may not hide a warped floor that looks like a roller coaster it will cover many damaged with ease that would need to be filled or replaced for many other types of flooring.

Ease of Care
Stain resistance is a real plus with most carpets that are manufactured today. Short of deliberate abuse or neglect spills and stains are much easier to cleanup than in the past.

Clean Air
A properly maintained and cleaned carpet improves air quality by acting as a filter and trapping allergy causing dust and allergens.

Variety of Use
Carpets aren’t only for floors anymore, which is a really great thing. You can easily add carpet to steps, stairs, walls, posts, and other non level surfaces, even a ceiling without having to worry about it slipping, lifting, or buckling.

Comfort
There is not another floor covering that is more comfortable than carpet to lay down on.

Flexibility
Carpet is the primary foundation in almost any room. Because it is available in a variety of different colors and textures, it helps to create an unlimited number of possibilities for decorating. From the neutral tones to rich solids, carpet is the first step you can take to make your home look better than ever.

Low cost
Carpet doesn’t cost a lot of money, as it offers an economical alternative to the other types of expensive flooring. Even with professional installation, you won’t pay nearly as much as you would for hard surfaces.

Life span
The carpets of today are very durable and can outlast most other types of flooring available on the market. All you have to do is select a type of carpet that has a life span of 5 – 30 years or more, which is very common now days.

Warranty
With most manufacturers, you can get great warranties with your carpet purchase. This way, you’ll be protected when you install your new carpet. Once installed, all you have to do is enjoy it – as the warranty will ensure that you are very well protected.

Will the area under consideration be subject to heavy traffic? Is a sound barrier required (as in a condo)? How easy will it be to clean? Will the area be subjected to moisture as in a kitchen or basement? Does anyone in the home have allergy or asthma issues (carpeting is not the best choice)? Does the floor need to be slip resistant? What is the warranty period, cost, and durability of the material? Is the new floor suitable for the type of subfloor?

Check out the type of glues and sealers used as they can off gas chemicals that can affect some one who is sensitive. There are now materials available that have less off gassing of these harmful chemicals. Ask questions! Research is paramount here!

The main categories of flooring available are:

1 – resilient flooring, which is sheet or tile flooring. Common types are cushion, vinyl, linoleum, rubber and cork.
This flooring product is fairly inexpensive, is easy to maintain, comfortable to stand on, and easy to install. Sheet flooring is installed using adhesives. Try to get adhesives that have the lowest amount of VOC’s as possible. The negatives about tile flooring are the tiles can curl, minor scratches, holes or tears are quite visible, needing to be replaced before it gets worse.

2 – carpeting is not a good choice for bathrooms, kitchens or basements (moisture areas). It is great for bedrooms because it is warm, soft on the feet and is good for absorbing sound. People with allergies should not have carpeting in their bedrooms because they spend eight hours of their day in this room. Carpets can trap dirt, dust mites, mold and bacteria. The harder the floor surface, the better for allergy sufferers. There are also carpets on the market today that off gas less harmful compounds, than in the past. A shorter pile (eg. Berber), is more durable and harbors less pollutants. Cost depends on the quality of carpet and underpad. It is important to get a very good quality underpad, as this will increase the longevity of the carpet.

3 – wood flooring comes in many widths, colors, thicknesses and grades. Some hardwoods are birch, maple, beech, and oak. Softer woods include pine, fir and hemlock. They come in strip flooring, plank, parquet, and laminates. Most new hardwood today is pre-finished and has UV-cured polyurethane layers to protect the finish. Pre-finished flooring prevents off gassing of chemicals into the atmosphere versus unfinished flooring that can have strong chemical smells lurking in the home for months, after they are stained and varnished. Laminates are usually cheaper than real wood, but wear very well. They are a good alternative to hardwood. Hardwood will increase the value of the home. It is easy to care for, looks beautiful and lasts a long time.

4 – ceramic tiles come in many sizes. They can be glazed or unglazed. Glazed tiles are more slippery when wet and are not recommended for bathrooms. Ceramics are very cold and hard and can be less comfortable to stand on for long periods. Ceramics wear very well and are easy to clean. White or very light colored ceramics are not practical, as they always look dirty. They can crack easily if a hard object is dropped on them and can be noisy for anyone living below. This type of floor is an excellent choice for people with allergies. Water based sealers and grout are better as they have fewer emissions. Ceramics tiles can last a very long time resulting in cost savings.

Most people have a mixture of the above flooring types in their homes. It is worth putting a little extra money into good quality flooring as this can help prevent problems down the road.

When deciding on the right kind of flooring for the home, the lifestyle of the homeowners should be considered. Plush carpets in light colors will not be appropriate for rooms which are inhabited by children and pets, especially if there will be little time for taking special care of the flooring. Rooms that won’t be used as much could have the lighter-colored carpets and tiles and wide-seamed tiles. It best to use carpet or tiles with dark colors and patterns for heavily used rooms.

The architectural features and the design of the rooms should also be taken into consideration. One should consider the following: Amount of humidity and water in the room, the possible presence of sunlight that can make certain colors in the area fade, and the presence of vents in the floors for heating and cooling. It is a must that the flooring chosen should work with the room’s architectural features and systems. There are extensive choices available for all kinds of room features, so homeowners should not feel compromised by the restrictions brought about by other space features.

After deciding on the type of flooring that will be most suitable for the home, a homeowner should contemplate on the type of look for it. Options for design are limitless, so there will be no restrictions when it comes to nailing down the preferred look. The most common looks that homeowners usually go for are either the warm and cozy look, or the cold, modern, and sterile style. Adventurous homeowners can get experimental and mix and match several design types to achieve a unique, distinctive impression.

Here are the different types of flooring that homeowners can choose from:

1. Hardwood
Hardwood floors are known for their strength and sturdiness. For those with more money to spare, they can opt to have engineered wood flooring, which is created by wood layers added with veneer. However, wooden floors are prone to scratching and gouges, and have the tendency to be discolored or cracked if exposed to a long period of maximum dryness or wetness. It is easy to maintain, though, it only requires dusting and vacuuming, and refinishing is required only every ten to fifteen years.

2. Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic tile flooring adds value to homes because of its durability and wide decorative range. There are several varieties that can suit every need and budget. The bad side is that tile floors can feel cold for bare feet and it may be hard to clean light-colored tiles that have wide seams. But in general, it only requires sweeping and mopping on a regular basis to maintain this kind of flooring. Strength and style are the great qualities of ceramic tile floors and come in minimal costs for homeowners on a budget.

3. Laminates
They are produced to look like an exact copy of wood floors, and they come with a lower price tag. Laminates can be easily maintained, and are also known for their durability. House decorators and builders consider laminate floors as a great option aside from other floor types because of its price and versatility. Damp mopping is the only thing needed for maintenance, and replacement may be needed every ten years.

4. Vinyl
Floors made of vinyl material are affordable, durable and are resistant to wear and tear. There are a great variety availability when it comes to choosing vinyl flooring, and you only need to sweep and mop to maintain them.

5. Carpets
Carpeting floors is less expensive than other floor types. Carpets comes in many sizes, shapes, fibers and colors, and are hassle-free to install. To maintain carpeted floors, you need to vacuum on a regular basis, and the carpets need thorough shampooing and cleaning once a year. Average cost of carpets range from one to fifteen dollars per square foot.

There will no shortage of options when it comes to choosing the perfect floor for a room. Homeowners will have no trouble getting the type of flooring that will suit their dream house.

Carpet is available in several different textures, constructions, colors, and designs – which will open the doors to virtually any interior design that you
can imagine.  The combination of texture and color will complement the look of both formal and casual environments, while helping to bring continuity to the overall room designs.

The most important thing to consider when you shop for carpet is the amount of traffic that will be on the carpet that is going to be installed as well as the area you hope to use it in.  The construction and the texture are both key aspects when you select a carpet for a specified area and use.

Nylon, polyester, and olefin are the most widely used fibers with carpet manufacturing, with each one displaying qualities that make themselves great with specific applications and uses. Even though nylon is more  expensive than some of the other synthetic fibers, it is also the softest and most resilient, which makes it great for any room in your home, including those with greater traffic.

Polyester fabric is less resilient than nylon, although it more cost efficient and offers a high level of resistance to stains, which makes it a great choice for areas such as bedrooms or dining rooms that are not subjet to a lot of traffic.

The fiber olefin is solution dyed, which results in a highly resistant stain carpet that can be cleaned easily using a water and beach solution -
without any loss to the color.

Unlike the other types of fibers, olefin is fade, mildew, and mold resistant, which results in a carpet that performs well indoors and outdoors. Keep in mind however, that olefin isn’t very resilient and as a result, it should only be considered with berber construction.

You can get carpets in either plush or berber construction.  The berber type of carpets are well constructed with a continuous level loop, while plush carpets are constructed of loops that have been sheared, which results in the strands standing upright.

Berber construction carpets don’t crush or mat due to their high level loops.  They are however harder underfoot, uncomfortable to sit on or lay
down on, and they can easily become damaged by pets with long nails.  Berber carpets are well suited for high traffic areas, which include walk
ways, living rooms, and entrance areas.  They aren’t popular with bedrooms, as their hard texture makes them a less than attractive option.

The plush type carpets are much softer to walk or lay on and they offer better sound and thermal insulation.  They tend to crush and mat though
when they are subjected to high levels of foot traffic.

The use of nylon fiber paired with a tight low pile construction will help to limit the amount of pile matting and crushing, due to the high resilient nature of the nylon fiber and the added support that is gained from tight construction.

The warranties for carpet ranges from 5 – 30 years, with the general rule being that you don’t cover the stairs.  Most carpet warranties will require
the installation of new carpet padding as well at the time of installation in order for the warranty to become valid.

Carpet a room using carpet samples. This creative method of carpeting a room works out great for a casual family room or kids bedroom. One of the real benefits besides costs is that when an area looks worn it is easily replaced without replacing the carpet in the entire room.

Discontinued carpet samples can be purchased at retail carpet dealers for as little as .50 cents each for smaller samples and a bit more for the larger sizes.  The size of both the sample and the room you are carpeting will dictate how many samples you’ll need.  If samples are not available you can also purchase small remnants of carpet. You’ll also need to purchase staples or floor adhesive to attach the samples to the floor.

If you are doing a children’s playroom, using multi-colored carpet is perfect.  It is very colorful and if a spill stains one of the squares of carpet,
you can quickly and easily pull it back up and install a new square.  This is a great advantage to doing a playroom this way.

The only things you’ll actually need when you install carpet samples or squares in a room is a carpet knife and a staple gun.  The 5/8″ staples seem to work the best for squares and samples.

All you need to do is put the carpet piece in place and staple in two or three staples along each side.  Make sure you wiggle the head of the stapler down deep between the fibers, or between the border and the fibers, so you can hide the staples as much as possible.

If you are carpeting a concrete floor, you can use either all purpose adhesive or double sided carpet tape instead of staples.  With either case, this is best to do when padding isn’t that important.  You can use padding as well if you don’t mind the complications, although without it, its pure simplicity.

You may also choose to lay out your pieces of carpet first, then decide where each individual piece will go.  When you reach walls, heating sources, or other obstacles, you can quickly and easily cut the pieces to fit. If you happen to make a mistake, it will cost you almost nothing, instead of costing
you a fortune.  When you make a mistake, all you have to do is start over with a different sample.

Before you begin to put the carpet down, you should always measure the size of the room first so that you can determine how many samples you need to purchase. If one store does not have enough samples you can usually find more samples at another store. To save drive time you might want to call around and find out what stores have ahead of time.

Although the samples will range in size the average is about 18 X 18 inches.  Using  pieces that are the same size is perhaps the easiest way to do it. Using multiple sizes is more work but if you have an artistic flare you will find it worth your time cutting and fitting multiple sizes of carpet samples.

Keep in mind that using samples or remnants is a very unusual style and if you are preparing a house for sale this is probably not the best choice for most rooms.

As we grew older, those decorations changed. Pictures of fairies and pirate ships turned to posters of rock stars and heaps of teddy bears turned into heaps of clothes and equipment. The spaces that we own grow – from rooms we shift to houses, offices and even buildings that we call our own and want to stamp with the different flavors of who we are.
Decorations can mean anything – from wallpaper to seasonal decorations to different styles which are carried through our entire homes. Tuscan houses, for example, tend to have crumbling stone walls, marble flooring and wrought iron accessories. But these different aspects of interior decoration mean more than simply choosing a theme because these walls, floors and accessories all contribute to the feeling that one gets when you walk into these homes. The themes in houses can make everything seem calm and peaceful, bright and vibrant, wise and historic with antiques – the list is endless.
Wherever we live, we have the beauty of mountains, city lights or sunsets. Yet, when it comes to decorating our own homes, people sometimes fail to see the need for beauty and tranquility in their everyday surroundings. Making your spaces a place that reflects you can be a daunting task and for years, professional interior decorators have helped people make their homes attractive. But who can capture the essence of you and your family better than you yourself? Figuring out how to make your home a reflection of your life requires patience, planning and a good dose of compromise.
Here are three things that you should keep in mind when you are redecorating your home or a room:
1. Decide on the mood you want to evoke in the room before you start decorating.
2.Consider the decor and style of your home (make sure it doesn’t conflict with what you already have).
3.Make sure that the colors you choose are compatible with the fixtures in the room.
The need for new paint on the walls, window treatments or buying new furniture can all be justified by our desire to differentiate ourselves and have our loves ones – the people that enter our space – get a feeling of who we really are.

Airborne Sound – You are probably aware that sound travels through the air in waves. It is at the point when the noise waves hits a surface of some kind, that the noise is absorbed and there is a reduction in sound. Therefore, wall insulation is good for reducing the level of sound. The more insulation the better. There are insulating panels available which have an inner layer of mineral wood. The outer layer is made of plasterboard, and these panels are attached to the existing plasterwork and can dramatically reduce the noise levels within a home. Acoustic padding can also be used to line walls and ceilings to reduce airborne sound.

Impact Noise – This is when sound travels through a material or object that does not absorb any of the noise whatsoever. The material actually conducts the sound. One such material is a wooden floor. One way of reducing the sound here would be to use fiberglass between the joists and good quality, thick plasterboard on the ceiling to reduce the travel of the noise to upstairs rooms (if the wooden floor is ground level).

Flanking is a mixture of airborne and impact noise. It is noise that reaches you indirectly. It could be open spaces such as corridors, chimneys or unsealed gaps within the home. Some useful ways of soundproofing are to use sound reducing acoustic layers under the carpet. Tiles are available from any retail sources. Sheep Wool Underlay is an Eco friendly product that can reduce noise by 21bd and is ideal for use under timber floors.

Another way to reduce noise within the home is to use rubber flooring that can reduce noise by around 20 db. You could even have a floating floor – that is you could float another floor above the original and use acoustic plasterboard to minimize noise.

Ceilings can be sound proofed again by using plasterboard of good quality, or using two layers. Alternatively, a false ceiling can be built.

Windows and doors are generally now double glazed and can reduce noise from outside by around 24bd. Make sure there are no gaps round windows as this will allow sound to travel and be extremely cold as well!!

White noise is also a factor to consider, this comes from things like televisions and street noises from traffic. Sound proofing walls will reduce this sound but not eliminate it.

In a modern world we have to be realistic about increased noise pollution and apply the correct method of insulation to successfully reduce the noise.