Floor purchases are often postponed because homeowners are confused about how to make a selection. But Erinn Valencich, celebrity designer and contestant on NBC’s reality home design show, American Dream Builders, says choosing a floor is easier than you think.

“Selecting new flooring may seem like a momentous task, but it doesn’t have to be,” she says. “If you approach it understanding the selection process, bringing in images of spaces you like for color reference, it’s not intimidating … but really quite fun.”

When considering new flooring you should evaluate your lifestyle. Many people prefer hard surface floors for high traffic areas of the home and carpet for bedrooms or dens.

Valencich is a fan of the warm look of wood in her designs and often uses premium laminates in place of hardwoods for active families.

“With all the new options of laminate available today, I often use it in place of real wood,” says Valencich, “The primary reason – durability. Laminates simply can withstand more punishment. And seriously, with quality laminates like the Reclaime Collection from Quick-Step, it’s next to impossible to tell the difference.”

So how do you choose your new floor? Valencich offers three easy steps to help guide you through the process.

1. Think color first.

When redoing a room, Valencich always starts with fabric swatches to determine a color palette. So if you’re refreshing a room, you’ll want to select a floor that will complement the new color palette of your fabrics and walls. Valencich recommends finding a floor color that contrasts with the walls and furniture in the room. If you have rich, dark walls, a lighter floor creates a dramatic difference. White and light walls may look more dramatic when paired with mid-tone or dark floors.

The popularity of gray-toned furniture hasn’t faded and you’ll be seeing these rich patinas for some time into the future. Likewise gray floors remain hugely popular because they create an amazing foundation for a room.

2. Choose your style.

With the resurgence of vintage looks in furniture and accessories, reclaimed, time-worn and rustic textures are extremely popular while smooth surfaces are always a classic.

Valencich often combines a rustic textured floor with the clean lines of a contemporary space. “I like to pair a warm rustic texture with a variety of smooth finishes. They create a nice contrast in a space and make a more modern look feel warm and accessible,” she says.

Of course rustic floors are the perfect fit for the contemporary cottage look and smooth surface floors work well in any decor. There’s no right or wrong, so choose what speaks to you and your style.

3. Visualize your floor in your home.

When you’ve narrowed your choices it’s time to visualize the new floors in your home. There are several ways to do this. Most manufacturers provide some type of visualization tool on their websites. Quick-Step flooring allows you to visualize a new floor in your room by downloading the free Style My Floor app from us.quick-step.com. This tool lets you play around as much as you like, trying out new floors in your room, before you make a purchase. You can also share the visuals with family and friends via email or social media to get their input.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices, it’s best to see actual flooring samples in your room with available light. Samples can either be ordered online or checked-out from your local retailer. It’s wise to involve your retailer early on in the process; he can provide great information on product specifications, durability and maintenance. Your retailer will also measure the room, order flooring and arrange installation.

For more information on Quick-Step floors or to view Erinn’s video on “How To Select A Floor” as well as more of her design tips, visit us.quick-step.com.

The post A sure-footed way to choose new flooring first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

Setting a home improvement goal is more common than you may think and you can make a dramatic improvement to your home with a complete remodel. You can take on several smaller projects – any time of the year – that will leave you loving your home all year long. Here are a few ideas to get you going.

* A fresh coat of paint. Nothing reinvents a room like a fresh coat of paint. Yet many people put off painting a room because they can’t afford professional painters and they don’t have time to do the job themselves. But you can achieve that professional quality finish at a fraction of the time and cost by visiting RentalHQ.com and renting your own paint sprayer. Use your sprayer to add a neutral color, which provides visual appeal and works with most furniture patterns, leaving you plenty of decorating options.

* Change hardware. Faucets and cabinet hardware can quickly date a room. Replacing hardware can add beauty to your kitchen without adding a lot of extra cost. Be sure to find knobs and pulls that are the same size as the existing ones so you don’t have to re-drill the cabinets. Do this for any furniture and in any room for an instant decor face-lift.

* Replace old tile. Outdated tile can make a bathroom look old and dull. Replacing it with new tile that is in style will give the space a rich, modern look. Tiling is a DIY project that anyone can tackle with the right tools. Rent the necessary items like a tile stripper, a tile saw and a mortar mixer to keep your costs down.

* Update curtains and blinds. Textiles play a major role in the overall decorating scheme of a room. New window treatments offer an inexpensive way to introduce bold color and patterns for an instant refresh. Pair your new curtains with decorative throw pillows for a striking impact to the living room.

* Recreate your flooring. If your carpet doesn’t need to be replaced but it could use a little refreshing, cleaning your carpets will do the trick. If you can’t afford to hire professional carpet cleaners or you feel like taking on the project yourself, renting a carpet cleaner can give your carpets the professional look you’ve been dreaming of. And if you have hardwood floors that need to be refurbished, renting a floor sander is an excellent first step for this project.

Home improvement projects do not have to include a complete overhaul to provide a new look. These smaller projects will dramatically improve your home all year long. To learn more about the tools you can rent for your next project and to see more ways those tools can help you, visit rentalhq.com.

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While you may love the bright reds and greens of the holiday season or the lush lilacs and blues of spring and summer, making them the foundation of a room’s design can leave the decor feeling out-of-step when the seasons change. By starting out with a foundation of neutral colors in walls, flooring and furnishings, you can add colorful and seasonally appropriate accents.

Updating your decor to complement the season is as simple as focusing on a few key areas.

Lighting
It’s easy to overlook, but lighting is a key element in room design, and one that needs to change with the season.

In spring and summer, when sunshine is abundant and the days are longer, you can rely more on natural light. During warm months, you may only need artificial light late in the evening, when the advanced hour makes soft, muted light appropriate. Winter’s shorter days and weaker sunlight lead to greater dependence on artificial light throughout the day, so your lighting design should include options that can be used throughout the day.

Most rooms will benefit from a mixture of overhead lighting, floor lamps, wall sconces and table lamps.

Walls
While neutral-hued walls make a versatile background for virtually any design, don’t be afraid to spice things up with seasonal touches. Repositionable wall covering options like SmartStick from MuralsYourWay.com, make it possible to create a seasonal look with a wall mural – and then remove it and replace it with something different when the season changes.

A patented adhesive allows you to easily place the removable wallpaper on virtually any smooth, flat surface, from windows to walls. You can pull it down, reposition it elsewhere, even fold it up and store it in a drawer for use next year. A wide variety of designs mean you can find something to fit your seasonal decor, and if you don’t see anything you like, you can customize by submitting your own original photo through the website.

Flooring
If your floor is wood or you have a newer home with builder-installed carpet, you probably already have a neutral palette to work with. Adding seasonal flair to floors is as simple as adding or removing area rugs.

Area rugs in rich tones can warm up a room during winter months – especially when wood floors can feel cold underfoot. You can even add an accent rug in evergreen or crimson to underscore your holiday decor.

In warm months, when your family spends more time outdoors, a more durable area rug, positioned near entryways can help keep soil, grass clippings and other debris off your carpet or floor.

Accessories
From window treatments to wall art, accessories are an easy, great way to create a seasonal look in any room.

In winter, when you want to keep out the chill, choose heavier drapes in colors that inspire warmth and comfort. For autumn or spring, when you want to welcome in sunlight, lighter, sheerer options can be appropriate. And in summer, when you’ll rely on blinds to block out hot midday sun, pastels and lighter fabrics can be a soothing foil to the utilitarian appearance of blinds.

Just as you change your own wardrobe to stay in step with the seasons, updating your home decor seasonally can help make your home feel welcoming and comfortable. Fortunately, it’s easy to keep your home decor in tune with the seasons when you make a few updates that are easy to change with the season.

The post Easy-to-Change Seasonal Decorating Ideas first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

Superior Surface Protection
Flooring is exposed to numerous factors that can wear, tear, scuff and dull its surface over time. For this reason, it’s important to select a laminate with a high level of surface protection – like the new PERGO XP collection. Offering double the wear resistance and durability of ordinary residential laminate floors, the collection features a unique surface layer that combines extreme wear performance and 30 percent greater scratch protection to better withstand the heavy traffic, spills and splashes that everyday life dishes out.

Quality Composition
Of course, a floor’s performance is much more than surface deep. Choose a laminate with a high-density core (10 mm total product thickness is ideal) and attached underlayment. Not only will these premium materials offer greater stability and a more realistic sound underfoot, but installation will be easier and faster.

Easy “Click” Installation
Laminate is the perfect material for do-it-yourselfers wanting a weekend project because most install with planks that literally “click” together. Look for laminates that offer locking systems that don’t require glue for installation that’s both easy and secure.

Realistic Good Looks
The best laminates combine both brawn and beauty. There are laminate styles that reflect today’s most popular design trends and complement any room of the home – from multi-hued slates of whitewashed pines and rustic oaks to rich cherries – even the exotic beauty of tropical-inspired decors. Make sure that the laminate you choose features ultra-realistic texturing and natural wood grain looks – as well as a surface layer that provides superior clarity.

Comprehensive Warranty
A quality laminate will offer the confidence and protection of a limited lifetime residential warranty against wear, fading and stains. If you want to be certain that a laminate offers superior durability, choose one that also is warranted for light commercial usage. With proper installation and simple maintenance, you can be assured the floor will look “like new” for years to come.

“Laminate always has been an ideal choice for homeowners seeking the best in both performance and realistic good looks,” says David Hartman, vice president of sales for Pergo. “However, the latest generation of laminate flooring features innovations that take beauty and durability to a whole new level and deliver the ultimate floor for today’s high traffic homes.”

For more information about the new PERGO XP collection, available exclusively at The Home Depot, visit www.PergoXPvs.com.

The post What's the Best Floor for your High-Traffic Home? first appeared on The How Do Gardener.

Modern Colors
Color is a key aspect of interior decorating, and paint is one of the easiest, most cost-efficient ways to update your home interior. To give any room a clean and contemporary look this season, take some hints from the professionals.

Pratt & Lambert Paints recently announced its 2012 Color Trends, which are divided into five palettes: Enough, Expressive, Instinctive, Essence and Echo. Pratt & Lambert’s Color &#43 Design team identified these colors as their top picks for the modern home, and Color &#43 Design Manager Donna Schroeder says the Instinctive palette offers a number of great options for fall. From Cafe Cubano to Dusty Mink to Garnet, Schroeder predicts nature-inspired shades will pop up on ceilings, trim and walls everywhere. And with Pratt & Lambert’s Quart-Size Color Sampler option, you can test out your choice before painting the entire room, ensuring a look you’ll love.

Ground Level
Just because the floor is under your feet, it shouldn’t be last on your list of interior updates. You know that old carpet is ugly, but it will also overshadow more modern elements in the room.

Natural materials like granite and hardwood floors are popular, but their high cost may limit how many rooms you can update. Fortunately, stylish options are available that won’t break the bank. For instance, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is available in hundreds of styles that mimic authentic wood and stone to give your home a modern, lavish look for less. With a wide range of brands, price points and installation options available, LVT is a great choice for anyone in need of a flooring update. Plus, LVT is more durable than some other flooring options, so you can enjoy new-looking floors for longer.

Time to Reflect
Mirrors are an easy and inexpensive way to inject personality into a room. Hang a large square mirror to open up a small space, or arrange a number of smaller mirrors in a fun pattern to create an artistic statement.

With endless framing options available, you’re sure to find a match to complement any room’s style. A thin, simple rectangular frame will create a contemporary look, while an ornate metal frame gives an oval glass a traditional, old world feel. Or, for a completely clean and modern effect, frameless mirrors come in a wide variety of shapes and edge designs.

Brighten up Lighting
New lighting can change the entire feel of your home’s interior, and there are seemingly endless options to help you brighten up a room. Recessed lights create a clean look that can open up smaller rooms or highlight an area such as a photo or piece of artwork. Table and floor lamps can act as artful vessels of light, adding colors and patterns to a bland room. And hanging lighting, such as a unique chandelier, will bring interest and personality into a room while serving its functional purpose. To give your new lighting a sustainable side, energy-efficient light bulbs will save you electricity costs and last longer than standard bulbs.

Don’t let your hesitancy to redecorate leave your home in the past. With these four easy updates, you can renew your living space and give your home a new, modern feel.

The post Four Simple Ways to Modernize your Home Decor first appeared on The How Do Gardener.