Different Types of Hardwood Flooring

Many homeowners want flooring that is durable in their home.  With so many hardwood flooring types out there, it can be hard to make a decision. There are various sizes and types of woods. Read below to see the three most common hardwood floors types found today:

Solid Hardwood

This type of flooring is made of a single piece of wood. They include tongue and grooves and comes in  finished or unfinished. This hardwood floors type can change depending on moisture, so they are normally nailed down.

An advantage to solid hardwood is that you can refinish them as many times as you want. They can last up to 10 years or more.  Hardwood flooring tends to expand and contract because of seasonal changes and moisture. The wood can contract and you might notice some gaps. During the summer these gaps will seem to disappear.

Longstrip Hardwood

Longstrip hardwood floors are engineered floors with the top layer made up of several thinner wood layers glued together. The center a longstrip plank is usually made of softer wood.

The topmost layer is made from any type of wood and can comprise of smaller cuts that are put together in two to three rows. It makes it seem like longstrip planks are actually two to three planks wide, so it looks preassembled.

Longstrip planks are manufactured for installing over any type of flooring without staples or glue. They can be put over different types of flooring.

Engineered Hardwood

Engineered wood flooring is very popular because it is very versatile. You can use it in almost type of room.

This type of flooring is constructed of many thin sheets of wood that are laminated together.  The lower layers are laid over each other with grains facing opposite of each other. Because of this process, it creates a hardwood floor that is fairly stable. It normally doesn’t contract or expand due to temperature changes. It also does not tend to warp because of changes in moisture in the air.

Engineered hardwood floors can be installed in a variety of places. This includes over wood floors and concrete slabs. This type of flooring can be installed in any way, including nailing, gluing, or even having it float over the sub color.

You can find a wide variety of engineered hardwood flooring types such as domestic and exotic woods at places and websites like www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/hardwood-solid.html

Get Your Hands Dirty with Green House Cleaning Sol...

Cleaning solutions that are better for the environment are also better for you.

There’s something very satisfying about getting your hands dirty and scrubbing down the family home. Of course, it takes a lot of hard work, but once it’s done you get a great feeling. More and more homeowners are becoming environmentally minded and as such they want access to green house cleaning solutions and compounds. These naturally derived Eco-friendly alternatives when compared to harsh chemicals can clean just as well and are much safer to use than normal detergents.

Green House Cleaning Solutions Vs Normal Household Detergents

There are mixed opinions on this new debate. Some traditional homeowners prefer to use the same products that they have trusted for years, while others prefer to try new cleaning products, especially if they have been designed with the environment in mind.

The majority of normal household detergents and cleaners have a strong chemical based aroma that we associate with the feeling of a clean home. However, these chemicals can often be overpowering, and precautions have to be taken to make sure chemicals aren’t mixed. Normal household cleaners can also trigger asthma attacks, especially chemicals that are distributed through an aerosol can. Antibacterial products in particular have been attributed to the rise of ‘super germs’, which are bacteria that can continue to survive despite a chemical cleaning process.

Many of the chemical based cleaners are based on some questionable compounds that have been re-examined with the establishment of Eco-friendly products and the increased awareness of health risks in the home.

Green house cleaning solutions are much more gentler, but they still have the same cleaning power. The aroma produced by environmentally friendly chemicals is much more delicate, and most of these products have no impact on asthmatics.

The biggest benefit of environmentally friendly cleaning solutions is the knowledge that these products were designed with the environment in mind, meaning that they were produced in a more ethical manner and they are safe to tip down a drain if you need to.

Employ an Eco-Friendly Home Cleaning Service

These days you can even hire out specialist home cleaning service and house maids that only use green house cleaning solutions as part of their service. If you’re one of the many people out there that lacks the time to keep your home clean and tidy then don’t worry, there will be a housemaid service for you.

Designing The Perfect Bachelor Pad

For all those young men out there who have yet to be tamed by a woman, this post is for you. Browsing the web, one sees many things, but few things are as impressive and cool as blog post on Happy Interior Blog on decorating an apartment (of 40 sq. ft. at that) to look like one of the sweetest bachelor pads anyone has ever seen.

This Bachelor Pad is designed in the small space of 40 sq. ft.

Some important things to pay attention to in this design are:

• The Utilization of Space
• The Color Scheme
• The Stylistic Motifs

The Utilization of Space | Well naturally, when designing in a 40 sq. ft. area, it’s very important to use the space wisely when designing. In this apartment, the designer has maximized the amount of space that can be used productively. For example., their is no need for a separate breakfast table in this room, because there is a counter attached to the kitchen walls, with accompanying stools, that serves that purpose. Wall space is effectively utilized to either hang kitchen utensils, or house numerous books, or even hold a bicycle. Lastly, it’s hard to see in this particular picture, but the hallway actually opens up directly into the bedroom, so the right behind the TV, is an entire bedroom, but nothing feels claustrophobic because there is plenty of open space.

The Color Scheme | Speaking of claustrophobic spaces, the color scheme plays a major role in making sure the space doesn’t close up. All of the walls in this room are white, because adding color to the walls adds the danger of closing up a space. More depth is added to the room through black and red accents throughout the space. Black walls on the kitchen cabinets especially add a depth to the room. There is enough white in the furniture (the bed, the shelves, the valences, etc.) that the white walls don’t feel unplanned–as if someone just forgot to paint them. The white paint on the walls looks completely intentional and matches the rest of the room very well.

The Stylistic Motifs | These are the patterns in the furniture. Sharp rectangular shapes are visible throughout the room. Even the couch is  rectangular and has edges. The shelves on the side wall are the exact same color and shape as the counter that comes off the kitchen wall. The black desk is the same thin rectangular shape as everything and matches with the other furniture in the room. The refrigerator, all of the handles, legs of the stools, dishes, etc. have a  metallic steel grey, really tying the entire space together.

The key to creating a space perfect for a bachelor to lounge in really lies in these three points. No space is too small if thought out well, especially when there’s no ladies to interfere with the flawless design.

Furniture: Start With What You Have

Making your home better doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking.  It’s always better to start with what you already have, and any replacement and/or improvement can be done piecemeal if necessary.  Have you considered that your layout – not your design – may be contributing towards any dissatisfaction you have when you evaluate your home?

Does your furniture provide function and comfort?  When you host, or utilize a room, do you find yourself constantly rearranging?  Chances are, a few improvements to your floor plan and furniture footprints will help open up the space and impart a better energy.

To see if your furniture might need to move, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do you walk through a room?  Do you have to make several turns or dodge furniture?
• What direction do you want people to face when in conversation?
• Is wall space being maximized to open up the middle of the room?
• Are any tables or shelves in the room providing any function beyond design?

Doing this, you’ll learn a lot about the space you’re living in.  You might find that adjusting a table or chair will change the path through the room and open up the space.  Try a few options – there might not be a measurable difference between one layout and the next, but the change may be enough to spark some ideas and focus your search.

If you want to avoid moving heavy furniture over and over again, take comprehensive measurements.  Using graph paper, you can create a to-scale version of the room and cutouts for the furniture.  These cutouts can be rearranged, giving you a multitude of options… without the heavy lifting!