Have You Looked At The Calendar?

Halloween Costume Ideas for Kids

If you need some ideas for your children, here's a quick list of this year's popular Halloween costumes:

    --Disney princess           

    --Spiderman

    --Batman character   

    --witch

    --pirate   

    --animal (cat, dog, monkey)       

    --princess

    --action/superhero   

    --Star Wars character

    --Marvel superhero

Thanksgiving Countdown

If you are hosting the family Thanksgiving Dinner, now is the time to get organized.  The big day is 6 weeks from tomorrow. Of course, the more you can do ahead of time, the more pleasant and less stressed the day will be.

A few things to do now:

~~walk thru your house with a critical eye. What home improvement projects do you need to begin on right away? Painting, new flooring, quick kitchen updates like granite countertops and a new backsplash, outdoor projects and yard work?  What can you do yourself and what do you need     professional help with?

~~if out-of-town family will be spending the holiday with you, sleep in your guest bedroom one night.  Is the mattress comfortable?  What is missing that you need to add to the room: an alarm clock, table lamp, nightlight, small television?

~~schedule an appointment to have your carpets and upholstery cleaned, and schedule maid service for that week.  The calendars of service providers fill up very quickly this time of year!

~~watch for sales and coupons of nonperishable items and stock up now.  Canned cranberry sauce, frozen vegetables, cake mixes---why pay more later?

Fast 5 Design Tips

~~Tiles laid on the diagonal will visually enlarge a room - making a small space look bigger. Also, closely matching the grout color to the tiles will expand the look of the room.

~~Use the rule of 3 as you decorate:  3 candles, 3 pictures, 3 pillows.  Two can be too formal, and four can be too many.

~~Need a quick room update?  Buy a new rug and cover as much of your current floor covering as possible. Worn, stained carpet or beat-up hardwood floors disappear under your beautiful new rug.

~~Every room needs a focal point, which is the one thing the eye is immediately drawn toward (it also drives the design ofthe room). Examples of decorative focal points are a fireplace, a four-poster bed, or an interesting piece of furniture.

~~Dark-stained or ebony hardwood floors are popular, but know that they show dirt, pet hair, and "dust bunnies" faster than medium- or light-stained floors.

Ask The Expert

I am thinking about new wood floors for my home.  There are so many to choose from.  Where do I start?

You are smart to be considering an investment in new hardwood floors for your home.  Wood flooring enhances the décor of any room, and provides timeless beauty that will increase in value throughout the years. In fact, in a national survey of real estate agents, 90 percent said that houses with wood flooring sell faster and for higher prices than houses without wood floors.

Your Enhance Floors Design Consultant will need certain information in order to know what type of products you should consider.  Typical questions we will ask you include:

~~Are there existing hardwood floors in your home that you want to match?

~~If so, what do you know about these floors?  Is the wood something your builder installed or were the floors added later?  

Do you have any information on your current floors?

~~What is the subfloor in the rooms you want the hardwoods for?  Wooden subfloor (plywood) or cement slab? Is there a basement or crawl space underneath the rooms?

With this information your Design Consultant can begin making product recommendations.  First, we will determine if you need site finished or prefinished hardwoods.  If your subfloor is wooden, and your existing hardwoods were installed by your builder, you probably have site finished floors.  If you are not matching existing hardwoods, you may want to consider a prefinished floor. 

What does this mean?  Site-finished hardwoods are installed raw (unfinished) and then sanded, stained, and coated with polyurethane in your home. 

You are able to select the stain color and the gloss level of the floor.  Prefinished hardwood floors are fully manufactured and finished in the factory.  A prefinished floor offers a quicker and more convenient installation.  Manufacturers of prefinished floors include companies like Bruce, Armstrong, Mohawk, and Somerset. Both types of wood flooring (site-finished and prefinished) are available in solid and engineered wood.

Next, we will determine if you need solid or engineered wood.

Solid wood is exactly as it sounds: a solid piece of wood.  Solid wood is usually ¾" thick. Engineered wood is thinner and is

made in plies (layers) with the actual species of wood on the top layer.  The bottom layers utilize other species of wood for stability.  Engineered wood was developed for glue down installation, but some can be nailed and floated. Engineered floors can be ¼", 3/8" (most common), ½", or even 3/4" thick.  If the area being installed has a plywood subfloor, either type may be used.   Solid wood floors can only be installed on a cement slab if special and expensive installation techniques are followed.

If you are adding to existing hardwoods, prefinished or site finished, you will also need to determine what you have: thickness (normally 3/8" or ¾"), width (2 ¼" and 3" are the most common widths for older floors), and species.  Most wood floors are oak, but there are numerous choices, including maple, birch, bamboo, and hickory.

If you do not have an existing hardwood floor to match, you get to select exactly what you want!  And the possibilities are endless.  Wood floors come in a variety of colors that will fit any décor. Today's wood floors come in more than 50 species, both domestic and exotic, spanning the spectrum of color options, finishes, and price ranges. No matter what the look you want to achieve, there are a variety of species to meet your needs.  Visit our Design Center to look at large product samples and installed wood floors and spend some time on the internet looking at pictures of flooring (Pinterest and Houzz are great sites for this) to help you find the wood floor of your dreams.

You may be wondering if prefinished floors are real hardwood floors and if engineered floors are real hardwood floors.  Yes, both are composed of 100% hardwood.  All ¾" solid prefinished wood floors can be sanded numerous times.  Most engineered wood floors can be sanded at least once, except veneers.  

Some other things to consider:

~~Some floors show wear and damage more readily.  Generally, the lower gloss, the less wear and scratches will show. Medium stain colors and wood with a lot of grain will also show less damage.  Very light and very dark floors show scratches and wear quickly, and floors such as maple that have very little grain again show imperfections more readily.  Distressed hardwoods may be the most practical option for active families and homes with pets.

~~If you are having site finished floors installed, there will be certain days and times that you cannot walk on the floors at all.  For this reason, many families choose to have the work done while they are on vacation.

~~Cost.  Hardwood floors cost at least twice as much as carpet, on average around $8.00 to $9.00 per square foot fully installed.  Of course, the average homeowner replaces their carpet every nine years, while hardwoods last decades and decades.

 

~~The home improvement shows may lead you to believe that installing hardwood floors is an easy do-it-yourself project. Unless you have excellent carpentry skills, you will probably find that this is not the case! The quality of your installation is crucial because of the permanency of hardwood flooring.  Be aware that there is no easy way to fix a bad installation.

Hardwood floors offer warmth, beauty, and value and are one of the most important design elements in your home. You are now prepared with all of the basic information you need to begin shopping for a beautiful new wood floor for your home.  

How Much Does Will It Cost?

To help you budget, here is information on recent installations of all three types of hardwood floors:

New site finished with refinishing: new wood for kitchen and dining room $4900 (420 square feet) and refinish the existing wood family room and hall (415 square feet) $1900.

Prefinished engineered wood in family room and master bedroom (650 square feet) $5000.

Prefinished solid wood in kitchen with breakfast area and halls (350 square feet) $3500

It's Finally Fall Y'all!

With a tease of cool weather a couple of weeks ago, we rushed out and bought marshmallows to roast over a cozy Autumn firepit, but a few days later, we were sweltering again---no cocoa or hayrides just yet, thanks very much! But it seems that Fall is truly around the corner now, here at the beginning of October, so let's do some seasonal prep.

It'll be getting dark earlier and earlier, so make sure all those outside lights have working bulbs, and go ahead and clean the cobwebs out too. The birdies have raised all their babies, and they've all flown away, so feel free to knock down any birds nests you find as well.

Indoors this is a good time to clean all those baseboards. If yours are already clean (mine aren't) then do something more aesthetically pleasing, and consider changing out artwork, swapping out window treatments, or adorning the sofa with some seasonal cushions. Bring those delicious soft throws out and toss them across the sofa. You may have some collectibles or knick knacks that you can "retire" for a few months and replace with the ones you usually keep put away. Yes, you know you have some!

And just so you feel ultra-practical and productive, clean out a drawer---one per week should keep you busy! Who knows what you'll find? Maybe something great you forgot you have!

In decorating this Fall, we're seeing copper continue to be popular. Brass and other gold-tones are still gaining a greater market-share as well. Colors are rich and drenched, oranges and blues leading the pack. Deep orangey reds, and blues in the middle of the spectrum (not too light, not too dark), as well as lush charcoally greys. This applies to home décor as well as clothing. 

What else is in for clothing?

Big chunky boots are out. A neat trim pair of ankle boots is a big Yes.

Fur that is obviously fake, made in lots of fun colors, is trending.

Don't put those maxi skirts away. Do pair them with fitted tops and jackets.

More do's and don'ts

Do a thorough vacuum cleaning inside the house- even moving furniture. Get ALL that dust!

Don't wear shoes inside the house. They carry dirt and germs.

Do clean all your switch plates. Don't spray cleaner directly on them- use a cloth dampened with cleaner.

Do paint your front door. Don't close it while it's still wet.

If that carpet still looks sad and tired after a good vacuuming, come on in to the store. We are having a great promotion-- The Mohawk Anniversary Sale features sale prices plus offers you a choice: an instant rebate (up to an additional $500 off, on a sliding scale based on square footage purchased) or 36-month interest free financing. Not in the market for carpet?  No worries, hardwoods, laminates, ceramic, and luxury vinyl floors are also part of the big Mohawk Anniversary Sale!

We also have a new product in the store. An interesting new "hybrid" of laminate and vinyl. It is Armstrong PRYZM and it is beautiful! There are four layers to it: a commercial grade wear layer, then the visual layer, award winning for its textures and designs, in the middle is a dent proof and waterproof core, and on the bottom is a cork layer for comfort and sound absorption. Very durable and scratch resistant, plus able to handle any moisture that comes its way, PRYZM is a fabulous new line we are so excited about!

What images does Fall evoke for you? For us, it's more than images. It's smells, too. That sweet clean smell of Autumn, the cinnamon and clove smells of pumpkin pie, that spiciness of chrysanthemums, and the wonderful woodiness of bonfires. And sounds---leaves crunching underfoot, birds chirping, and children happily exiting the school bus. The touch of the cooler, almost chilly, air at night, those cozy soft sweaters, and the feel of the breeze flowing in the windows we can open now after a hot summer. And oh! the taste of those apples straight from the orchard! And the fried well, everything, at the weekend festival!  And the pies! And the warm comforting soups!

But the sights! The earthy colors, the inviting textures, the beautiful corn mazes, the piles of orange and pink and yellow and white and green pumpkins. Nothing says fall like a pumpkin patch.  The pumpkin patches are popping up all over the place---stop by and pick out a few or a dozen. They make wonderful Fall décor, and will last right through Thanksgiving.  Gather some acorns, some pinecones, and your fall decorating is as good as done.

Another quick and easy way to update your home is with a new rug or two.  We have a large selection of rugs in our Rug Shoppe, with prices starting at $99.  Maybe you need a new rug for your foyer, an outdoor rug for your patio or deck, or a custom sized rug for your living room.  Come in and see what we have.  And if you just can't get by the store, you can also shop for rugs on our website.  Here's the link to see the beautiful rugs we sell online---great prices and a large selection!

                      

Is your house ready for the holidays?  

Thanksgiving is only seven weeks away.  Now is the time to decide what has to be done before the holidays and begin getting the work scheduled.  Maybe new kitchen countertops and a backsplash, new carpet to update the bedrooms, hardwood floors for the family room for a warm and cozy feeling---meet with an Enhance Design Consultant and get your project started so that it can be completed before the guests arrive to visit or before the office party you volunteered to host at your home.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are feeling so especially thankful that we remain so unscathed here in the Atlanta area, as Mother Nature has been showing her bad temper in so many other parts of the globe. Our thoughts and prayers linger so often these days on the folks whose lives have been ripped apart.

We here at Enhance are thankful for all our wonderful customers and friends. We are grateful for the part you play in our days, making our work a pleasure. We will be hosting a "Thankful" event on November 9^th. Stay tuned for details!