Helping You Fall For Fall

Fall is finally just around the corner! The leaves will be changing, and the weather will be cooling down (hopefully!)  Fall in our area is just beautiful! And the change of seasons is always exciting to experience.

Incorporating seasonal touches into your home throughout the year makes each season more enjoyable because you get to participate in the beauty. It doesn't take much to transition your home décor. Just a few small changes can make a big difference. Here are a few ways to get you and your home ready for the new season:

Before you get started adding fall elements to your décor, store away anything that has a distinct summer feel. If you always decorate for the seasons, then you'll already know what you added and can put away. However, if this is your first time transitioning your décor from one season to another, go around your home and look for anything that makes you think of summer, such as items in bright colors, like blue, orange, coral, and yellow. Vacuum or dust those items as needed, then store them until next summer. This is also a good time to decide that some pieces are ready to be permanently retired!

During the fall, it's all about rich, warm scents. You can start subtly with fragrances that have a musky undertone, then as we get further into the season start bringing in more traditional scents like pumpkin and cinnamon. To really create a wonderful aroma, make a simmering pot of cloves, apple, orange, cinnamon, and vanilla. This can be done in a crock pot, or on the stove. Check every once in a while to add more water as needed.

One of our favorite ways to transition décor from summer to fall is to switch out or add cozy textiles, such as accent pillows, throws, guest towels, and even window treatments. Choose warm colors and rich textures like knits, wools, and flannel. On your bed, simply changing the sheets to something heavier and adding a blanket over the foot of the bed will completely change the feel.

It's a lot of fun to update your vignettes for the seasons. During the fall, think rustic touches and accents from nature: branches, leaves, moss, and even seasonal fruits such as apples and pears look great as fall décor. Be sure to incorporate pumpkins and gourds, because these are the very essence of Autumn. Other organic components to include in your "still life" vignette are apples, pears, acorns, pinecones, and kumquats.

While summer is all about the sun shining bright, fall is about cozier, warmer lighting. If your home has a lot of natural light, you can dim it a bit with heavier curtains. Candles are a wonderful go-to for fall vibes, but there are safer alternatives. There are battery and electric candles on the market that offer the same look and feel, or warmers that melt scented wax without a flame.

Here is a fun activity:

Take 3 items, one from each list, and compose your vignette--

1. Mums, cinnamon and cloves, fall color throw pillows, gold and orange leaves, decorative branches
2. Pumpkins or gourds, apples, corn stalks, acorns, or pinecones
3. Lanterns, wheat sheaves, hay bales, copper pots, or scarecrows

Work it all together, group the smaller items in a bowl or fun jar, and instantly, it's Fall!  Now wasn't that easy?

One last thing we love about this time of year in Atlanta-- it is the perfect time of year to spend more time outside! So, dine alfresco, or just go sit and read a book, the weather is delicious!

And remember, as you are preparing your home for colder weather and sorting through the closets, to round up outgrown winter coats and shoes, and extra scarves and gloves to donate. Someone out there can use them!

What's New At Enhance?

Subway tile has been a very popular choice for years. Traditionally white and glossy in 3" x 6" rectangles, these timeless tiles go with everything, even the busiest granite countertops.  The new look in this classic tile is larger sizes like 3" x 12" and 4" x 24". Recent arrivals include new colors (lots of blue shades!), new textures, and gorgeous glass tiles. Come in today and see what's new in subway tiles.

How Much Does It Cost?

The larger format subway tiles do cost a little more than the 3" x 6" size.  We just installed a large kitchen backsplash in a 4" x 12" embossed (textured) subway tile for $1800.  This included an upgraded stain resistant grout.  

I Was Floored By Enhance

Linda in Cumming recently wrote this 5 Star Review: "My husband and I hired Enhance Floors & More to redo our entire first floor. They did an outstanding job removing all old carpeting and engineered hardwood, and installed beautiful high quality engineered hardwood throughout and tile in our mudroom entrance. They removed carpeting from our front staircase and installed beautiful oak treads, newels, railing and wrought iron balusters. We also hired them to paint the staircase, which I highly recommend; the finished product is gorgeous. They are very knowledgeable, skilled and professional and kept us informed throughout the process. We plan to hire them again next year to do our second floor and another staircase." 

 Thank you, Linda.  We really enjoyed working with you and look forward to seeing you next year for the upstairs!

What Should I Be Looking At

What's HOT Besides the Weather???

Wow, this summer has been brutal-- hot, hotter, hottest! But in spite of the weather, we have been busy, busy, busy! What have we been selling, and what are we installing? Lots:

Berber Carpet. Yep, Berber carpet is back! And we love it. This is not the Berber your parents had back in the 70's. First of all, the fibers are better. Back then it was mostly Olefin, and it was rough and scratchy. Today's Berbers are nylons, wools, and Triextas and they are soft and subtle. The loops aren't as big, making the carpet less "Playroom" and more "Living Room."  Back in the day, most of those Berbers were multicolored, adding to their casual appearance. Now they are mostly solids, and appropriate for any room in the house. Just beautiful!

What else is selling like hot cakes?  Wide plank wood and wood-look floors. By wide we mean 7, 8, and even 9-inch planks. We have beautiful wood floors that look like they could have come from a stately old castle in Europe, gorgeous colors, rich patina, and a little bit of distressing. And following that trend, we also have luxury vinyl plank (LVP), laminates, and porcelain floors that have those same features, for those who want the look but not the maintenance of wood. Some of them are amazing! We have even done combinations of these, for customers who wanted wood in the "living" areas of the home, but LVP or porcelain in the kitchen and bathrooms, for instance.

Which is wood? Which is LVP?

They're both gorgeous, aren't they? The bedroom is LVP, the living room is wood!

We have some other finishes that are sizzling hot! Porcelain tiles that resemble real stone are so beautiful we are looking for reasons we need it in our own homes! Look at this one called Fitch by Happy Floors-- so dramatic, so eye-catching, yet so durable. We think it would be a perfect choice for a den, an office, or a super masculine master bath.

And here is another of our favorites-- Contessa by Interceramic.

Contessa is so regal, so classic, and sooooo easy to live with! She is beautiful with grays and beiges, and is subtle and quiet, content to let other surfaces be the star of the show.

When it comes to laminates, we are in love! Laminates are "becoming" popular again-- they never stopped being great with us. Anyone with kids, dogs, rowdy husbands, or teenage boys should consider laminates, especially now! The looks are just incredible, so realistic and current, and this stuff holds up to all that an active family can do, and more, and most of it is water resistant. Great floors!

Mohawk's Beachside Collective, color Beachwood, is one of those floors that brings back memories of summers with the sand between our toes, no cares, and a warm breeze blowing. Who doesn't want to be there again? A beautiful color, with distinctive oak graining, and a timeless worn-soft look. 

If you are looking for something a little darker and more rustic, we recommend Rustic Legacy, also by Mohawk. It is a beautiful floor. We have it installed here in the showroom in the color Earthen Chestnut if you'd like to see it in person. The lineup also includes Cedar Chestnut, Knotted Chestnut, and Sandcastle Oak. 

The new Mohawk laminate line-- referred to as Revwood, is gorgeous, with lots of new introductions-- colors and textures galore, and water resistant! We also carry other beautiful laminates-Mannington Restoration, Beau Flor's Eternity line, and The Signature Collection. They are all so good looking, you'll have a hard time deciding! Mannington even offers three Chevron patterns that are color coordinated with their regular plank floors.

And usually carpet doesn't bring the ocean to mind, but how about a color called Clamshell? Dreamweaver's Exceptional II is an update to their original style Exceptional, but with all new colors, and their best-selling color is Clamshell-- that is wishful thinking! But really, if you are looking for a GREAT price on a GREAT quality carpet, come in and see Exceptional II! Other colors include Morning Fog, Sawgrass, and Iced Coffee, so we have colors for all your beach moods. 

Design Tip

Flooring stylings are influenced by fashion-- hot colors in clothing, for example, make their way into home décor.  Colors you see on the runway will start showing up in stores like Pottery Barn and Target, in paint colors, in rugs, and yes, in flooring.  The downside of this is that older colors start feeling stale and get discontinued.  

We've told you about floors that are in vogue right now.  What isn't? Frieze and super shaggy carpet. Parquet floors.  Small bathroom floor tiles like 4" x 4" and 6" x 6". Very dark, almost black hard surface floors.  Narrow width (2 ¼") wide hardwoods. Exotic hardwoods like Brazilian cherry and bamboo. Not to say that we don't install these products anymore (hey, if you love something, it's your house, own it!) but there are fewer and fewer offerings and choices these days.  If a manufacturer does not sell much of something, it's not cost effective to keep making it.  

Every week a client calls or comes in wanting more of a product we installed 20 years ago, and the first thing we do is see if it is still available.  Sometimes it is, but not always. Your design vision may become floors that complement what you already have, particularly if you do not want to replace everything.  Luckily your Enhance Floors Design Consultant can help you find products that will be beautiful in your home, once you get past the initial shock of what you have and love no longer being made.

How Much Does It Cost?

We just worked with a client that is expecting a lot of family staying over for the holidays.  They needed to finish off some rooms in the basement to add more "hang out" areas. We installed a little over 600 sq feet of LVP, 7" wide in pretty brownish-red tones, for $4500.  The space is now warm and inviting, and very much on trend.

I Was Floored By Enhance

Mickie in Smyrna writes: "We replaced carpet in our den with new hardwoods, installed on premises. They were stained to match existing hardwoods in the adjoining room that are 22 years old. We were astonished how well the staining person matched the existing hardwoods (ask for Mike, he is a genius!). You can't even tell where the old hardwoods end and the new hardwoods begin! Friends and family told me there would be dust everywhere from the sanding and that did NOT happen at all. We also replaced 22-year-old carpet with new carpet in our very large living room. Everybody showed up when they said they would, they all were quite nice and respectful and communicated perfectly despite language differences. From start to finish I loved working with all parties involved. We have had nightmares with other companies or contractors but the experience with Enhance is the BEST experience we have ever had in 33 years of home ownership!"

 

Thank you, Mickie, for the great review.  We are so glad that adding to your older existing wood floor turned out perfect.  Enjoy your "feels brand new again" home!