Flooring Fanatic: What's Coming Next

Remnant Pieces

Remnants are small leftover pieces, not big enough to use for a large area, but big enough to hold on to. This week our newsletter is filled with small topics - not enough for an entire newsletter, just good little tidbits of information. Hope you enjoy these remnants!

What Are Clean Lines

You hear this all the time on the home improvement shows. What does it really mean? Clean lines mean that all surfaces are flat and relatively clear of "clutter". Furniture with clean lines has straight edges -- no ornate caving or fancy work.

Plan On Waiting

Many home improvement related items are on significant back order. Appliances, fabric, plumbing fixtures, hot tubs, windows, doors, furniture, lighting -- expect to be told 14 to 16 weeks to get, even on made in USA items.

Not So Boring Brown

Browns and beiges bounce back. Houzz tells us a trend that comes up again and again is a renewed interest in shades of brown. Warm taupe, beiges, sands -- basically all earth tones are surging in popularity. Some designers say the trend is an evolution from the whites and grays popular in recent years and that brown as an accent color works well to bring warmth to a palette heavy with those colors.

A Necessary Update

From Realtor.com: one of the biggest buyer turn-offs is popcorn ceilings. Textured and popcorn ceilings scream the 70s. The rough, bumpy texture is tough to keep clean, hard to repair, and frankly just looks bad. If you can, remove popcorn ceilings in your home. It's a bit of a chore (and a messy one) but once the popcorn is gone the clean, sleek surface of your ceilings will look much better than before.

How Much Will It Cost

Overall inflation is expected to be modest this year, with the exception of high demand items with little to no supply and on items that are imported from overseas. High demand, low supply makes sense. But what's going on with the imported items?

There is a major shortage of shipping containers, fewer shipping vessels, and once the container ship reaches the U.S. delays at our ports. Last summer the typical cost for a container was about $1,200. Now, suppliers say they are paying anywhere between $6K to $9K. "On particular routes, we are paying 300% to 400% more than what we were paying several months ago," said Rup Shah, president, MSI, which supplies both natural tile and luxury vinyl products. "While we are accustomed to fluctuating costs for ocean freight based on supply/demand, we have never seen anything even close to what we are experiencing right now." Typically, these periods of congestion only last 30-60 days. Unfortunately, this situation has been going on since early October, and progressively worsened. We appear to be in a sustained period of turmoil with no relief in sight.

Word to the wise: expect higher prices on imports, and extensive delays to get what you need.

Popular Pergolas

If you want to create an inviting outdoor living space, you'll probably need some shade to do it. A pergola is a relatively quick and affordable solution. These simple shade structures, which can be built and installed in a day or two, provide adequate shade for dining, lounging and other outdoor activities.

Dark Is Done

In floors, paint, fabric -- dark colors are dramatic but they close in a space. Many people will continue to work remotely in 2021 and multi-purpose rooms are a necessity. Dark colors limit the usage of a space and without expert lighting, a dark room is just that - dark! When shopping, go with lighter colored furniture, accessories, and paint.

How To Find It

Now that we know that it's hard to find home improvement items right now, and prices are going up, what do you do when you need something? See if someone is selling it. Take a look on Facebook Marketplace, Letgo, OfferUp, even eBay (look for Local Pickup Only). And don't forget about Etsy, filled with handmade and vintage items from artisans and crafters.

Spring Is Almost Here

The first day of spring is only a few weeks away. As you are shopping for fun new accessories for a quick update, trending colors you'll see are greens, blues, and terra cotta.

Design Tip

We get it. It is very difficult to envision how a tiny flooring sample will look installed in your home. Here are some options for seeing the floor you like in your room.

~~Many manufacturers have created the technology for you to see their floor in YOUR room. When you are on our website (www.enhancefloors.com), under Products, look for See in my room (in an orange box). You can upload a picture of your room (TIP: be sure it shows a lot of floor) and the style and color you are interested in will be superimposed over your current floor. It is quick and easy and there are a lot of floors to choose from. You can then save the picture you created. It's almost magical!

~~Facebook has Pages from almost every manufacturer and your favorite retailers, filled with pictures of their products. Enhance Floors & More posts lots and lots of pictures of our installations, which is a great way to see a product you liked in the Design Center installed in an actual home. Share the photo to keep it on your page, or save the image for future use.

~~Instagram is a social networking app made for sharing photos and videos from a smartphone. In fact, Instagram works best on a mobile device and not a PC. When a photo is posted on Instagram, hashtags are used. Use the hashtags to search for the product(s) you are interested in, for example #lgviatera or #mohawkrevwoodplus. You can save individual photos you like to refer back to later.

~~Houzz is a website that focuses on home improvement projects. Houzz has millions of pictures and lots of helpful articles. You can create your own Ideabooks and start saving pictures of what inspires you.

~~Pinterest is a web-based "virtual pinboard"; a high-tech version of tearing pictures you like out of magazines to file away for future reference. You can browse pinboards created by others for inspiration, "re-pin" images to your own boards, or 'like' photos to refer to. You can set up separate boards for each of your projects, for example, Baby's Room or Master Bathroom. As you see pictures that you like, pin to your board.

Of course, Enhance Floors & More is on all of these social media sites. You can easily link to our pages thru our website (www.enhancefloors.com), simply go to the very bottom right of our Home page and look for the icons.

You may be wondering how this is helpful. So often a client has a hard time describing what she is interested in, but a picture is worth a thousand words! Install the apps on your smart phone or tablet and you now have your favorites with you everywhere you go. Show us your board or Ideabook with the picture of, for example, the backsplash design that you like, and we will be able to take you to a similar product in our store.

There are so many helpful ways to technology to make your dream home a reality!