All about bamboo flooring

Home design trends keep changing from time to time. Trends that were in vogue yesterday are quickly replaced by new ones. If you are interested in updating your home or condo, check out these top 5 latest design trends.

A recent survey, conducted among 923 real estate agents, managing brokers and association executives by real estate writer Mark Nash, shows some surprising new trends in home decoration and remodeling and a significant shift from current ones. Here are the five latest home design trends.

1. Garages Can Have Style. Decked out, upscale garages have removed the image of grim and grease that is normally associated with them. Today’s garages have undergone a complete reshaping as homeowners prefer modern garages equipped with numerous luxuries such as cabinet and storage systems, mini refrigerators, air conditioning and residential-looking flooring.

2. We All Need Personal Space. Another trend that has evolved is the creation of personal space in homes. The amenity of a private and dedicated space for each one in the home is becoming popular these days with even couples wanting space to spend some time alone occasionally.

3. Relax. relax…relax…A separate one-stop zone for relaxation is the third new trend in homes. These tranquility rooms are meant for a variety of relaxation and fitness activities such as yoga, meditation, exercising, steam baths, etc.

4. Spend More Time Outside. Many people in colder climates are now converting outdoor spaces into heated “warm zones.” Examples of these zones include heated patios, walkways and driveways. This makes winter maintenance easy and spring and fall more enjoyable.

5. No More Snoring. And finally the problem of sleeping with snoring partners and others seems to have been solved with another of the latest home trends. People are attaching master bedrooms today with an additional room that serves as a ’snoring room’. Instead of heading for an uncomfortable couch, now snoring sleepers can find their way toward a much more comfortable sleeping quarter. A typical bedroom for snorers is equipped with a double bed and chair, with easy access to the amenities of the master suite.

While these features dominate the current home design trends, some of yesterday’s trends are on their way out. Among trends that are losing ground are spiral staircases, bamboo floors and laminate flooring that looks like hardwood. Spiral staircases are unfriendly for elders, pets and young children; bamboo floors have been found to be scratch-prone and laminated flooring is often noisy.

Home sellers and real estate agents can use these latest home design trends to add more value and appeal to a home, condo or any other type of residential real estate before putting the property on the market for sale. A home with fashionable designs and features can easily attract trendy home buyers, and may increase the value of your property.

Real Estate Advisor
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/top-5-trends-in-home-design-and-upgrades-82340.html

A video step by step guide to installing laminate flooring. Everything you need to know about how to install laminate floors. Presented by BuildDirect.

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Just layed bamboo flooring over radiant heat concrete with polyurethane adhesive. I have tried Mineral Spirits with no success.

Thanks

There is a good product called GooGone. You can find it just about anywhere, WalMart. I’ve use it all the time to remove the adhesive that is left over when remove a sticker on something I bought.

Second only to the walls in terms of surface area, the flooring in your home offers a real opportunity to make a large scale style statement. Unlike walls however, flooring has the added task of standing up to a lot of wear and tear. Finding a good balance is crucial to successful flooring.

Carpeting is currently making a huge comeback. A decade of laminate flooring has left us all yearning for a little comfort and warmth underfoot. Most people ditched their carpet in an effort to toe the minimal line, but today this really is unnecessary as a modern clutter free finish can still be achieved with carpets. The trick is to opt for the pattern free variety. A biscuit or oatmeal coloured carpet will really blend well into a minimal setting whilst creating a warm ambience. Do not be afraid of warm colours when trying to achieve a contemporary look, clinical is not what you are looking for. Generally speaking, it is best to avoid cream or off-white carpets as no matter how careful you are, they will show up any mark- you want to be comfortable not tip toeing all over the sitting room. If you must have a really light carpet, restrict its use to the bedrooms where you are usually barefoot anyway and can also be sure guests won’t be traipsing in and out. If you have children or a dog, you can still enjoy the comfort of carpeting whilst retaining a modern look, simply choice a darker shade. Plum, aubergine, slate, burgundy or even black are all really up-to-the-minute shades that will allow for a few mishaps.

Wooden flooring is probably the favourite of British homeowners at the minute, and not without reason. A wooden floor really does add something indefinable to a space. It natural and comforting and brings a real sense of history and timelessness. Yet at the same time is still amongst the most contemporary and urban chic flooring opting on the market. Available in so many variations it is extremely versatile- a dark oak or mahogany floor will help create some classic British stateliness, whereas walnut or Bamboo creates a real youthful vibrancy. And it is not only the huge array of styles that makes a wooden floor so usable, it is also the unique blend of comfort and durability that means wood is possibly the only flooring material that can be used all over the house. Equally as at home in a light shade in the kitchen when paired up with simple trimmings like a cheap roller blind and chrome bar stools, as it is in a dark stain sitting under the ornate bay window curtains of a Georgian town house, wood really can do it all.

The final flooring must have for the home is tiling. Once restricted to the kitchen and the bathroom, the massive increase in tile variations over the last few years has meant they have began to pop up in less conventional places. This can only be a good thing as a lot of tiles on the market are far too beautiful to be hidden under the bathroom sink. A dark slate floor would provide the ultimate base to a chic minimal living room, and with it being a natural material, it actually won’t appear cold if paired with a big fluffy rug. Mosaic tiles are also a wonderful way to spice up a room. They are available in so many finishes and colours and create an amazing speckled effect on whatever surface they cover. A hallway is a really great place to experiment with tiling. Being the main thorough-fair in the home, it needs to have hard wearing flooring. It is also not a room you spend a lot of time in, so you can afford to add a little more colour than you might in the sitting room.

Terry Henman
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/flooring-fundamentals-698478.html

Ask This Old House 7×26 (2/3) Leaky PVC Drain Trap / Installing Bamboo Flooring

Downloads for this can be found here:
http://diytvfan.blogspot.com/

The Official Site can be found here:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tvprograms

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I moved my couch across the floor without the feet on it and one of the staples holding the upholstery on was sticking out and made a thin but long, shallow scratch on the floor. How can I fix this before I end up throwing a rug over it?

There are a couple of factors that will determine what can be done. First – What is the polyurethane sheen (satin, semi-gloss, high-gloss) on the floor? You can find out from the manufacturer. Typically, it is a mix of satin and semi-gloss. You will need to know this in order to match a possible touch up to the poly. Second – How old is the floor because if it was originally semi-gloss and has been down for some time, then the sheen has faded to satin. Again you will need to know this in order to match a possible touch up poly. Third – Does the scratch only penetrate the top finish or is it all the way into the stain? If its superficial, then you can use a small fine paint brush and cover the scratch. If it is into the stain, you have a bit of an issue and you should probably call a professional for color matching and possible sanding.

http://builddirect.com Co-Founder Rob Banks talks about a subset of strand-woven bamboo flooring: uniquely patterned tigerwood bamboo floors.

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Bamboo is a good choice for a flooring but you can t compare it to a standard hard wood. You have to compare it to a specific wood that is used for hard wood since there is a couple dozen types of hard woods. Some better and some worse than bamboo.
It is a good flooring because it wears well and it is a renewable resource , but a bit pricier.So you ll have to weigh all the facts and compare to a specific type of wood.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar. GL

http://www.worldfloorsdirect.com

Get your quality bamboo flooring and cork flooring at wholesale prices from World Floors Direct.

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Last in a three part series, I’ll share some interesting insight from various publications, experience, and trends in our local Chicagoland residential real estate market.

“As is” in home sale marketing. Anything went in the boom market, but if you’re planning to use “as is” in 2007, forget it. Buyers see “As Is” as a red flag about the home and the seller. With all the competition from existing and new housing, an “As Is” will chase the buyers away.

Buyer incentives. Free cars don’t sell houses, realistic pricing does. Gimmicks only confuse and distract buyers. Cut to the chase and deduct the cost of your free-with-purchase from your current price and send the signal to buyers that you’re selling real property, not personal property.

Endless Open Houses. The open house pendulum has swung from “the house sold in the first day” to “we need to have our house open every Sunday”. Desperation is when your home is open every Sunday, and don’t think buyers don’t know this and keep track. Plan on every three weeks if you must have a public open house.

Over-full-price offers. It was a strategy in the boom market to under-price a home and let the market set the selling price. Not today! One thing that won’t change in 2007 is that every buyer will want a deal, and you had better be prepared for them to walk if they don’t get one.

Bedrooms not large enough for a bed. In the boom, rehabbers and developers learned the fastest way to profit was to increase the room count of an existing home. Bedrooms shrunk to walk-in closet size when a four-room, one-bedroom was gut-rehabbed into a four-room, two-bedroom. Or, the doorways and windows eliminate required wall space. Savvy agents kept asking, can you fit a queen-size bed in either room? And the answer was usually, no.

Loads of glass upper kitchen cabinet doors. Buyers say it looks great, but many who specified and experienced it firsthand don’t have the time to keep their kitchen cabinets organized. Plus, if you hate washing the windows, having more glass in a greasy room like a kitchen is high-maintenance.

Bowl-shaped above-counter bathroom sinks. The splashing and overall upkeep have earned these the reputation of nice to look at, but, “no thanks, don’t want one.”

Any shiny metal finish. Brushed nickels and pewters are in and antiqued and polished brass is out.

Stainless-steel refrigerators and dishwashers are a fading trend. The cold look and higher maintenance of steel is shifting buyers to specify warmer colors in kitchen appliances.

Spiral staircases. Once the rage for mid-seventies makeovers, these are now death to a home seller. The boomers have aged, their kids don’t like them, they’re unfriendly to pets and a danger to young children and elderly parents. Take yours out and put in a standard staircase (inside or out) before you sell.

Bamboo floors. The first reviews are in on this popular eco-friendly flooring, and they’re not pretty. Complaints range from easily dented and scratched to prone to warping from variations in our climate and humidity levels.

Hardwood laminate floors. These noisy, poor relatives of solid hardwood simply don’t stand up to multiple sandings to remove stains or change colors.

Home sellers who smoke in their home while it’s on the market. Buyers HATE second-hand and stale smoke odors. Marketing your home is not the same as living in it. If you have to smoke, go outside. Clean the smoke smell from the house, carpet, window treatments, etc.

Kris Kombrink
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/2007-housing-trends-part-three-whats-out-90755.html