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Today’s living spaces are small.  Although houses seem to be getting bigger the rooms inside of them seem to be getting smaller, sometimes it is all that the people can afford and sometimes the people who live there have chosen to down size.
  
Whatever the reason, unless you are looking for a cozy kind of an atmosphere, a small room can take its toll psychologically.  You feel cramped and closed in, you may even feel claustrophobic and you find yourself wishing that you had more space.  It is a home decorating nightmare.

Well, unless you decide to move, you are going to have to make do with the space that you have.  Fortunately there are several home decorating ideas that will give you the illusion that your small room looks larger than it actually is.

Here is a list of some of those ideas,

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One of the most important aspects when remodeling a room is the flooring.  The right floor can make the difference between a nice room and a spectacular one.  Yet, how do you decide what type of flooring to choose? Time after time I have been asked by customers “what kind of floor should I use?”  They turn to me because they know that I am a handyman and that I have quite an extensive background in flooring. 

Unfortunately, the answer is not easy because there are many things that need to be taken into consideration.  Things like how much and what type of traffic the floor will be getting along with the part of the house the floor is located in are all questions that need to be answered. And, along with that there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration.  Other factors like budget and understanding that the floor that you may like best may not always be the best choice. 

I know of one home that has laminate flooring installed in their basement.  Now, anyone who has any experience with flooring will tell you that a laminate floor is a poor choice for a basement, because should their ever be a flood the laminate will get ruined.

But, the good news is choosing the right flooring does not have to be that difficult if you just have a proper understanding of the different floors available along with the pros and cons of each one. So what I have done is create a short list of the 5 most common floors available along with their benefits and drawbacks.  Let’s take a look.

Carpet - the usage of carpet varies by locale, but carpet is a soft fabric that works great in any room.  Carpet is made by inserting or as it is known in the trade, tufting small pieces of fabric, usually nylon, polyester, olefin or wool into latex backing.

The pros - carpet comes in many styles to fit almost any décor and budget.

The cons - although some carpet fibers wear better than others, carpet does not wear as well as other flooring choices.  Also, it is easily damaged and is more difficult to clean than other flooring materials.

Laminate - laminate floors, although made to look like natural products (wood and stone) are actually comprised of a synthetic or of a synthetic and natural base material coated with a synthetic covering with a picture of the material that they are supposed to replicate slipped in between.

The pros - laminate floors are less expensive than real woods or stone and at least for wood, more durable.  Laminate floors are very easy to clean and require less maintenance than wood or stone.

The cons - they do not quite look like real wood and stone although some of the latest products are getting very close.  They also can be damaged and as for wood are more difficult to repair.  Also, you do not want to use laminates in any area that may be subject to water because due to their construction they cannot get wet.

Tile and stone - tile is created out of a mixture of clays that once formed into shape are baked with a glaze applied to the top.  Tile is also being created out of porcelain.  Stones come in many materials including marble, granite, travertine, limestone and slate.

The pros - tile and stone floors are extremely durable.  They also give off a very elegant look and feel.

The cons - stones can be stained if not protected and can both tile and stone are subject to cracking.  Natural stones and better grade tile can also be costly.  Installation is also difficult because of the weight.

Vinyl - comes in two forms, tiles and sheet goods.

The pros - vinyl comes in a wide variety of choices and is inexpensive compared to other flooring materials.   Vinyl also wears well and is easy to maintain.

The cons - vinyl can be slippery and although vinyl tiles are easily installed by do it yourselfers, vinyl sheet goods are best off being left to the professionals.

Wood - comes in a variety of species and is broken down into two type’s – engineered and hard wood.  The difference between the two is that engineered wood flooring is produced by adhering layers of plastic laminate veneer with real wood.  Hard wood is solid wood.

The pros - wood is very elegant and easy to maintain. Wood also is very soft to walk on as compared to other materials and is a good insulator.

The cons - wood is easily damaged, but unlike laminate is easily repaired.  Also like laminate flooring you need to be careful where it is installed because it does not hold up very well to moisture.

So there you have it, the five main categories of flooring along with the pros and cons of each.  Many people do not realize it, but when choosing a floor there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.  I hope that this post eases the confusion. 

 “Also, feel free to try Donald Gardner for help with *floor plans*.”

Doors provide privacy and security as well as keep stuff that you do not want to see out of sight.  Think about it, if you didn’t have closet doors you would be forced to look at all the stuff that you have in your closet that you did not want to see in the first place.
 
In my previous post “Do You Know Where Your Stuff Is?” I made a point of how closets not only keep all of your stuff organized, but out of sight as well.  And, you would not want a closet without a closet door knowing that doors conceal everything in the space behind them.

But what do you do when space is limited and a regular flat panel door becomes an obstacle and more of a nuisance than a necessity - you install bifold closet doors.
  
Bifold doors come in many styles and as the name implies fold in half to save on space.  Now if space is a problem you could use sliding doors, but the problem with sliding doors is that one side is always closed, meaning a part of the entry is always blocked - the doors are always on either the left or the right side.  Also, sliding doors don’t work in a narrow opening because of a lack of space. With bifold doors you can access the entire space at the same time. 

If you are looking to change an existing flat or panel door to bifold doors you could call in a professional.  However, they are rather easy to install, assuming that you have a standard size opening and by installing them yourself you can save some money in the process.
 
Continue reading to learn how easy it is to install your own bifold doors -

But, before you begin installing your new bifold doors here is a list of the tools that you will need:
Screwdriver
Hammer
Power drill

Now let’s begin,

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One of the major problems in today’s home is too much stuff.  We have so much more than we actually need.  Take a look around the rooms in your house.  If your home is like most, you’ll probably see all kinds of electronic equipment, including the discs, remotes and the assorted wires that go with it.  You’ll probably see books and clothes along with shoes and just a whole lot of stuff that you are never going to need.

So what can you do?  Well, if you read my recent post on clutter you’ll learn that having too much stuff is really an emotional issue that needs to be addressed on a psychological level.  But, assuming that you have addressed all of those issues and there really is some stuff that you do need to keep, where are you going to put it?

How do you get it out of sight so that your home does not wind up looking like one big chaotic mess?  The answer lies within your closets or more specifically within your closet organizational skills. Much of what is stored within your home is stored in closets.  But, what are you going to do if you cannot possibly jam one more thing on your closet bar and every available inch of the shelf is already being used?

Although additional closets can be built in an existing home, there is quite a bit of cost and mess involved in building additional closets not to mention the loss of room space.  Want a better more cost effective idea?  Let’s take a look at what is known as a closet system. (more…)

One frequently overlooked aspect when it comes to renovating any room is lighting.  Most do it yourselfers will usually begin by painting and then as time and finances allow, redo things like flooring, window treatments and furniture, never stopping to realize that one of the most important aspects to any room is lighting.

How to Get More Light:

If your room seems dark or you struggle when working up close you have several options. First, you could begin by installing new window treatments that allow more light to come in.  You could also paint the room a lighter color that will reflect more light making it seem brighter.

However, if these ideas still do not provide the light that you need, you are going to need to consider artificial lighting.  The problem is that there are many different forms of lighting in many different styles so you have to be careful that the light that you choose provides the kind of light that you need.  Let’s take a look. (more…)

There is so much confusion when it comes to choosing the right flooring. Which should not be surprising considering that there are five main categories of flooring including wood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl and carpet. And, although I see many of my customers make very intelligent decisions, I often see many who do not make as good of a choice often to only regret it later.

Today I want to talk about carpet. Carpet is available in numerous styles and varieties, but not each one works well everywhere. Just because something may look nice or you think something will look nice in a particular spot does not mean you are making a wise investment.

And, yes carpeting is an investment. When you realize the cost involved and the lifespan of carpet, it’s an investment. So you want to make a careful choice and choose something that not only you can live with, but something that will hold up well and require the least amount of maintenance. (more…)

It’s doesn’t take much to notice that our economy is in trouble.  Just look around, Wall Street seems to make the front page every day.  If you have read my latest posts of”The Home-Improvement News” you will see the state of the housing market.  Have you noticed the price of gasoline or home heating oil lately?

Every time I receive a delivery of fuel oil, I feel a sense of uneasiness when I go to open the bill.  Home heating oil here in the Northeast is still over three dollars a gallon.

To make matters worse winter is on the way. And for those of you who become somewhat anxious when you pull into a service station to fill up your car you’d better sit down before you fill up your house.  One study showed that the average house in the Northeast who by the way uses the most oil of any part of the country uses 822 gallons of oil for heat and hot water.

And for those of you using natural gas or electric to heat your home, is it really that much better?  Yes, anything is better than oil, but those prices are high as well?  But, don’t panic!  There are many things that you can do to lower your energy costs this winter.

Here is a look at some of them: (more…)

So you have a spot on your new carpet.  If you read my last post you learned that the most important thing in spot removal is to first identify what it is.  Knowing what the spot is will make your life a lot easier when you go to remove it.

Fortunately, this time you just happen to be lucky enough to see what spilled.  Because any time something spills on your carpet your first impulse will be to get that spot out before it becomes a stain, but before you go flying off the handle in a panic there are several things that you need to know.  So I would suggest that you continue reading.

Attempting to remove the spot and not following some simple procedures will often make removal more difficult if not impossible. I have seen too many of my customers ask me to remove a simple spot after they have worked on it, only to make it worse.  It’s never pleasant having to tell your customer that you can no longer get out their spot because they did more harm than good.

When it comes to spot removal from your carpet DO NOT ever -

1. think more is better - Time after time I have seen customers under the impression that if a small amount of a carpet cleaning agent is good - more is better.  That is until they begin to see their carpet fibers begin to separate from the backing and the color of their carpet begin to change.

2. be aggressive - Being too aggressive can only damage the fibers, especially if you have a cut loop carpet.  For those who are not sure what type of carpet they have, a cut loop pile can be identified as a carpet that is very plush as opposed to a loop which is much flatter.  If you have a cut loop carpet and you are too aggressive with the spot you can spread the tips which will unravel the tufts and leave a mark in your carpet that will never go away.

Now that you know what never to do, here are the things that you need to do to successfully remove that spot -

1. Remove as much of the spilled substance as quickly as possible.  If the substance is solid pick up as much as possible before blotting the remaining liquid with paper towels.

2. Decide what kind of spot you have and then follow the procedure for that type of spot removal.

Unfortunately, there is too broad a variety of spots to mention all of them here, but most carpet spots do fit into one of three categories.  Here is a look at those categories and the procedures to remove those types of spots.

1. Protein spots - these kinds of spots are generally made up of food and bodily fluids.  Blot with a wet paper or terry cloth towel and a cleaning agent that contains enzymes which are contained in most of today’s laundry detergents. The enzyme will actually digest the spot and remove it from your carpet.  When trying to remove these spots never use very hot water.

2. Tannin based spots - these spots include tea, coffee and soft drinks. The important thing here is to get to the spill quickly.  A tannin spill that remains for more than a day or two in your carpet is likely to become a permanent stain.  If the spill is coffee the first thing that you want to do is blot it with laundry detergent and cool water on a clean white terry cloth or paper towel the same as you would a protein spill.  Then blot the spot with a tannin remover which is an acid based cleaning agent.

3. Oil based - the first thing to try is a clear grease cutting dish washing soap.  If that does not work apply a small amount of isopropyl alcohol or a good citrus based solvent to the spot.  Then blot with a damp paper or terry cloth towel.

In conclusion, when something spills on your carpet, do not panic.  Take your time and carefully attempt to remove the spot by first researching the needed spot removal procedure and then following it step by step.  Only then will you have given your carpet the opportunity of a complete restoration.

“So you have a spot on your new carpet.  If you read my last post you learned that the most important thing in spot removal is to first identify what it is.  Knowing what the spot is will make your life a lot easier when you go to remove it. Merry Maids also offers cleaning tips and services.”

You have taken the time to select just the right carpet for your home.  You have chosen just the right fabric, color and style.  Your new carpet looks absolutely beautiful and you have been enjoying the  luxurious warmth and feel of your new carpet until one day without expecting it you happen to glance down and there it is, an ugly spot right on your beautiful new carpeting.  What are you going to do?

Now, before we go any further with understanding how to remove a carpet spot often referred to as a carpet stain it’s important to understand some carpet terminology.

carpet spot - a carpet spot is any foreign material on your carpeting that can be removed.

carpet stain - a carpet stain is a carpet spot that can no longer be removed.

Now that you understand the terminology of carpet and hope that what you have is a carpet spot and not a carpet stain, how do you tell the difference? Then assuming you have a carpet spot how do you remove it?  The difference lies within what is known as “The Chemistry of Carpet Cleaning”.
 
Carpet cleaning which includes spot removal believe it or not involves quite a bit of science, you know acid and alkali, positive and negative charged ions, all that sort of good stuff.  But don’t worry I’m not going to bore you here with all sorts of a scientific stuff that you really don’t care about - we are just going to use some common sense to hopefully remove that spot.

Carpet spots as well as carpet stains are similar in nature in that they both are a foreign substance within the fibers of your carpet.  What makes the spot different from the stain has to do with how well it has attached itself to the surrounding fibers.  This is where the chemistry comes in.  If it has attached itself well, good chance you could wind up with a stain.  If it is not attached so well which is usually the case, then you have a very good chance of removing it.

Ok, so we now know the difference between spots and stains, but how are we going to get it out?  Well, first we need to determine if we have a spot or a stain and what are the chances of being able to remove it.
 
There are 2 ways to determine if what you have is a spot or a carpet stain.  First, you can usually get a pretty good idea just by knowing what the foreign substance is.  For example, if you know that what spilled was soda then you probably have a spot and a very good chance for removal.

On the other hand, if you know that the spill was coffee, you probably have a stain.  Now the reason that I use the word probably and not definitely is because there are other factors involved. Believe it or not factors such as the kind of coffee need to be taken into consideration.

However, most foreign substances are usually spots so here is a spot removal chart that I recommend.

Unfortunately, with many spills you do not notice them until it is too late and you have no idea what the spill consists of.  At this point you may want to consider calling a professional carpet cleaner, they have the experience and the needed cleaning agents to better remove the substance, but if still want to attempt to remove it yourself there are a few things that you can do.

You can test a small area of the spill with water or club soda on a terry cloth towel gently applied in a circular motion.  Be very careful not to apply to much pressure especially if you have a plush carpet, you do not want to distort the pile.
 
If you do not notice any difference you can try using a mild dish washing soap in the water.   Make sure that the dish washing detergent that you use is clear.  Dish washing soap can leave a residue and if you use one that has color, the color may be in your carpet long after the spot is gone.

If you try using dish washing detergent and you still do not see a change you are going to have to try individual cleaning agents one at a time.  Depending on what you think the spill may be you are going to have to refer back to the spot removal chart that I mentioned earlier to find out what the cleaning agents for carpet are.  Remember to first test each one in an inconspicuous area before trying it on the individual stain.  
 
If you see any movement or as it is referred to in the business as transfer to the towel at any point you have gotten lucky and have a spot.  In the event that there is no change in the spill you have a more complicated spot or maybe even a stain and will need to call in a professional carpet cleaner.
 

In conclusion, in determining if something that has spilled on your carpet can be removed you have to first decide if it is a spot or a stain.  The difference being that a spot is something that can be removed and a stain is something that is permanent.  Only once you have made the determination that what you have is a spot can you begin to remove it.