Design & Décor

Air conditioning gets installed in the nick of time to achieve proper moisture levels 003“The relative humidity is still reading 65 percent. Should we open or close the windows?” In preparing to install hardwood flooring, we have been monitoring moisture levels at this new construction site for weeks. It’s part of our normal preparation for installing hardwood and cork floors. “Don’t leave the windows open overnight or we’ll be sabotaged by night-time condensation,” our quality-control manager says. “The air conditioning is being installed tomorrow, and as long as that happens, we should be fine.” Tomorrow will be just 24 hours before all the flooring is delivered to acclimate in the home for three days prior to installation. The moisture content in the subfloors has been measured and was fine, but the relative humidity has been climbing since the walls were painted.

Weigh all the finishing options before selecting grey hardwood flooring

007By definition, grey is: Of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white. It has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light.

This line from the dictionary does little to explain the dramatic, contemporary looks grey flooring can create in a room.  But discerning homeowners  frequently are choosing it for their walls and floors in everything from tile to hardwood.

The grey porcelain tile photos in the post are from a bathroom with a zero-entry shower. The shades of grey and white throughout the room are a popular look.

Backyard deer-feeder adds unmatchable natural touch, felt throughout this home’s interior

026Porcelain tile flooring – one style for the kitchen and laundry room, another for the foyer and bathrooms  – offers clean lines and extreme durability.

It blends seamlessly with the hand-scraped, prefinished hardwood flooring, which has been used to replace carpet in the dining room.

Triexta carpet – made from corn-based fuel – softens the family room, which is filled with natural light, thanks to large windows there, and in the adjoining foyer.  Standing there, something tells you to look again, out of the double glass doors in the family room.

Designer Rosemary Storie found the perfect hardwood floor to showcase the furniture and artwork she loves

195“This is how you do it.” Rosemary Storie, an Anderson Township, OH, designer, never suggests that her clients spend a lot of money to accomplish logical goals. Instead, she shows them how to make use of simple objects, sometimes objects they already have.

Take, for example, the table in her newly remodeled kitchen. Storie, owner of Southern Interiors, made it from a planter she bought at a home center, then added a glass top.

“Creating the perfect aesthetic means thought and creativity, not necessarily running out and spending a lot of money,” Storie says.

009For some homeowners, the perfect porcelain tile doesn’t look like tile at all At first glance, this floor looks like hardwood. It does on second glance, too, which often is not the case with vinyl wood-look products. Even upon third inspection, most people don’t imagine that this floor is porcelain tile. This look is increasing interest in a product that already was popular because of its durability and ease of care and maintenance.

Gray or brown, this hardwood floor blends seamlessly with home’s bold natural colors 018The color of this stained Maple floor is called “Jellybean.” When you look at it in natural daylight, it is gray. Put it under artificial light, and it takes on a deep brown. But no matter where you look in Brittany’s new  Milford, OH, home, this floor from Mirage Hardwood is the perfect background for her sky blue and terracotta walls, and her kitchen backsplash tiles that look like they were painted with watercolors. These colors are just spot-on.

Demand will mean more product selection, but can your retailer tell you what standards a product meets? 053 “Renee, Renee, Renee. This is fabulous!” Friends are in awe when they walk into Renee’s new master bathroom, one of many rooms she is remodeling in her newly purchased Indian Hill home, just northeast of Cincinnati, OH. This room used a perfect balance of both textured and smooth surfaces. Line patterns within the porcelain tile are the perfect upscale-spa backdrop for the sleek lines of the bathtub, shower enclosure and plumbing fixtures.

Latest  designs encourage movement and discourage assigned work stations and offices Steelcase 2There is a counter-height desk on wheels for the worker who is more productive walking through the office while working on his computer. There are areas for groups of employees to collaborate. And private spaces for when workers need to take important or private calls. Work areas, equipped with traditional seating as well as counters for people who prefer to stand, are arranged for use by all. The corner offices for high-ranking  executives are gone. So are traditional work stations assigned to a specific worker. A work café – for group and individual work – also is a must. What is this place? It is the workplace that promotes health, wellness and the most efficient use of space at a time when businesses do not want to spend for new buildings, says John Shideler, workplace consultant for Steelcase.