Flooring Series part 3

First just a reminder to enter my giveaway here.  It ends Sunday

Okay now for the flooring topic. Today we are talking about concrete flooring. I bet when you read this you thought of sidewalks or patios and went yuk! Who would do that inside? The truth is many people.
Concrete has become a new material of choice for designers and homeowners alike.
The look is such that you have probably already been on some beautiful floors and never even knew they were concrete.
Concrete is very durable and yet affordable. The hard surface can last a lifetime and withstand the daily traffic, spills, etc that come from family life. Concrete can be painted, glossed, stained, stamped, or etched to match any decor. Concrete can also be cut and textured to look like tile, yet concrete is much easier on the wallet compared to other flooring choices.
It is a wonderful option for people with allergies and is easy to maintain. concrete flooring is beneficial to the environment and a green building choice. Slow to heat up and cool down, stained concrete can reduce utility bills. Also, because they use the foundation already poured, they eliminate the need to cut down trees or use materials, like carpets, which consume large amounts of energy to manufacture.
Common questions people have are: 
Is it loud, is it cold, is it hard to clean?
Concrete floors can be loud and produce an echo effect, but no more so than ceramic tile, natural stone flooring, and some hardwood or bamboo floors.

Yes, concrete can be cold, but no more so than ceramic tile or natural stone flooring. You do have the option with concrete flooring to install radiant heating cables so you can keep the floors warm and control the temperature. While concrete floors are relatively easy to maintain,  they aren't completely maintenance free. How much maintenance your floor will need depends on the amount of traffic it receives and the type of finish you have chosen.

     The possibilities are endless when it comes to concrete 
flooring. From coloring the concrete to etching and stamping, the designs you can come up with are limited only by your imagination.

Extreme Concrete Designs near New York City, NY Surface Design Solutions in Atlanta, GA Chicago Concrete Solutions, Inc. in Chicago, IL photo courtesy of concrete network

CSN Stores and a Giveaway!! *CLOSED*

Have you heard  of CSN? If not you need to check them out!!!

CSN is a website that has over 200 online stores. Yes 200! You can find anything from tv stands to storage items, toys to tools and everything in between. Lamps, bedding, clocks, cookware, chandeliers, rugs, and more!
I received an email from CSN stores asking if I’d be interested in hosting a giveaway on my blog. I took a look at several of their sites and liked what I saw. The prices are very reasonable and many of items are shipped free.
CSN Stores LLC is a fast-growing, privately-held company offering customers the best online shopping available for home and office goods. A $200 million company, CSN is made up of more than 200 online niche shops offering a huge selection of products. They have items for budget-minded shoppers, luxury seekers and everyone in between.  So now to the giveaway part

They are giving away a set of these cute pillows to one of my lucky followers.

The Lizzie Pillow Pack is multi-colored, soft, warm, inviting and Very spring like!! Set of three fabric covered pillows and each in a unique size and print. 

Ok here are the rules:

Here’s how you can get 5 chances to win
1.  Comment and tell me how you’d use these pillows. Would you keep them or use them as   

 a gift? If you don’t have a blog you must leave an email address.

2.  You must be a follower so please become one I would love to have you. Leave a comment telling me you are a follower   

3. Tweet with a link to the giveaway and leave a link or  your twitter name in your comment.
4.  FOR 2 chances, post about the giveaway on your blog, make sure you link back to the giveaway, and leave a link or your blog name in the comment.
The giveaway will end at 6:00pm PST on Sunday April 11th and the winner will be announced Monday morning 

April 12TH.

Good Luck!!

Move over Paula Deen....

The Love the Decor lady cooks... Since I did a bunch of spring cleaning last week, I decided someone besides us should be witness to all my hard work aka a clean house : )
So we had friends for dinner Saturday. On the menu: Steak (on the BBQ) grilled fresh asparagus, roasted red potatoes, green salad and homemade mozzarella cheese bread. We had death by chocolate brownies and chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. It was so much fun! We sat around the table laughing and talking for hours. Then so as not to let all that "clean go tot waste, we also had guests for Easter Brunch. Which consisted of home made cinnamon rolls, quiche, ham and fresh fruit salad. Are you drooling yet?
Hubby and I used to have people over on a regular basis for meals and somehow over the years, with our jobs consuming us, busyness of raising children, and plain ole laziness on my part, we just got out of the habit. One of the aspects of making our houses feel like home is that vital relationship with others. Not only is the fellowship necessary, our children will be moving on some day, and we need to continue to nurture our friendships so that we still have friends when the kids do move on. I guess for us it was the weekend for entertaining and hanging out with great friends. Not to mention all of the cooking, which I love to do. I find it relaxing to putz around in the kitchen with some music playing and just doing my own thing in my own little world. It sparked in me, a new commitment to get out of the "slump" and start making our home a gathering place once again a priority.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Please join me Tuesday for more on my flooring series.

Good Friday VIA DOLOROSA

Please watch this fitting and appropriate reminder of what we are
celebrating this weekend
and know that the story has a happy ending. 
HE HAS RISEN!
Happy Easter!

Part 2 in the flooring series

Lets talk about Cork. No, not these little babies that top your wine bottle.
But cork as it relates to flooring. As you know, I have started a small series introducing the different flooring options out there and a bit about them. Today I hope to teach you a bit about cork flooring. 
Lets start with the basics and go on from there.
So what is cork?
Cork is actually the outer bark of a tree, which grows in the Mediterranean. Cork forests are carefully managed. Portugal produces 50% of the worlds cork supply.
The cork oak tree is not destroyed and then replanted but rather the bark is trimmed from the tree every 9 years, leaving the tree and the forest undamaged. Its not unusual to have a 200 year old tree still producing cork bark. Cork flooring is actually made from the waste of the cork wine stopper manufacturing process so cork flooring is a recycled product. Cork bark is still harvested from the tree in a centuries old tradition with hand tools. 

Cork flooring is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the leading alternative types of flooring. Why? Because beside cork being an environmentally sound material,It has a wealth of other natural features that appeal to homeowners. A floor made from cork serves to provide style and class to any home that it is installed in. Many people when they think of cork flooring assume it’s easily damaged and cannot withstand sufficient wear and tear; however the truth is the complete opposite. One of the main characteristics of cork flooring is its ability to resist pressure and impact. Since the cork itself has a honeycomb cellular structure, it can be compressed up to 40% and return back to its original shape. This allows cork flooring to hold-up well to foot traffic and pressure from furniture. However, as with any flooring material you should use furniture pads underneath the legs.

Cork is very good at sound resisting and even muffling noise. Unlike other wood product floors you won’t get any creaks or groans as the wood ages.

Cork is an excellent insulator for heat and air conditioning. Many manufactures even produce cork underlayments for ceramic tiles to increase the insulation capacity of that flooring type. You won’t find any cold feet in the winter months with cork flooring.
Maintaining cork floors is simple and very minimal. Just sweep and mop regularly, you will want to lightly sand every few years and also re-coat the surface with urethane. This also make cork a great option for bathrooms. You can read more about the care of cork flooring by visiting our cork floor maintenance page.

A few negative points: the resilience of cork flooring is also its weakness. There is great risk in permanently damaging your floor with sharp and heavy objects if left on your floor for long periods of time. Items such as furniture and appliances will of course be the culprits so protect your floor by using padding under the pressure points of your heavy necessities. Beware that sunlight also plays hazard to cork flooring. Since cork is a natural product direct sunlight will cause color to fade over time. Age will affect change in color as well.All in all the benefits and beauty far out way the negative points. Cork floors are stunning and until you see them in person it is hard to imagine just how beautiful they are.