Color, Design and Material Tips on Home Flooring

Top Color Decor Myths

Color is just a perfect way to express your emotions, style and personality. Type of color you like is reflected in your personality such as an inclination towards red color means that you are quiet a passionate person but on the other hand if you love white color then it means that you are a peace loving person. So color reflects a lot. If colors effect us so much then why most of us shy away from using and experimenting the colors at home. Why not to go with red, yellow and bright walls, why not to experiment with contrasting color.

So let us see what can be done for color decor and what are the color decor myths.

Dark Color Always Leads to Shrinking of Space
All of us know that use of dark color would lead to the compactness of the space and light color creates more spaciousness. But this is not true in every case. Dark color can sometimes impart more visual volume to the wall where you are using it. But while using dark color you have to pay attention to the visual weight. On the other hand if the dark color is giving small feel then it also gives the feeling of coziness.



Single Color in the Entire House
There is no hard and fast rule to give your entire home a single color. Play with the colors and paint each room of your home in a different color. You can have one theme or different theme. In this case you need to work on the togetherness of the color. Use color wheel to select the color for you home and its room. Each hue should have a relationship with each other to give a harmonized look. Even contrasting color sometimes give a great effect as they bring out each other's beauty. Try having bold turquoise with deep red-orange or other such combination.



Bold Colors are Always Loud
No this is not true in every case if you will balance them with other soothing color in the room.

Use bold color with light color and feel the difference.



Off White, White and Beige are Neutral Color
Yes these are, but these are not the only neutral color we have. You can actually use any color as a neutral color it just depends upon how you are using it. In this case super bright hue are exceptions as these cannot be used as neutral colors.

So now know that with the clever use of color you can actually enhance the interiors of your home.

Wood Floor is a Good Floor

But have you ever wonder that what makes wood floor so popular when so many other natural and man made flooring material is available.

In Wood Flooring you actually have three basic options, which are:

• Solid Hardwood
• Engineered Wood
• Laminate Flooring

Solid Hardwood is made from the solid piece of wood that either comes in finished or pre-finished form. The solid hardwood is glued or nailed down to a sub floor that is generally made by plywood as most of the solid woods cannot be installed directly on the concrete floor.

Engineered Wood is made with the help of cross-directional laminated construction. To make this 3-5 layers of cross-directional laminates are used and the top layer consists of only premium hardwood. You can either fix this wood floor or keep it floating. The biggest advantage of engineered wood floor is that it can expand and contract.

Laminate Flooring is made from a a material that actually is not a wood. To make this thin sheets of paper that is impregnated with melamine is used.


What are Different Types of Wood for Flooring?
There are different types of wood for wood floor so selecting the one among all is not that easy task. You must consider the budget, lifestyle, weather, humidity and style preference while buying any kind of wood for wooden flooring.

Traditional Wood Floor
Traditional wood floor is made from oak, maple, hickory and birch wood. This is the most popular choice among all other types of wood. Cost vary with width, thickness and size of planks. But this wood is extremely durable.

Exotics
Exotic wood gives a very distinctive style to the floor and the whole place. Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany, Sumatra Rosewood and Brazilian Walnut are few of the exotics wood choice. This is a very limited list. You can visit the nearest wood store or search online for a detailed list of exotic wood floor.


Reclaimed Wood Floor
Reclaimed wood floor is another very nice and stylish option for wood floor. Reclaimed wood is quiet sustainable wood that is mostly used in buildings and bridges.

Bamboo Wood Floor
Bamboo a grass not a wood can give the feel of hardwood and if you compare the properties then bamboo is more natural, stable and less is cost. Its cost is comparable to that of oak wood. It is also a renewable so considered as a :green” choice. Although bamboo is considered as natural but bamboo flooring might not be considered as green. So before installing this you must ask the contractor or professional regarding this.

Cork Flooring
Cork again is not a wood but the bark that is scrapped from the Cork Oak tree. It is very durable, fire resistant, microbe resistant. Cork flooring is also very easy to install.

Coco Palm

Coco Palm is another eco-friendly option of wood floor that is made from the multiple layers of palm. It is not only durable but has very rich texture, feel and look.

Wood floor can be installed with different techniques like nailing, stapling down, glues and floated. The type of installation depends upon the type of wood and flooring you are using.

Special Walk In Tub for Special Needs

What is a Walk in Tub?
Walk in tub is made for the people who has limited mobility or are disable. Walk in tubs have either inward or outward-opening door. Further modifications have been done in walk in bathtubs to make them more comfortable like in some the chair-height set is given. But this feature is not present in all.

Walk in Bathtub According to Wikipedia.org
“Walk-in Bathtubs are specially equipped bathtubs that assist those with limited mobility, preparing for the future or disabled. Walk-in bathtubs enable the elderly, and those with mobility handicaps to safely enter and exit the bathtub without having to step over a 14″-17″ rim as is the case in a standard bathtub. Walk-in bathtubs also allow the elderly and disabled to safely take a bath without the assistance of another person.”

Types of Doors in Walk In Tub
Inward-opening walk in tub has the advantage of self-sealing but during emergency it becomes hard to get of this tub quickly because the door opens in inward direction.

In case of outward-opening walk in tub you can easily get out of the tub but you need extra sealing to keep it closed while in use. Manufacturers give extra seal for outdoor-opening tubs.

Instead of these two options you can also have the walk in tub that has sliding door.

More Options
Some walk in tubs also need low step-in because they either have higher seat or outward door opening or both.

You also have the option of air massage, jet massage, dual massage and soaker in certain brands of walk in tubs.

The most selling among all the material is the acrylic walk in tub that has been reinforced with fiberglass.

Most of the walk in tub comes with grab bar for extra safety. You must look for this feature while buying the special bathtub for yourself or for your family member.

How to Buy Walk in Tub?
Approvals
Check if the business has the BBB accreditation or not. As BBB accreditation is essential. Along with this walk in bathtubs must be approved by IAPMO, UL & ETL In some states walk in tubs are not allowed to be installed without approval of any of these bodies.

• UL – Underwriters Laboratories – http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/
• IAPMO – International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials – http://www.iapmo.org/Pages/splash.aspx
• ETL – http://www.intertek-etlsemko.com/portal/page/cust_portal/ITK_PGR/

Walk in Tub Material

The most popular ones are acrylic and fiberglass. Although there is very less visible difference between these two but you must know them before buying. More than 90% of walk in bathtubs are made from fiberglass. Fiberglass bathtubs are less expensive and more rigid than the acrylic. These are given triple gel coat epoxy that prevents the discoloration to a great extent. Acrylic on the other hand is non porous, easy to clean and maintain. At the same time the color does not fade.

Installation of Walk in Tubs
One does not need license or any special requirement for installing the walk in tub. You can call a plumber or a local contractor to do the job of installation. But you must check with the seller whether there is any special need of installation or not. You must be aware of such requirement as this will affect your budget. Some sellers provides installation in the complete package.

Cost and Pricing
There is huge range if we consider the cost and pricing factor in walk in tubs. There are many things like brand, type of material, size and color of walk in tub, quality, faucets, warranty, country or origin, installation, special features that determine  the cost and price of the walk in tub.

Safety
Then you must check the safety features as falls are the second major cause of unintentional injuries that leads to death. Also fall may lead to nonfatal injury. So the walk in tub should have all the safety features to decrease the chances of fall. The material should not be slippery, tub should have a side bar to hold it during emergency, tub should be spacious etc. Look for other such safety features as per the requirement.

Walk in Tub Brands

• Safety Tubs http://www.safetytubs.com/
• Jacuzzi  http://www.jacuzzi.com/
• American Standard  http://www.americanstandard-us.com/
• Kohler you can buy this brand from Nexttag
• Re-Bath http://www.rebath.com/

Stores

1. Lowe's
2. Home Depot
3. eBay
4. Sears
5. Amazon

Top Rated Walk in Tub Companies
Independent Home  http://www.independenthome.com/
Erie Construction http://www.erieconstruction.com/
Premier Bathrooms www.premier-bathrooms.com
Sam’s Club www.samsclub.com
Safety Bath www.SafetyBath.com
Active Forever  www.activeforever.com