Embroidered Canvas Dropcloth Fall Pillows

It's a little over a week into September.  My youngest  is back at school, Labor Day is over and I've retired my white shoes and purse for another season it's feeling more like fall. It's time for me to make a few fall-themed pillows and get out some warm blankets!

How to Choose Hard Surface Flooring

On the cart: Wood grain ceramic, natural stone and marble

Today, I'm going to talk about flooring choices for the farmhouse, specifically, hard surface flooring. Just what is hard surface flooring? Well, I'm not certain of the technical terms but for me, it refers to any type of flooring that's not carpet.

Wood look porcelain tile

During Phase 2 of the renovation at the farmhouse, all of the flooring will be replaced. Yes, all of the flooring.  There are a couple of factors contributing to this decision.  First, and admittedly the biggest factor is that my sons and I suffer with seasonal allergies. Second, the  floor plan is changing so much that patching and replacing large sections of the existing flooring would be more expensive than simply installing new floors.
 

Wood Look Porcelain. Photos from Floor and Decor

The requirements for my flooring and floor store "wish list" are as follows:

• Hold up to the traffic of our daily life (as well as that of  a certain 65 pound yellow Labrador retriever) without a lot of maintenance.
• First quality materials (no "seconds")
• Last for the lifetime of my home.
• Low Price
• Single source for everything that I need with a staff that can educate me about products that I may not know about
• Eco friendly and able to be installed and maintained with low VOC products.

Flooring materials that I plan to use are these:

• 4 inch Cabin Grade White Oak Hardwood with dark stain (first floor common areas)
• Terracotta Hexagonal tile or natural color slate (Hallways, pantry and laundry)
• Marble Tile in Carrara, Vermont Imperial or other white/gray color (Master Bath)
• Ceramic, Glass, Travertine or Wood Look Porcelain in Gray White and/or Ivory (Powder room and hall bath)
• Bamboo??? Wood-look in a dark color (potential for 2nd floor bedrooms and hall)

While I have chosen flooring for homes several times in the past, it has been ten years since I last made this type of decision and new options have been introduced that I wanted to know more about; specifically, bamboo flooring which is a lower cost alternative to hardwood that I can use on the second floor. It is also much more durable than hardwood and I like the fact that it's a sustainable product.

Ceramic and marble bathroom ideas from traditional to contemporary

Big box stores don't  have the selection that I'm  looking for and I don't have days to spend driving to dozens of places to look at different options. So, I asked my neighbors and a couple of general contractors where to look for flooring and the same name kept coming up: Floor & Decor. 

My favorite: Carrara marble!

Just before Labor Day, I went to the Floor & Decor store in Lombard, IL. Fortunately, there are three locations near me and another store set to open in Skokie, IL on September 12th!  (There are also  Floor & Decor locations in ten states outside of Illinois) and wow! am I glad that I did! They've got over one million feet of material in stock....yes, over a million! 

Terracotta 4x4 tiles

As soon as I walked in the door, someone asked if there was a particular project that I needed help with. I explained that I needed information about different types of flooring and I was directed to a great guy named Chris K. who sat down with me to discuss my project as well as to provide an overview the products and services that Floor & Decor offers including DIY installation classes every Saturday, one hour free design service, and a Pro Desk to handle installation questions from DIY'ers as well as professional installers.

I spent a couple of hours looking at the products that you see in the photos. Chris K answered all of my questions about bamboo flooring and why it's a great, economical, Eco-friendly choice. I learned about sound-deadening underlayment and saw the latest trends including wood look vinyl, random width plank floors, and  Carrara marble. I also checked out tile setting products and tools as well as the floor care products that they carry.

I took photos, and notes. Chris K. gave me his business card and told me to call if I thought of other questions. He also offered to schedule a time for me to sit down with one of their designers before I make final selections. I'm excited about this service because although I know what products I want, I'm not always the best at designing the tile layout. I did, however, already get some great ideas from their in-store displays.

As I finished looking around, I realized that I hadn't seen 4-inch white oak in the store. I need to use this material in the kitchen, master bedroom and hearth room since they are connected to each other as well as to the dining room which we just renovated.  When I asked Chris about it, I was pleased to learn that they can special order some products so, if you don't see something that you're looking for, just ask!

Bamboo flooring; Photo courtesy of Floor & Decor

On September 12th, I'll be paying a visit to the brand new Floor & Decor that's opening in Skokie, IL to check out their selection during their GRAND OPENING! I already know that their staff will be great and that their prices can't be beat (you probably noticed that from the photos too, didn't you?)!

Ceramic tile bathroom  Photo courtesy of Floor and Decor

P.S. Stop by next week for details on the Skokie Grand Opening and to see what I'm considering for my kitchen back splash and bathrooms.  Some of the gorgeous tile in the photo above just may be included!

Disclosure: I was compensated for writing this post. However, my account of how I discovered Floor and Decor as well as my experience and opinion of them  is my own.  I only write about products and services that I use personally in my own home and it is my policy and promise to you, the reader, that all reviews are genuine, 100% honest, and reflect my experience with the product or service being reviewed.









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Final Drawings French Farmhouse Renovation Phase 2

You may be wondering why I haven't been around much. 

Wait, who am I kidding? Even my family probably wouldn't notice if I was absent for a few days so let me rephrase:

                                                      Here's what I've been up to lately.  

The photos that you see here are the final drawings for what I've been referring to for the last ten months as "Phase 2 of the renovation at the French Farmhouse." In reality, this is the portion of the renovation where the true transformation from "1950's red brick ranch" to "French Farmhouse" will take place.

Over the next several months (probably around ten), 3/4 of the existing foot print of the house will be gutted to the studs and all of the existing rooms (with the exception of the new dining room) will "change places". Through it all, the house will remain a three bedroom, 2.5 bath home and YES, we ARE living here during construction!

Bedrooms will become a kitchen, the kitchen will become a bedroom, current bathrooms make way for a new hearth room. Why? Well, I haven't gone into too much detail until today but this house has a bunch of problems, some of them serious...some, just annoying.  

Things like the fact that the windows have been caulked shut for so many years that the wood frames have rotted to the point that they can't be repaired.  Or the fact that ice forms on the electric outlets in my bathroom in the winter. Or the fact that condensation runs down the walls in the hall in the summer. 

The list goes on...and on...and I've spared you the "really bad" stuff. Trust me, there is NO OTHER choice...well, except tearing it down...which I won't do...because I LOVE this house!

So, I've been working with an incredibly talented architect named Dennis Parsons who has, over the last ten months, "engineered" my vision and found a builder named Dan Roberts who is almost as excited to do this project as I am.

We're currently applying for building permits, and clearing trees...and removing a pond and thirty foot stream that was built against the house and eighteen inches above the top of the foundation...which is a part of the reason why the crawl space filled with water last fall when it rained. Not glamorous stuff...but necessary. 

Today, my back yard looks like this. To most people, this is not a pretty sight. To me, after almost twelve months of waiting, it's beautiful!

I hope that you'll stick around for the next few months while things aren't lovely and there's not really any decorating to share.  I'll be doing a few projects and I'll also be sharing the process of selecting tile and fixtures and designing the new kitchen and bathrooms. I truly appreciate every single one of you and the fact that you're here.

Bring on the construction fence! Let's DO THIS!

DIY Horseshoe Shaped Natural Wheat Fall Wreath

I started decorating the farmhouse for fall this week.  Yeah, I know. I can hear some of you groaning...

                                                                                                                     even through the computer.

Now that my youngest is back at college, it feels like fall to me. When you take the fact that I'm back to being an empty-nest'er and add to it the chance that I won't have a front door or a front porch to decorate by the time the season actually rolls around, it makes perfect sense that I made a  horseshoe shaped wheat wreath and hung it on my door today.

                                                                                                                 It does, doesn't it?!

Black and Gray Painted Dresser : Webster's Challk Paint Powder

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by my sweet friends at Restyle to try a product that they carry called Webster's Chalk Paint Powder. I had a dresser that needed a makeover and I had decided on black and gray. I wanted to use a chalk finish paint but I didn't really want to purchase two quarts of paint because I knew that I really only needed a couple of cups of paint or less.