Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

With summer on the wane, it’s time to start thinking of fall and winter.

The cooler weather might have you imagining of curling up in front of the fireplace on a chilly night. If you have styling hardwood floors, sitting by the hearth might not be all that comfortable, though, not unless you have a cushy rug. Perhaps one made from alpaca wool?

This “luxury fiber” can be used just like sheep wool (spun into yarn or made into felt), but it’s softer and warmer than most kinds of sheep wool and doesn’t have as much of a prickly feel against your skin. It tends to be more expensive than sheep wool, but can make a fine rug that you’ll prize for its softness and warmth.

Thinking of remodeling your kitchen? While new cabinets, modern appliances, and snazzy countertops are worth considering, you don’t want to forget about the flooring.

There are lots of options with wood planks and easy-to-clean ceramic tiles being popular, but both surfaces are hard. If you do a lot of cooking (or washing dishes!), then you know that your back can get a little tired after standing on a hard surface for a while. That’s why cork flooring is a nice alternative for the kitchen. It offers a little more padding under foot.

Another perk of cork is that a dish is less likely to break if you drop it on the floor. It’s also eco-friendly since it is a renewable resource (made from the bark of the Cork Oak Tree, which grows back after it’s stripped).

If you’re looking for a relatively unique kitchen flooring option, check into cork.

Picture via Cork Flooring

Wood floors are always popular in the home. If you’re thinking of adding new hardwood flooring to a room in your house (or the whole house!), you’ll have to decide which species you want.

Or maybe you won’t… The flooring in the picture below is a mix of reclaimed softwoods. Woods, such as pine, aren’t as durable as the harder woods, such as oak and maple, but they can be handsome in a rustic setting where you wouldn’t mind if they showed dents and scrapes after a while, because it adds to the old-world charm.

Check out lots of other pictures at Pioneer Millworks. The company promises a quality and affordable selection of reclaimed wood flooring:

“Didn’t think you could afford reclaimed wood? Now you can. We have six reclaimed wood flooring species under and about $7 a square foot. Our recycled and sustainably harvested wood comes in many species and finishing options, available as solid or eco-friendly engineered flooring and paneling. Every product is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) chain-of-custody certified, LEED point eligible, and fully sourced and Made in the USA.”

We’ve looked at wall and floor tiles from Ann Sacks before (for example, metro glass wall tiles, Bellarita Marble stone tiles that naturally imitates the look of wood, and Ann Sacks had an offering in our popular bathroom tile ideas post), as they have a wide variety of attractive options.

This may be the first time we’ve taken a peep at concrete tiles though. From the Angela Adams Collection:

“Expanding the overwhelming success of our angela adams program, we have expanded the collection to include concrete flooring tile. Angela brings her modern and graphic shapes and vibrant palette to concrete for a unique flooring option.”

The tiles are available in a couple of different patterns and several colors.

Ann Sacks

You’ve doubtlessly seen a lot of hardwood floors, and, for the most part, boards tend to be straight. Oh, sure, we’ve seen an alternative or two (puzzle piece wood floors, for example), but straight lines are the norm.

Well, Bolefloor has created a line of hardwoods that do a little something else….

Bolefloor curved-length flooring meets the true definition of unique: each floorboard is as individual as the tree it came from. No two bolefloors are alike.

Bolefloors are ideal for both private residences and public spaces. Whether a ski lodge, hotel reception, spa, restaurant, office, theatre, museum, retail premise, or your own city or country home, Bolefloors work in any setting where intimate, natural, and individual interiors are desired.

Currently, Bolefloors are only available in oak (in “select,” “natural,” and “rustic” styles), but look for more wood species in the summer of 2011. In the meantime, visit their site and browse their cool gallery for flooring ideas.

When it comes to choosing a new floor for your home, you aren’t limited to carpet, hardwoods, and ceramic tiles. While those options are just fine, there are plenty of more unique offerings on the market too.

Such as glass.

These textured tiles, which are available in different colors and styles, were crafted by UltraGlas. Apparently walking on glass isn’t as slippery as you’d think:

“17 Standard Surface Textures may be combined with any of 31 standard Solid Opaque Colors, or 10 standard Color Patterns. Custom single colors, as well as size, shape and thickness (up to 3/4”) may all be specified. Coefficient of friction requirements, for dry environments, are met by all of these surface textures, though a non-slip coating is recommended for installations in wet environments.”

Area rugs can add more depth and richness to the rooms in your home. By adding an artistic piece of carpet to your floor, you provide a foundation for your furniture. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to spice up your flooring whether it’s wood, carpet, marble, linoleum, etc.

This Artistic Weavers 8′ x 11′ Red Urban Area Rug from Lowe’s has some great qualities you should be looking for in a rug. It has a fabulous pop of red color, and a simple yet sophisticated design. This rug is made in India and has hand-carved circular detailing.

Since it has a high plush/low pile carpet profile, it will be cozy on the toes and easy to vacuum and clean. If spills do happen, you can simply spot clean the area.

Not every room is designed with a perfect floor — take the basement, for instance. The basement often has cracks and uneven parts of the flooring, so if you want to put in carpet, a subfloor is a necessity.

On the other hand, you can skip the extra work and cost by choosing laminate flooring, which is easy to install and great for almost any existing flooring except high-pile carpet.

Armstrong has an 8 mm thick Italian Walnut, which gives you the wood look without the cost and maintenance. This flooring comes in planks, and it has easy locking installation. Wood-like flooring can give a room a rich, polished appearance, and if you have pets or kids, you will be thankful when you can wipe messes away.

Let’s face it, carpet stains are bound to happen, even if you’re a cleaning Natzi. It’s probable that your baby will spill food or drink on the floor and that your pet will mess at one point or another. Also, a quite dinner party could result in a red wine stain too.

In an effort to make carpets more resistant to accidents, Mohawk SmartStrand has a new kind of fiber called Triexta. Stain protection is built into every carpet strand, and even though the material is more durable, it’s still retains comfort.

With SmartStrand’s DuPont Sorona, the carpet is also eco-friendly. This renewably sourced polymer requires 30 percent less energy to produce and greenhouse gases from manufacturing are reduced by 63 percent.

When spills do happen, you can rest assured that warm water and a mild detergent will take care of mustard, red wine and even cherry Kool-Aid.

Finding a way to bring the outdoors inside makes life more interesting, especially on those dreary days when you don’t want to step outdoors. With a few accessories and home accents, you liven up your home with nature.

Anthropologie has several new items including bedding, sheets and curtains, and there are now three fresh looking rugs available too. The Sweet as Honey Rug looks like a bunch of honeycombs, and the Budding Birch Rug has a spring feel. There is also a Velvet Moss Rug, which looks somewhat like camouflage with dark shades of brown and green, so it has a more masculine presence.

These three rugs are crafted from New Zealand wool, and they have a sturdy cotton backing. As for care, these pieces would have to be professionally cleaned, but they’re sure to bring a natural ambiance to your home.