Tip #1: If you’re laying tile flooring and want to make the room look bigger, use larger sized tiles (18 x 18 or larger) and lay them on a 45 degree angle (diamond pattern). What this does is draw your eye to the two widest points of each tile, giving your flooring the illusion of a larger space. And the larger sized tiles have less grout lines to look at so your flooring doesn’t look as ‘busy’ across your a larger area as say a 12 x 12 would.

Just keep in mind installing tile on a 45 uses more tile because there are more cuts to be made.

Tip #2: If you want a clean, contemporary look, ask your installer to use the narrowest grout lines possible, either a 1/8 or 3/16 and for natural stone 1/16. Larger grout lines give a more rustic, earthy look. And higher gloss (polished) tiles are contemporary whereas heavily grooved and rough give an aged, worn look.

Tip #3: To give your flooring another illusionary trick, lighter colors give the room a more spacious feel while darker colors give it a cozier, smaller feel.

Tip #4: There are many flooring patterns available so don’t hesitate to use them! Too many shoppers I met would obsess over what flooring everyone else is doing. This is your home, not anyone else’s and you should get the floor that makes you happy. Don’t be afraid of not looking like everyone else. That’s the whole point! if you want to differentiate a room, then lay different flooring.

Tip #5: I’m a big fan of using matching or contrasting inserts to transform the flooring into a masterpiece. But not many really can create a room. You know, these deco pieces, listellos and natural stone inserts may cost you a couple hundred dollars all up but they give your room an unsurpassed look. Now I strongly recommend when doing these special flooring designs to only hire a certified flooring installer. DON’T TRY and do them yourself unless you really know what you’re doing. I’ve seen it too many times.

For example, for every insert, you need to make 4 cuts, one for each connecting tile. These cuts need to be pretty much right on, otherwise any unevenness will flash at you right away once its installed. And if you insist on doing it yourself, just remember two very important words: wet saw and diamond blade!

When it comes to decorating your home, whether for the first time or the tenth, you may come short when it comes to ideas. Before you go spend money on an interior designer for tips and hints, do your own research and make note of the ideas that will work for your living areas. It is both possible and practical to get ideas for decorating from people you know, websites you trust and television shows you enjoy. Making a living room look like a million bucks doesn’t need to cost a million bucks.

The following are a few tips to get you started when decorating your living room.

Choosing Your Colors

The common homeowner may have trouble figuring out how to choose colors for their new decorating project. However, there is a very simple trick that even professional interior designers use when it comes to choosing a color palate. Simply take an existing piece of furniture, or perhaps a new piece that you will be buying, and choose colors from it. For instance, your multi-colored sofa, that beautiful new framed wall print or that glass blown bowl sitting on your coffee table might hold the answer. Choose neutral colors for walls and carpet, and bright, bold colors for accents as not to be too overpowering.

Furniture Arrangement

Many rooms in a home necessitate the furniture arrangement to be a certain way. If you’re lucky, you have several options when it comes to arranging the seating in your living room. If you have a fireplace, you can place a sofa and recliner on a wall beside it, or even several feet directly in front of it. If your room is large enough, it’s a bold look to place two sofas facing each other, with a focal point on the wall (such as the fireplace) between the length of them. Arrange seating evenly throughout the room and be sure to use furniture that is neither too large nor too small in proportion to the room itself. In addition, using too many and too few pieces of furniture can throw a room’s look off.

Inexpensive Wall Decor

Many homeowners spent countless choosing floor coverings, decorative accents and furniture arrangements — only to forget the most noticeable part of the room — the walls! The good news is that after spending money on your decorating project, you can still afford to cover those walls with beautiful hangings. Look for prints at a local poster or art shop and frame them yourself for less money. Consider using eye catching designs from used calendars and framing them. Some walls may only need one or two framed items, especially if you’ve already accented that wall with a color other than the other walls in the room. Framed family portraits are also a good wall covering choice.

One of the most common flooring solutions for the bathroom is ceramic tiles. However, who wants to be like everyone else when you can be unique. An alternate solution for flooring in your bathroom is cork flooring. Cork flooring is made out of cork from the cork oak tree (Quercus Suber) which is grown in southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa. One of the major benefits of cork flooring is the fact it’s eco-friendly and safe for the environment. The method used to harvest cork doesn’t harm the cork oak tree and allows it to re-grow and be harvested over and over again. So, not only would you have unique flooring in your bathroom, you would also be helping the environment.

One of the primary things you need when look for a bathroom flooring solution is a floor type that can withstand moisture and water. Unlike other types of wood flooring cork is an excellent product for this type of situation. Cork flooring has a waxy substance that naturally occurs in it called Suberin. This substance allows cork to withstand moisture, mold, mildew and bacteria growth. This makes cork flooring an excellent bathroom flooring solution. Tests have proven that cork flooring is also resistant to insects and has anti-static properties to prevent the build up of allergens and dander.

Cork flooring is also easy to keep clean and require little maintanence; monthly mopping with a damp mop and a PH balanced detergent is all that’s required to keep your cork flooring looking brand new. It’s also simple for the do-it-yourself type to install, many types of cork flooring don’t even require glue. If you want to learn more about cork flooring than visit the CorkFlooringPros.com website and view how-to guides, articles, faq and pictures of cork flooring.