Google Fiber & Lumber Liquidators

Its been a rainy and wet start to the week. But there's been some important news to come out. Great news for the city of Huntsville and some informational awareness for everyone to take note of.

First Huntsville has been selected as the next city in Google Fiber's implementation. The press release from the city of Huntsville can be found here. This is great news for a city that's always on the edge of technological advancement. Also Huntsville will be the first city to have constructed its own fiber network. All other cities have had Google come in and build the physical network from the ground up. Additional articles can be found here: Motherboard, Fortune Magazine, USA Today.

The other story is about Lumber Liquidators. In the past they were in the news concerning formaldehyde. This report from the CDC builds off that report and notes that Chinese made laminate does have a higher risk of causing cancer. AL.com's news story can be found here with additional links to other information associated with this news.

We will keep you updated on these stories.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

New Flooring or having Wood Flooring Refinished? 9/15/15

Good Morning everyone, its the middle of September and we thought we would share a small amount of information with you. Recently an agent that works in our office showed us photos she took of wood flooring in her listing that was refinished and stained. Unfortunately everything did not go as planned. The crew that did the work came back several times and continued to make the problem worse. In multiple occasions, they cut deep into the wood and did a incomplete job of staining. The flooring is now in a condition where the options are limited to either put in brand new flooring or cover it with carpet or some other overlay. The owners can leave it as is with the gashes and discoloration, but just seeing that walking into the house is disheartening and problematic for any potential homeowner.

The importance of bringing this up is the need to mention that its almost always the correct move to go with the professional company. Unlike contractors, this is the company's main focus, flooring. They are expected to have a higher quality than contractors, although some come with a higher price tag. They have insurance to handle major mistakes and their reputation is on the line, so there is pressure on them to deliver a quality product and/or service. And if there are errors or problems, they are much more likely to come out and service the problem areas. Below is a small sample list of companies which handle flooring (in no particular order). Feel free to click the links below and view their sites for more information.

James Carpets

Kemps Flooring

Rock Bottom Carpets

Haley's Flooring and Interiors

Lumber Liquidators

Wolde Flooring

Remember there are more choices out there for flooring. This is just a sample of professional companies. Also it never hurts to ask around. Ask your family, friends, and neighbors. Ask them about their experience. You don't know if you don't ask.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Make The Room Look More Spacious

A familiar saying throughout the years is "let's open it up" "we want to make it more open and spacious".  Fact is that everyone likes larger rooms. You won't come across many people who ask you to find a home with the smallest rooms possible and make it feel cramped. No, you hear about people who want the rooms to feel open so they can move around in.

So how do rooms become more spacious and open after getting rid of the unnecessary clutter. There is a variety of things that can be done. Some working alone, some working in concert with the others. But each room is its own.

The variables that can be worked with are paint, furniture, decoratives & wall hangings, windows, and flooring. Most everything can fit into these categories one way or another.  Let's go into these five in more detail.

Paint - One of the more logical paths to follow for open-ness. Stick to shades of the same color. Nothing striking which would clash with other colors in the scheme of the room. If possible, try to stick with neutral colors and lighter tones. Lighter tones can also reflect light to brighten up a room, while the darker tones absorb the light. You don't always have to play it safe either, go off white. There are plenty of light colored paints: creme, beige, light toupe, eggshell, ivory, linen, etc.


Furniture - Just say no, to oversized furniture. Filling a room with furniture makes everything seemed cramped. Also couch with fabric extensions to the ground have a visual effect of being larger and more bulkier than furniture with slim legs that stand out. Also glass furniture such as desks also helps since it has both the see thru quality and the light reflective nature. However, glass objects such as desks don't work in most areas since most other furniture tends not to match.


Decoratives & Wall hangings - This can hold many things mirrors, lights, paintings, other art. Put a suitable mirror in a room and find the best place for it. Sometimes it may have to be moved several times to find the best place. Mirrors help the spaciousness and reflect that light. Speaking of lights, hanging ceiling lights pull the ceilings down. Easy to associate with here as when you see a hanging light coming down on a pole, there is an inherent quality to pull it just like someone would pull those lights with the chains. Floor and desk lamps can work wonders. Depending on your room size/shape, artwork can be carefully fit in, just make sure it is balanced with something else, other artwork/furniture/possibly lamps.


Windows - Don't let drapery/curtains fool you. Sometimes a bare window with perhaps just small blinds can make a room more open than drapes. Especially when the drapes are full of folds and stick out from half a foot to a whole foot of space. Whether its one window or two windows on two walls, these billowing drapes stick out and become big objects in the room. Also let windows act on their own behalf. Don't cover them up by having objects in front of them to obstruct their light. Light reduction makes a room look smaller.


Flooring - Perhaps one of the easier ones to understand. Flooring should be uniform throughout. Make sure the room's flooring does not stop at the doorway. If there needs to be carpets or bath carpets, try to match the shade. It doesn't have to be matched perfectly, in some spaces a shade of the color can do extremely well. This advice can work with wood flooring, laminte, vinyl, and tile. This open flooring is probably the easiest one to spot on how to make look better.


These are just a few tips to open it up. More information can be found in the links below.

Stylecaster
Buzzfeed

Remember if it doesn't look right one way, keep trying. But make sure its something you like!

Huntsville Metro Area Homes

Get in the Groove or Go with the Grain, a Quick Brief on Different Flooring

In a past post, it was colors. Today its about flooring. Everyone at one point or another has thought about updating, changing, or redoing their flooring. And...everyone has their niche of what they have fallen in love with. Today we're going to fly through several of them and hopefully give you something to think about when you choose your next flooring option.  With advances in technology some of these flooring types have actually blurred. Remember with your flooring, make it something you'll like, something that will match your home, and something you can take care of.

First up on the list, the omnipresent Hardwoods
Natural and durable, hardwoods come in a multitude of colors and types and blend into almost any home. Maple, Pine, Cherry, Ash, Hickory, and Oak just to name a few varieties. More reclaimed woods have been coming onto the market in recent years. They can be refinished many times over giving that sharp quality look.

Manufactured/Engineered woods
For all intents and purposes, these are still considered wood flooring. The top layers are wood backed by other mixed construction layers. These are usually glued or snapped into place. Some have made the snapping process so easy that you can do it yourself.  Do it yourself wood floors, who would have thought of that years ago.  Still though better to let the professional do it in case any mishaps occur. This flooring can be finished once or twice at most, but not recommended if you don't know the surface wood layer's depth.

Bamboo
This has been increasing in popularity and even be seen here in the Tennessee Valley already. Not a hardwood, but it is more accurately in the same classification as grass. These planks are glued together are are durable. Also the setting of the grain will each result in a different look.

Laminate
Low maintenance, the plastic coated photograph of wood layered on plywood or fiber backing can be a low cost alternative to hardwoods that can still show off a nice clean look with a great sheen.

Linoleum
Usually coming as sheets for easy glue down with materials that include linseed oil and cork, linoleum is often seen in wet areas. Can have a protective coating for stain resistance. Due to the lowering costs of other types of flooring, we have seen a decline in linoleum areas in homes we have shown.

Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tile, the do it all substance which can blend in easily from wet areas to outdoor mosaics to terracotta rooftops. Made from shale and clay baked in a kiln for a certain time period. Although since it can come in style from simple blank tiles to complicated mosaic forms the cost of this varies greatly. A few varieties include glazed, quarried, porcelain, terracotta, and glossy.

Stone
That natural, earthen, and literally rock hard substance which can really give you that fantastic first impression when entering a home. Most popular include granite, limestone, marble, slate, travertine, and sandstone. Also makes an excellent finishing touch for wet areas.

Vinyl
Resilient. Durable. Low maintenance. Less expensive than other flooring, vinyl has come a long way from being the plain sheet glue down. Now it can be textured to mimic wood or stone. Most vinyl seen today will reside in wet areas.

Just quick info on each. For more information on costs, installation, and any other questions please feel free to contact your local flooring companies.

A few local companies include: James Carpets, Kemps Flooring, Carpet One, Flooring America, Haley's Flooring, One on One, and Rock Bottom Carpets. If you know of any more companies that people can contact be sure to leave a comment below for people to see.

Today's Tidbit: Always contact a professional for any type of floor work, repairs or upgrades. Also sometimes, your flooring may be just fine and just need a good cleaning or finishing with appropriate products. Talk to the professional floor experts and get their opinion, it never hurts to ask.

Huntsville Metro Area Homes