Do you want to dine in style without the hassle? This video offers tips on selecting dishes, silverware, napkins and placemats as well as something special for the center of the table. Did you know napkin rings are staging a comeback?
Category Archives: Design
MODA Introduces Virtual Shopping Experience
Life’s simple pleasures begin at home. Find your new floors from the comfort of your home using our new virtual shopping tools. See which type of flooring and color might work best in your room. View the video to learn how simple the tools are to use.
Maintaining and Changing the Look of Wood Floors
Photo: Bona
How should I maintain my wood floors?
Routine maintenance for wood flooring is really very easy. Simply sweep, dust mop or vacuum with the beater bar turned off to remove dirt and grit from between the floor boards. Wet mops and steam mops should be avoided because excessive water and steam can dull the finish or even damage the wood. When spills occur, clean the area immediately with a dry or slightly damp cloth.
If the floor begins to look a little dull, using a wood flooring cleaner recommended by the installer or manufacturer will help renew luster. Avoid mass-market rejuvenators, polishes or restorers. If you are not sure which cleaner to use, visit a reputable flooring store like MODA Floors & Interiors for a recommendation.
Will I be able to change the look of my wood floors?
One of the advantages of wood floors is that they can be refinished, which makes them a great long-term value. A wood flooring professional will clean the floors to remove all contaminants and then lightly abrade the floor and apply a new coat of finish. If scratches are deep in the wood, or if there are large dents or damaged boards, trained refinishers will be able to repair the damage without affecting the rest of the floor.
The numbers of times a floor can be refinished will depend on the floor itself, the degree of repair needed and the skill of the refinisher. A professional refinisher will remove very little of the wood to make repair – generally 1/32” or less – while those without proper training or equipment might remove much more wood than that, which generally reduces the life of the floor.
What are the Benefits of Wood Floors?
Wood floors offer great long-term value, are easy to maintain and add value to your home. When properly installed and maintained, wood floors can last for hundreds of years. Other flooring options that won’t last as long will need to be replaced more often at additional expense both financially and to the environment.Routine maintenance requires nothing more than a broom or dust mop. Periodically, using a wood flooring cleaner made for the floor will help remove surface dirt.
Wood floors also add value to your home. Real estate agents report that properties with wood floors sell faster and for more money than properties without wood floors.
Wood as a building material has excellent insulation properties. It has 10 times more insulating capacity than steel or aluminum and five times more insulating capacity than concrete or cinder blocks. As a flooring material, wood retains warmth from heating systems, both from HVAC systems and radiant heat systems, increasing the overall physical warmth of the room.
Can I Install Wood Floors Myself?
Photo: Bona
Installing wood floors is a lot more complicated than painting your walls or replacing the hardware on your kitchen cabinets. Wood flooring requires special tools that you will likely have to rent. You will need to make sure the room you are working in is flat, that the subfloor material will work for wood flooring and that no moisture issues are present that will damage the wood long term.
You also will need to know how to center the room, how much space should be left for expansion gaps and how to work around obstructions like closets, fireplaces, bay windows, staircases and cabinets. If you make cutting mistakes, you may end up running short on your material and not have enough to finish the job.
For all these reasons, installing wood floors is not recommended as a do-it-yourself project. In the long run, you will save money and time by using a professional installer.
Create an Inviting Guest Room
This brief video offers inspiration for creating a beautiful guest room with mixed metallic pillows, bedding and a keepsafe photo.
Creating Beautiful Centerpieces
Don’t have a green thumb? No problem. These centerpieces are easy and sustainable. Plus you may already have some of the components around your home.
