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Rugs in the DR and Master Bath are worse, but I guess those aren't trends.
heh
I really dislike the look of ceramic tile (or similar) in the kitchen. With concrete - Look wise is nice, but the issue I have is that type flooring is hard to be standing and working on for extended periods of time. It kills your back.
Wood looks great and provides some "bounce" when standing on it. My wife cleans it with a vinegar / water mix... which seems to work very well.
In all honesty I really like a nice grade wood flooring on the entire 1st floor.
I second that! I had hardwood floors my kitchen at our last house and loved it. They were maple with a nice poly finish, had no issues whatsoever with spills, etc. It was easier on the back and joints as well. Now we have ceramic in the kitchen and may consider replacing it some time in the future with wood.
I do think one of the more stupid trends to come along in the past few years is that of putting hardwoods in a kitchen. The kitchen, especially if it is actually used for cooking, is the most abused floor in the house and the relatively soft oak hardwoods put in most new construction these days simply isn't suitable for this type of environment. I would say that either go with linoleum, tile (but do your homework), polished concrete or if you have the cash, terrazzo. If one simply has to have hardwood, then I recommend that enough money is spent to get a good quality hard hardwood species, and then get it finished in place with a waterproof finish that is meant to be mopped. The absolute worst flooring for a kitchen is prefinished red oak.
I kind of agree and disagree on this. This is one of those areas where you have to balance out practical vs. aesthetic. Our new house is the first one I ever had with hardwood in the kitchen. I was not too sure about it at first, for the reasons that you mentioned. But given the layout of our floor with the kitchen...having hardwoods everywhere but the kitchen would make the flow of the whole floor look a little off-kilter. It just works from that standpoint. Unlike my last house, where I was considering re-doing the whole main floor in hardwood before I decided to move - I would not have run that into the kitchen and that would have looked just fine.
I use my kitchen a lot and I do find that I am quick to clean up any spill ASAP - as opposed to if I had tile / linoleum, where I would likely not worry about it until I got around to the post-cooking clean-up.
I was used to, at one point, laundry on the first floor. After purchasing my second home and there was laundry on the second floor I was quite skeptical about it there because of water issues until my friend mentioned to me, "well bathrooms are up there as well" DUH. I quickly became use to that and now love the idea. Luckily for me my new home has the laundry on the second floor. Is it a must have, not really but can be a decision maker in the event of a tie.
One thing I did learn along the way is . . . for most improvements - even if it means I have to let something else wait for a while (like a vacation) . . . I would rather update now so I can enjoy the improvements than defer it til I put the house on the market. That may sound like a no-brainer but it is really easy (for me) to keep putting off something like upstairs carpet or re-painting a room to a color I much preferred. I felt kinda stupid when I realized I had let this happen in the past. I had missed out on the real sense of satisfaction and enjoyment I would have felt had I done it earlier.
I agree 100%!! When we moved last year, we really worked on getting our house to top-notch shape. And, then only enjoyed it for a few months. However...with young kids, the stress of keeping the new carpet clean made it almost not worth it.
So, in this house, we are doing everything to feather our nest (oh, another saying of my dad's to add to the "sayings thread"). Everything but upgrading the carpet.
I do think one of the more stupid trends to come along in the past few years is that of putting hardwoods in a kitchen. The kitchen, especially if it is actually used for cooking, is the most abused floor in the house and the relatively soft oak hardwoods put in most new construction these days simply isn't suitable for this type of environment. I would say that either go with linoleum, tile (but do your homework), polished concrete or if you have the cash, terrazzo. If one simply has to have hardwood, then I recommend that enough money is spent to get a good quality hard hardwood species, and then get it finished in place with a waterproof finish that is meant to be mopped. The absolute worst flooring for a kitchen is prefinished red oak.
We've had hardwood in all our kitchens for the past 15 years. It has never been a problem, but then I never use the kitchen for actual cooking!
I was used to, at one point, laundry on the first floor. After purchasing my second home and there was laundry on the second floor I was quite skeptical about it there because of water issues until my friend mentioned to me, "well bathrooms are up there as well" DUH. I quickly became use to that and now love the idea. Luckily for me my new home has the laundry on the second floor. Is it a must have, not really but can be a decision maker in the event of a tie.
Now I would prefer the laundry on the ground floor because I hang my washing outside to dry and would rather carry it up the stairs dry than down the stairs wet!
In reference to the carpet cleaning... Heaven's Best Carpet Cleaning is the best around for cleaning without harsh chemicals. It's safe for pets, children and the environment, and really does a great job. You can find them on the internet.
lol, yes, I remember
I guess I am a stickler for crown I don't completely disagree, i.e., I don't need crown in my laundry room or in a room with sloped ceilings. It can also be a challenge in older homes where 8ft ceilings are the standard and even a 3 1/4 inch crown can "crowd" the look.
I agree crown really dresses up a room. Why not go the opposite and use 5 1/4 crown. Some people are scared it will cramp 8' ceilings, but it actually adds height. Although I would suggest painting the crowning instead of using a dark stain.
I agree with general opinion 9' ceilings are nice, but if you take a note from history you will see they were all the rage until central heat/air came about and energy bills skyrocketed. Will we see people steer away from 9' ceilings with the next energy spike, probably not, but I sure as heck would stay away from houses with 20' cathedral cielings in every room unless you can afford a $600 gas bill on a 2000 sqft house.
As far as what I need as a must have in addition to the other items mentioned:
Frameless or at least semi-frameless shower glass enclosures.
May item that will be gone and never coming back:
Tiled countertops!
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