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Terrazzo is an ancient material that has been around for centuries. Fifteen-century Venetian construction workers created terrazzo to use when building patios. It was originally made from chips of marble and set in clay.

In the 1950s and 1960s, terrazzo flooring peaked in popularity, and it’s now making a comeback. With terrazzo, only minimal cleaning is necessary because this flooring is non-porous and has no grout joints where dirt often accumulates — a definite advantage.

Carpet is still one of the most popular flooring choices around, providing comfort, softness underfoot, and a finished look. But deciding which type of carpet is right for both your budget and your needs is sometimes puzzling. For example, should you choose wool, which has been used for centuries to weave fine carpets, or should you invest less and choose a synthetic fiber, and if so, which one?

Laminate flooring, also known as floating wood tile, is a type of multi-layered flooring made via lamination. It’s a popular flooring option for residential homes, offering a similar appearance as hardwood but at a fraction of the cost. Of course, there are other reasons to choose laminate flooring.

Cork has quickly become one of the most popular flooring alternatives to traditional hardwood. It first appeared around the late 1800s with homeowners and business owners alike choosing it over other flooring options. To learn more about cork flooring and whether or not it’s right for you, keep reading.

If you’re in the market for new flooring, you may want to consider bamboo. Featuring all-natural organic material harvested from the bamboo plant, it’s an excellent choice for both residential and commercial applications. So, should you choose bamboo flooring for your home or business?

Bamboo Flooring: The Basics

While bamboo plants are native in many parts of the world, the species used in flooring typically originate from China and surrounding Asian countries. The most common species of bamboo for flooring materials is Phyllostachys edulis. Also known as Moso bamboo, Phyllostachys edulis is known to reach heights of 90+ feet. While traditional hardwood trees can take 20 to 120 years to fully mature, Moso reaches maturity in just 3 to 5 years.

Natural stone floors bring a sort of organic beauty to your home that no other flooring material can duplicate. Whether slate, granite, marble, quartz, limestone or travertine, natural stone flooring is always stylish, whatever direction your tastes run — modern, traditional or rustic, etc. According to Better Homes and Gardens, their cool, hard surface is a natural choice for warm climates, and certain types of stone flooring are extremely practical for areas like kitchens, foyers or bathrooms. Their biggest asset though is their variation. No two pieces of stone are exactly alike, and the differences give them a depth that’s hard to match with anything else.  Some considerations:

Carpeting can set the tone for your entire interior design scheme, so you want to make the best possible choice to suit your lifestyle and reflect your own personal tastes. This year’s carpeting choices range from classic solids and bold statement patterns to striking colors and plenty of eco-friendly selections.

Warmer colors in varying neutral shades of taupe and gray are serving as the balance for bolder tones; bolstered by texturing from ribbed to geometric shapes, carpeting trends are incorporating more interest. This is one of the reasons why cut-and-loop carpeting has made a major comeback – the combination of loops with cut pile results in great texturing and opportunities for beautiful color combinations. Patterned carpeting in contrasting or coordinated shades is a perfect way to add movement and interest to a monochromatic room design.

Having your floors, and particularly your carpets, professionally cleaned is more important than many homeowners believe. While regular vacuuming and spot-cleaning may keep your carpet looking clean, you may be surprised by the amount of dirt, allergens, and bacteria that can become trapped in your carpet that is not removed by vacuuming. If you do not currently have your carpets regularly cleaned, here are just a few of the reasons to consider professional carpet and floor cleaning.

If you have just purchased your dream home, you might be overly excited to move right in. One thing you might want to take care of before move-in is replacing carpeting throughout your home. Here are three reasons new carpeting can give you a fresh start in a new home.

1. Help With Lingering Odors

Even if your new home doesn’t smell bad, if there is a distinct smell that seems to linger, one way to rid your home of this is with new carpeting throughout. Sometimes even the deepest carpet clean cannot get rid of smells that stem from pets and tobacco, and a whole new carpet can achieve this quickly.

You probably spend at least part of every day on a carpeted floor. You can see and feel its quality, which shapes your experience of the space it occupies. High-quality carpeting is comfortable, beautiful, and long-lasting.

There’s a lot to consider in selecting new carpeting for a home or business. A good place to start is with the purpose and function of the space. Some types of carpeting, while exquisitely lush and well-constructed, may be very susceptible to stains. Other types are more stain-resistant and durable. How much foot-traffic do you expect? What’s the desired lifespan of your carpeting? Will the space be used by children and pets?

Just thinking about wood flooring conjures images of natural warmth and beauty – it’s a classic choice, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t new twists on the old favorite.

Wood flooring is extremely popular right now, and the trend shows no sign of waning. Selecting the best color and type of flooring for your lifestyle and taste is always best, but the trend this year is leaning toward the more dramatic effects of lighter and darker wood colorings that underscore and enhance bolder and contrasting decors. Very dark colors like ebony, espresso and dark walnut are high on the list of choices; these colors offer a smoother look with less visible grain and are being heavily used as a warm contrast in white kitchens.

For the past decade, granite has been the creme de la creme in the realm of kitchen counter tops. Is it going to continue to dominate kitchens in 2017? Not necessarily, say designers and consumer advocates like Consumer Reports Magazine.

Your kitchen counter tops not only lend a distinctive look to your kitchen, they also arguably receive the most abuse since they’re used day in and day out for food preparation. Toughness and durability are key, since they need to stand up to chopping, cutting, hot pans, and more. Here are the materials designers say can take the abuse — the materials that will be the most popular kitchen counter tops in 2017 and beyond:

Choosing tile for your shower isn’t as straight-forward as you might think. Some considerations are slip-resistance, the shape of the shower (curved versus straight lines), and even the mineral content of your water.

Making the right tile choices for your shower definitely requires a little forethought and planning. Consider the following when making your decision:

Slip Resistance

Mosaic tiles have lots of grout lines, meaning it’s more slip resistant than many larger-scale tiles. If you prefer a large-scale tile, look for one with a good slip-resistance rating — an A or a B rating is preferable. Bear in mind, too, that if you’re using glass or a sheet-type mosaic tile, it’s up to the manufacturer or retailer to let you know if the tile is acceptable for submersion.

You’ve had the same kitchen cabinets for quite a while, and now you’re thinking of replacing them. Should you attempt to save money by simply refacing them, or should you purchase new ones? In many cases, refacing will not help solve the issues. Here are some instances where new cabinets will be needed: