Saturday, May 18, 2013

Dwellings - Hints of Summer


 
Dwellings has a fresh new vibe for Summer Fun!
Michael has just updated the shop for the Summer Season.
Shop LeClaire for all your home decor needs.
 
 
I'm having a sidewalk sale at Dwellings this weekend too!
Trying to sell some of our old furniture from our first cottage home to make room for new!
Stop out to scope out the deals.
We are located on Hwy 67 in Downtown Historic LeClaire, Iowa.
Just off Interstate 80.
 
 
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Carrie

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Our Renovation - Interior French Doors

 
I am so excited to see the progress finally come together on our Cottage Reno.
Travis installed our interior french doors this week.
I am in LOVE!!!
I think this is my new favorite feature of our new home.
 
Modern & Classic Cottage Charm
ahhh
 
I could hardly wait to share these because I was so extremely excited!
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Carrie


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Friday ~ Links I'm Loving

 
I thought I would try something new.
On Fridays each week I thought I would start sharing some of my fav links of the week.
There is so much fabulous inspiration out there these days.
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I feel like Pinterest is my best girl friend.
Pinterest just gets me...
Totally
 
If anyone would understand that statement & not think I was totally crazy,
it would be my blog friends, right???
Hopefully...
 
 
 
I'm not sure if it's the time of year with Summer right around the corner,
or the fact that our Home Renovation is nearly complete & I am in need of
some much needed R&R & a great vacation getaway,
but these images really speak to me this week.
 
Check out the rest of my inspiration images on Pinterest.
You can follow my Pinterest Boards here.
 Or click on the Pinterest logo in the sidebar.
 
Carrie
 
 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Our Renovation - Grey Laminate Flooring


 
Our laminate floors have been installed throughout our home!
Now this is serious progress my friends.
Our little cottage renovation is finally starting to feel like a real home.
We are thrilled with our selection to say the least!
 
Yesterday, I showed you how we narrowed our flooring choices.
 
 
It was both Travis & my favorite.
I think it was really just what we were looking for.
 
The greige tone with a slight comfort texture to the wood offers a casual and comfortable feel.
It is also a bit more modern, while still having an elegant sophistication of a beach cottage.
It also reminds me a bit of a barnwood with the wood grain showing through.
 
I was originally a bit worried about choosing a grey floor, for fear that it was too trendy.
I have to tell you, I'm so glad I went with my gut on this one.
The floor actually has a grey and brown look that we love.
 
I would definitely say my plan for the design aesthetic is kind of
casual elegant beach house meets modern farmhouse.
I think this flooring captures that feel.
 

 
Travis did the flooring installation himself.
I would say overall it took about 4-5 days to install.
Keep in mind, he is not normally a flooring guy, and he did not put in full days on it.
 
 
Lucy has even given her seal of approval:)
 
Hope you all are having a great weekend!
 
 
participating



Our Renovation - Flooring Selection

 
We have narrowed down our flooring selections.
I think we visited every flooring showroom in town during our search for the perfect floor.
I picked up samples every where I could.
 
We looked mostly at hardwoods and laminates.
Ultimately we decided what would work best for our family and lifestyle was a laminate floor.
Reality is...we live in our home.
My husband is a rugged manly guy & his work boots can often be found at the front door.
To my dismay they even find their way through the house from time to time,
tracking in what is left of a hard days work.
Little Lucy's wet paws will inevidently come racing through after a rainy day potty break.
Yes, even I rushing because I've forgotten something will race back inside not removing my shoes.
 
 
 
 
Once we decided that laminate flooring was the direction we wanted to go,
we narrowed our selection to the six styles you see above.
We quickly eilmated two styles, simply because we didn't like the look.
We learned as much about laminate as we could about laminate.
I encourage you to ask the specialist in the flooring departments at each stop you make.
It always seems like you learn something new from each person.
They recommended a 12mm laminate for durability.
Laminate is also fairly easy to install, which was good for us because Travis is doing the install.
One thing to keep in mind some will come with a layer of pad attached and some do not.
If it does not, you will need to by a seperate pad to install under the floating floor.
You can pick the padding up at your local home improvement store.
 
We also took our samples home & deliberately tried to mark them up.
Even going so far as to scratch them with a key.
You will be surprised some will scratch immediately.
Others it didn't matter what we did, it didn't leave a mark on the surface.
We even went so far to drop water on the surface and let it sit.
 
It may seem crazy, but we wanted to be certain we made a good choice for our lifestyle.
 
 
Things to keep in mind for our design plan.
 
We plan for our laminate floor to run throughout the house,
except for the bathrooms and laundry,where there will be tile.
With an open concept design and all of our rooms being on one level,
I think keeping our flooring selection consistant and almost minimal
will help to create the clean fresh modern cottage feel throughout the home.
The flooring is also going to be in our kitchen.
My husband was a bit hesitant of putting anything wood or laminate in the kitchen.
But, I think with our open concept the flooring needs to be the same throughout.
 
Our Top Four Flooring Choices are as follows:
 
 
Style Synopsis:
Love the greige look of this style. 
Grey but still brown and even a hint of lighter wood tone.
I think it has a casual feel and maybe a little bit of a beachy vibe.
Looks like it may hide dirt and foot prints well.
Concern: Is grey trendy or classic, will it stand the test of time?
 
 
Style Synopsis:
A bit darker than the last.
The oak finish is a bit more classic.
I think this floor has an updated more elegant feel.
Concern: Is it too dark to mix with the other wood furniture in our home?
Will it feel like to many drastically different woods?
 
 
Style Synopsis:
A more traditional finish and color tone.
Very brown and almost redish wood.
Is that a scratch I see in the corner?
Has a nice feel to the touch.
Concern: Is it too red?
 
 
 
Blonde and beachy.
A ligther option than the others this also has a casual feel.
Almost barn wood like.
Concern: Is it too light?

Another tip about buying flooring.
Many places the more you buy, the more you save.
Please note the pricing above is reflective of the sqaure footage we planned to order.
We ordered a total of 1300+ Sq. Ft., giving us the best level price break.


Which one do you think is right for us?
Which style would you choose?
I would love to hear your feedback.

 
Well, we have made our choice.
Good news, the flooring has already arrived.
Stay tuned for our final flooring decision tomorrow.
 
 
Also, I will still post more about our trim selection too.
 Want to see more of Our Renovation?
Click here to see how far we have come and check out our floor plan.
Carrie


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