dining room

Best Flooring for Your Home: Wood, Tile, Vinyl, Bamboo, Laminate, Carpet, & More

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Top 3 Floor Options for Your Home by Room

If you’ve been to Floor & Decor lately (or even Home Depot!), you’ve seen the endless options for flooring these days: laminate, wood, bamboo, tile, engineered wood, a million kinds of carpet. How are we supposed to choose? In an effort to help, we’ve rounded up a list of the best flooring for each room in your home…enjoy!

Kitchen & Dining Room

  • Porcelain tile – A classic look, tile makes it easy to clean up spills and is hard enough to withstand the occasional dropped pan. Larger tiles in your kitchen can make the space look bigger too!

  • Vinyl – Don’t worry, vinyl flooring has changed a lot since it’s creation in 1958. The new vinyl is attractive, durable, and easy to clean.

  • Engineered wood – The possibilities are endless these days! A lighter color laid in a unique design will make your kitchen truly unique.

Living and Family Room 

  • Solid wood – Still THE BEST, most classic look. And it comes in so many flavors! Accessorize with a stylish rug or leave it bare.

  • Engineered Wood – The stuff looks like real wood. Seriously. And it’s a bit more durable than solid wood if you have a high traffic home.

  • Carpet – Sometimes in these rooms, comfort is king! Cozy movie nights are perfect with a plush carpet and popcorn.

Bathroom and Laundry Room

  • Porcelain tile – See the reasons above under ‘Kitchen & Dining Room’. Using smaller tiles lends a polished look, and the design possibilities are endless.

  • Vinyl – Comes in a million colors and really is better these days. You can match your towels, your soap…the world is your oyster.

  • Engineered Wood – This is a recent trend in bathrooms, and we love it! So durable and moisture-resistant.

Bedroom

  • Hardwood – We love hardwood in bedrooms – so classy. Make the flooring pop with a throw rug or a faux cowskin.

  • Tile – Because why not? We’ve seen some amazing tile designs in bedrooms, especially clay tile or travertine.

  • Carpet – Sometimes you just want that softness under your bare pajama feet!

Hopefully this helps you make your big flooring decisions! Stop by and see us today to find the perfect flooring options for your home!

The Best Home Remodel Trends for Bathroom, Kitchen, and Living Room in 2019

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This year will highlight modern, unique, and artisan looks around every room of a remodel or repair project. Embrace dramatic accents, technologic advances, and open everything, like shelves and floorplans. Retro styles make their comeback through colored cabinetry, furniture, and graphic wallpaper, and contemporary designs continue to gain traction through simplicity and class. 

Full-Height Backsplashes

In 2019, backsplashes are the star of show— counter to ceiling tile can create a beautiful focal point in the kitchen or bathroom, conveniently pairing with the increasingly popular modern style of floating cabinets and large windows. The tile itself can lighten up a room with its naturally reflective properties, or draw attention to the wall with a dramatic, patterned tile design. 

Gold, Brass and Copper 

Whether it’s a gold finish, brass feature, or copper accent—stainless steel is out, and rustic metals are in. When planning your home remodel for 2019—think brass kitchen sinks, copper accent tiles, and gold finishing on arms and legs of furniture. But don’t be scared to welcome new metals without saying bye to the old ones. Luckily, mixed metals are “in” this year, so bring on the new accents without feeling the need to ditch all appliances. 

Floral Wallpaper

Find floral designs in the hottest home remodels of the year. In the laundry room, nursery, or living room. Subtle and sleek, or distinctive and unique—whatever your desire, you are bound to find a design that fits your style. Wallpaper used to be the red-headed step child of design, but modern options include hand-drawn and hand-screened printed art that screams “class.” 

Cool Colors: Deep Blues, Greens & Grays

Cooler colors are expected to make a solid appearance in 2019 from walls to furniture to kitchen cabinets. Gray is still the most popular wall color by far, but Navy Blue and Hunter Green are quickly gaining popularity. Color experts presume this is due to the white and bright trend dominating the design scene in previous years. Green, velvet couches and vibrant cabinets are 

Open Floorplans  

It’s no surprise that open floorplans have become progressively common in recent years, a perfect combination of functional and appealing. Clawfoot tubs in the center of bathrooms, kitchens fully opening to outdoor patios, or the classic combination of living and dining rooms allow your home to feel bigger and more inviting. Not to mention the ease in entertaining, cooking and dining; the family chef can chat with guests while preparing food, and parents can watch their kids while cleaning up. 

Minimalism & Simplicity 

Open shelving, simplistic molding, and overall de-cluttering of knick-knacks and furniture. Less is more and what better way to start the year than streamlining your home in function and design. Open shelving provides a minimal vibe and straight-forward accessibility to plates in the kitchen and toiletries in the bathroom. 

Smart Home Innovations

Refrigerators. Coffee Makers. Lighting Fixtures. Door Locks. Heating Systems. All of these have one thing in common: they can be controlled from your smartphone and programmed to your liking. Implement a lighting schedule or set your coffee to be brewed at 7 AM. Smart thermostats can even detect when you are home and when you are away, so your HVAC system adjusts accordingly. Save on utility bills and treat the environment with kindness, the opportunities are endless. 

Hardwood Floors

Wooden material is warm and inviting, hence it’s preferred status as a flooring option. Tiles and vinyl plank flooring that imitate a wooden look are the second most popular selection in 2019. Engineered vinyl plank flooring can be great for young families because the material is waterproof and provides insulation through its cork underlayment. 

White Quartz Countertops 

Move over marble—Quartz is stealing your spotlight! In previous years, white marble was trendy in high-end and luxury homes, but unfortunately, its porous, expensive, and needy when it comes to maintenance. Enter quartz, it’s remarkable cousin that costs less, is easier to clean, and strikingly similar to the lavish and rare, white marble of the past. 

Tall Column Refrigerators 

Column refrigeration provides the option to customize the way you store your food. It has become increasingly difficult for a traditional fridge to accommodate a mid to large sized family, considering frozen pizzas, lasagna pans and wine bottles. Column systems allow you to choose the size of your freezer and refrigerator, exterior elements such as left or right hinged doors, water and ice dispensers, and width of the appliance. Contact a company that specializes in home repair services to get the job done, these systems are built into a wall and can be tricky to install.

Whether your 2019 home goals are big or small, Bright Star Handyman Service can do it all. Professional and skilled individuals will transform any room in your house, or simply touch up the details to create a whole new look. Click here to request a free estimate! 

10 Home Repair Services for Less Than $500

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Are you tired of the same-old, same-old in your home?  There are lots of ways to update a home, but sometimes our wallets won’t allow us to build our perfect home at this very second.  We have some suggestions for home repairs that may get you a few steps closer to living in your perfect space without breaking the bank.  Here are 10 home repair services for less than $500:

Seal the Deal in the Bathroom

Does your bathroom look dirty regardless of how many times you’ve scrubbed the tub & tiles?  One cost-effective way to give your bathroom a new, fresh feel is to replace the grout between the tiles.  Over time, tile grout can start to discolor and chip away regardless of how clean you keep it.  It’s normal wear and tear for a bathroom, but it can make your bathroom feel older than it is.  Sometimes, deteriorating grout can even make the surrounding tiles come loose if water gets behind them.  The caulking around your bathroom fixtures may also need a little help.  Caulk is the sealing around your sink, bathtub, toilet, and bathroom hardware that prevents water leaking into your walls and flooring.  Both grout and caulk can wear down over time and allow leaks, which will cost you more to replace in the long run.  

Upgrade Your Porcelain Throne

If your toilet is constantly breaking the chain or isn’t doing it’s job with water pressure, it may be time to upgrade!  Newer appliances, like toilets, are more energy and resource efficient than ever before.  While making an upgrade like an energy efficient toilet or low-pressure shower head will cost you money up front, you may benefit from lower bills on the backend.  You can be more water-conscious and have a shiny new toilet that can shift the look of the whole room!

Revamp Your Interior Walls

If you’re bored with your plainly painted living room or kitchen walls, you have some options without breaking the bank!  There is one big way to completely change the dimensions of your walls: wainscoting.  While this might sound like an old English term, wainscoting is a wall covering that has become increasingly popular in the last few years.  More specifically, it is vertical, painted wood panels that cover the bottom half of a wall, typically horizontally lined with a wood molding at the top to separate the panels from the drywall.  This is a great way to diversify the look of your walls and potentially cover any minor damage the lower half of your walls may have sustained from your kids or pets!  Price will depend on the size of the room but can be an affordable DIY project or reach out to us for our home repair services!

Shiplap Installation

Many people who are avid watchers of HGTV have seen and heard about shiplap quite frequently in home redesign.  But why?  Shiplap has been commonly known as siding on the exterior of your home, but has recently gained popularity for interior home remodeling.  Shiplap, as opposed to wainscoting, is horizontal wood paneling that lines the walls, with the top panel laying slightly over the panel beneath, like a roof tile but thicker & longer.  Originally used to support proper rain flow down the side of a house, many have turned it into a feature wall within their home!  It’s a beautiful way to bring unique texture into a room.  Cost varies depending on the size of the room, but some shiplap panels can be found for as little as $1 per foot of board!

Line a Room with Crown Molding

Crown molding is the decorative line that runs around the crease where your wall and ceiling meet.  While older homes typically have crown molding, many newer or renovated homes can come a little more bare.  Molding comes in a number of materials, shapes, and sizes and cost can vary depending on which you choose.  A simple crown molding installation can make your living room, dining room, or bedroom look even more elegant without breaking the bank.  It softens the hard corners of the room while adding a classy, finished look.  They can typically be painted any color and come in a variety of shapes.  Some are more standard, while more expensive options like plaster can offer large, intricately detailed custom molds like an early 1900’s Victorian home.  While some people choose to do this themselves, we recommend our home repair services to give you a hand!

It’s All in the Lighting

One cost effective way to make changes to several rooms at once is to update your lighting.  Replacing old light fixtures can not only bring more light in to your home, it can affect the entire feel of the room.  An older light fixture could be dating your home 20 years without you even realizing it!  Not to mention, changing the fixture and converting to LED light bulbs could help reduce the amount of electricity your home uses on an annual basis.  If your overhead light fixture isn’t bright enough, look into investing in a floor lamp to add more light.  Want to see the difference lighting can make in your home before making the purchase?  Take one of your lamps and move it to another spot in the room, and see how the dynamic in the room changes from just this one step!

Paint the Town Red

Painting your kitchen, living room, bathroom, or bedroom can drastically change the feel of the room.  While it takes a little bit more preparation to move and cover your furniture, sometimes a new coat of paint will have your home looking like a brand new place!  If you don’t want to paint your walls, take a look at your cabinets and baseboards and see if they need a new color or coat of paint.  Typically, it’s best to sand down the old paint to get the new coat to go on smoothly and last longer.  One word of caution, sample your paint before you decide to make touch-ups on your walls or trim.  It can be difficult to match paint colors exactly (usually in older homes with discontinued paint colors), so work with someone to make sure your touch-up paint matches exactly, or get ready to repaint everything!  

Picture Perfect Windows

Blinds and curtains are typically under siege in homes with kids and pets, but can also wear down and break on their own over time.  One way to update the look of your home is to install new blinds and curtains.  While cost depending on how many windows you have and how fancy you want your blinds, it can be a great way to make your home look even nicer!  If blinds are out of the question, take a good look at your curtains.  Curtains are great to reduce the hard lines that windows and their frames can create in a room.  Looking for more light?  Blinds and sheers are a great option.  Wanting to limit light in the bedroom, heavier drapes can help cut out excess light.

Save the Stairs

If you have pets, an older home, or a high-traffic area in your home, your floors may be showing you that it’s time to do something.  Installing a floor runner up your stairs or in a hallway is a great way to hide the wear and tear on your floors.  Carpet prices vary but there are several affordable options.  If you choose a full runner for the stairs, be sure to secure it so it does not slide when you walk on it.  There are also individual carpet pieces that use adhesive to stick to each individual stair.  If you think you need to replace the stairs altogether, reach out to us about our home repair services!

Scrub Away

If you’re not sure you’re ready to replace anything in your home yet, maybe a good thorough cleaning will have you loving your same old space!  Some homeowners that are trying to sell can change their minds about their home after deep cleaning and repairing their home.  If you’ve never cleaned your light fixtures or repolished your wood floors, this might be a good place to start!  It could be more time-intensive on your side, but might just be what you’re looking for in a home repair!

Regardless of what you’re looking for in a home beautification, feel free to reach out to us at Bright Star Handyman Service to learn more about our home repair services.  We’re happy to help to create your dream home!