by Arimar | Aug 8, 2017 | Arimar International, Blogs, Floor Art Collection
3 Tips To Protect Hardwood Floors This Summer
St. Tropez Rustic European Oak
Hardwood flooring is one of the most practical and popular forms of home improvements today that offer the luxury of choice. They not only add style but also adds great aesthetic appeal and provides an air of class and elegance. However, proper care and maintenance is needed especially during seasonal changes for preserving the beauty of your wooden floors. Even the most carefully installed wood floors tend to expand and sometimes cup or even buckle due to high moisture content and high relative humidity in the air. Here, we give you some tips to maintain hard wood flooring.
Tip 1: Protect flooring from sunlight
Due to the natural qualities of the wood, sunlight can quickly damage or discolor this type of flooring. If your current windows are not equipped with the proper coverage, it may be wise to get new drapes or shades installed. Rule of thumb is to protect your floors from the sun when applicable, so close your curtains and blinds before you head out for the day to avoid unnecessary exposure.
Tip 2: Control indoor humidity levels
During the summer months, hardwood flooring can move as changes in humidity occur. If your floor planks are swelling over the summer a small amount, don’t be alarmed. If you have major shifting or floor swelling occurring, call a professional to see if it’s a bigger problem. You can control the humidity levels by maintaining air conditioning systems, watching for spills and leaks and installing a dehumidifier.
Tip3: Ensure proper floor maintenance
The summer brings about the time when people are most enjoying the great outdoors, and more likely to trek in dirt, mud, outdoor allergens, and other contaminants back inside more often than during any other season. It’s a good idea to place floor mats by all entrances. You may also want to kindly ask family and visitors to kindly wipe their shoes before stepping on your beautiful hardwood floors. If spills occur or dirt makes its way in, vacuum right away. Vacuuming is preferable to sweeping because it allows the dirt and dust to be pulled from between the boards.
We at Arimarwood are dedicated to hardwood floor care. Contact us today.
by Arimar | Aug 1, 2017 | Arimar International, Blogs, Floor Art Collection
Design Inspiration: Bold Interiors
Why play it safe with uninspired design, when out-of-the-box styles, like these, make such a big impact? As popular as neutrals are, they’re not entirely exciting. Decorating wisdom recommends keeping major investment pieces like sofas and cabinetry neutral, but sometimes the unexpected can be just what your client is looking for. You can play with patterns and mix-and-match colors and fabrics in the bedroom, infuse color in expected spaces like the kitchen cabinets, make space for quirky pieces of furniture that inject personality into an otherwise muted living room. The point is, there are many ways to bring in bold design into décor, and it doesn’t always have to be bright colors or richly patterned designs. Here are five bold original interiors for inspiration.
Albatron Rustic French White Oak
Combining different shades and hues of a single color is a popular design move in monochromatic schemes, but it becomes bold and original when you layer in dark, stately pieces of furniture and add unexpected design elements like a zebra-striped rug like these homeowners did.
St. Tropez Rustic French White Oak
Stairs are an oft-overlooked place to take a chance with design. Stairwells are small, contained spaces without furniture and other elements that might compete with an unexpected floor or wall treatment. This is a staircase we saw in Lourdes, France, and we thought it simply stunning.
If you’re ready to go all out with an expressive color, but aren’t quite ready to commit, then find a knock-out accent piece of furniture that excites you and weave that into the room’s décor. You don’t always need a ton of patterns to make a bold statement. Sometimes, the combination of a striking color and single pattern (like with this magenta chair) is enough.
You can still get an original, eclectic look without going wild. Try painting an accent wall or mounting colorful artwork like these homeowners did when they wanted to start experimenting with color.
Find more inspiration in our Gallery.
by Arimar | Jul 25, 2017 | Blogs, Floor Art Collection
5 Design Expert Tips To Embrace Color
Albatron Rustic European White Oak 9/16 x 9 ½ x 96”
Color is one of the most powerful elements in design. But when it comes to choosing a color palette for interiors, many clients get timid about bright hues. Often, we find that it’s not that clients don’t like color, but rather that they’re unsure of how and when to use it in their home. So how do you talk to them about color? Here are five expert tips, tricks and examples for how to help clients look at color in a whole new way.
- Begin with something you love: Whether it’s a special piece of art, antique lamp or tapestry, if there’s an item that makes you feel happy or energized when you see it, then chances are that’s a starting point for designing a space.
- Tap into nature for inspiration: The outdoors makes us feel relaxed and at ease, so when it comes to design it’s the perfect place to turn to get inspired. Ocean blues, spring greens, sunny yellows, call can be used to bring in a jolt of color to a wall (if bold) or toss pillows (if hesitant).
- Mix-and-match: It’s ok to break the matchy-match rules. Red and pink cushions? Yes. Emerald green couch and purple club char? Sure. The only thing to keep in mind is to have something that will tie them all together. Throw pillows, a tapestry or artwork can do the trick.
- Find your own fabric: Textiles like fabrics, wall coverings and rugs can both add color and visual interest. Think large-scale florals for custom drapery or geometrics for decorative accents. Once you’ve selected a palette, pick two to four fabrics that bring in various amounts of color.
- Upcycle: What’s old can be new again with a vibrant makeover. Try reupholstering a drab chair in a plush fabric or painting an old side table in a contemporary hue. These are easy ways to test one’s color tolerance without spending a lot or making a big commitment.
Find more inspiration in our Gallery.
by Arimar | Jun 27, 2017 | Blogs, Floor Art Collection, Iberian Collection
Flooring Trend: Matte Finish Hardwood
Smoked Oak Rustic European White Oak
Hardwood floors are known for their gloss and shine. A question we often hear and our customers say they get from clients is about what makes flooring shiny and if there’s a difference between the shine factors.
Where exactly does that shine come from?
A hardwood floor’s gloss comes from the amount of light that is reflected off them. Typically, a hardwood floor’s shine is measured by its luster, on a scale of zero to 100. The floor’s luster is the amount of glow that is seen from reflected light. Here’s how the shine level compares across finishes:
High-gloss = 75% or higher
Semi-gloss = 55-70%
Satin = 30-50%
Matte = 1-20%
How do the finishes compare?
As you can see, matte floors have the least amount of shine. Everyone has their preferences. Some people like the glossy finishes for their aesthetic. Glossy floors can look rather impressive and make a statement in a home. But For consumers who are craving a truly “natural,” clean feel to their homes, matte finish is ideal because it accentuates the natural look of the wood.
Why matte finish?
A matte finish does not reflect as much light as a glossy floor does. As a result, a benefit of matte finished floors is that, in general, they hide dirt, scratches and imperfections better than high-gloss finishes. This is especially good for families with young kids, pet owners or for high-traffic areas because they don’t show as much dust, dirt or prints.
Valencia Rustic European White Oak
How are the floors Arimar carries finished?
Many of our flooring collections are finished with an extreme matte UV-top coat that features the look and feel of a natural oiled floor. If your client is interested in matte finish hardwood floors, they will like our wide plank, white oak floors. Smoked Oak Rustic European White Oak, which has a rich chocolate tone, is a top seller. In our Iberian Collection, Valencia Rustic European White Oak, which has a well-balanced tan and grey coloring, is a popular choice.
If you or your client have any questions about floor finishes in general or would like to learn more about the finishes of our hardwood floors, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
