Author |
Message |
Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 2:11 pm
Laminate NT? Easy to do and not too expensive. It would keep with that rustic feel too to have a wood look to the floor.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 2:14 pm
Oh I hate hate HATE the laminate floors in this house. HATE THEM.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 2:19 pm
very pretty escapee. if slate is in your budget, NT, it would be beautiful!
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 2:20 pm
Really? Why? I have laminate and so far I really like them.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 4:04 pm
I wondered the same thing. I have laminate in two rooms and it has held up wonderfully under three dogs, a pre-teen and this clutzy mom! Here's the dining room:
And here's the kitchen (yup -- it's laminate too, not tile)

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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 4:52 pm
Maybe it's cuz it looks as if it's the cheapest they could find and wasn't installed correctly, but with my two cats I find it hard to keep it clean. I've tried a regular broom, a microfiber dust mop, a vacuum on bare floor setting. Seems like 5 minutes later there are hairs flying all over. Never had that problem with carpet and linoleum/tile. One example when I iron my hubby's shirts I used to vacuum the area to make sure there weren't any loose hairs, then iron and if a sleeve hit the floor [long armed monkey I'm married to *L* but it has it's perks ] I could just iron away, as many as I wanted and no problem no hairs on the shirt. With the floors now I can sweep, mop, vacuum, and it looks like it's clean and hair free but the first or second sleeve that hits the floor has hair all over it. Maybe there's a knack to cleaning it and keeping it clean [as of right now I'm sweeping at least 5 times a day] that I don't know about.
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Native_texan
Member
08-24-2004
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 5:22 pm
I don't want a really hard surface because my feet can't handle it. A podiatrist told me once that it was because of my really high instep. And while I could lose a few pounds (okay, fine, quite a few), I had this problem when I was skinny. My sister has stamped concrete floors at her lakehouse and even with my Crocs, it kills my feet.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 7:03 pm
Escapee, you said: "Yeah yeah, I know i haven't posted pictures yet, but it's still a mess. " A mess is okay. In fact a messy "before" picture makes for a much more impressive "after" picture!! And now that I am on the tail end of this kitchen, we need more fodder for this folder!!!
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 7:13 pm
NT you should try zcoil shoes! Julieboo, I like the solid top curtain over your sink and your tiffany lampshade. The shape of your new table and chairs should reflect the rest of the furniture in the area. The wood and fabric colors should tie in also.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 9:15 pm
Grace, we saw those shoes advertised every day in the newspaper when we were in central Texas, even saw a lady wearing a pair. I have never seen them in any other part of the country. I have the same problem walking on hard surfaces as NT. Seems I don't have any fat on the bottom of my feet or something. And I have those real high arches. We put in an inexpensive laminate floor in our remodeled kitchen. I think it is not going to last very long, that bits of it are going to chip off, but it looks good now and walks fine.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 7:43 am
NT Consider buying a chef's mat to go on your kitchen floor. Put one in front of the sink and in front of the oven. They are wonderful for your feet. You won't be sorry: Chef's Mat
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 7:32 am
People who wear Zcoil shoes absolutley love them and recommend them. I just saw a nurse at the hospital with a pair on. Eight years ago I took dh with me to Home Depot to look at flooring. (I may never do that again.) We told the salesman we wanted to put in new flooring in the kitchen, and the guy talked my hubby into vinyl after I told him I was interested in laminate. Grrrrr I was so mad there must have been steam coming from my ears. I couldn't believe the salesman thought we should go for something cheap. Of course there was no swaying the dh after that. Now I'm wondering what the laminate would look like after 8 years.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 8:51 am
Urgrace if all laminate is like mine to clean you're better off with the vinyl. When I sweep - even ever so slowly - dust and kitty hair scatter all over. I get it all cleaned up and come back in 5 minutes later and there's stuff here and there and everywhere. Even if the kitties are downstairs and haven't walked through. It's almost like the floor has static electricity and attacks it. I wish I knew what to do.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 8:52 am
Get a roomba for bare floors. If I didn't think my kids would destroy it, I'd get one.
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:05 am
Maybe you're not getting to the root of the problem, Serate. I soon learned that, in order to keep the floors clean at my parents' home, I had to groom the kitties first. Those beautiful long-haired varieties shed awful. Love Roombas! ETA: Please forgive me! I forgot where I was. LOL!
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:16 am
Sorry I got this thread off topic. Won't happen again.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:31 am
Yep, pets that shed are the root. The floors, whether laminate, carpet, whatever, can't make the fur disappear...
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:32 am
Some just hide it better is all. My guess is that when you sweep or vaccuum it stirs it up and settles back down right when you are done.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:33 am
I never had any problem keeping the carpet clean or the vinyl clean and never swept more than once a day, if I swept once a day. I know I didn't vacuum more than a couple times a week.
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 9:41 am
It seems to me that any information regarding home products or the use of them and the best way to keep them in good condition is not off topic. Who wants to decorate and find out later it was a bad idea?
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Lumbele
Member
07-12-2002
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 10:32 am
Gracie, I have laminate in my kitchen. If our house weren't the open concept, I would have ripped it out already. There is always action in my kitchen, and I am a messy cook constantly battling gravity. Then Charlie comes in from the backyard, often with wet paws (we wipe them, but they are still moist enough to leave prints). His dish is there, too. When he resurfaces from the water dish, his beard is dripping, and until all the "good" stuff is eaten in the neighbouring dish, the less favourite components in there, get sorted out - right onto the floor, where he then licks it off again later, leaving saliva traces. I hate washing floors and am used to do that job (actually dh does it) once a week, not every day. Now does that all change your mind about your linoleum? As for those of you unhappy with seeing all the dust, I recommend a soft kind of fibre mop that does not fling the dust into air, only to settle right back behind you and your broom.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 10:36 am
The swiffer sweeper/vacuum is awesome for picking up pet hair quickly.
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 4:19 pm
If I had that much pet hair around, a Roomba would be a good investment!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 6:59 am
I got my red pillows for my new couch ... I love them! Just wanted to share!

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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 7:58 am
Oh they are really very, very nice. They'll look terrific with the picture that you want to use. Excellent choice, Vacanick!
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