Monthly Archives: October 2019

Getting Rid Of Your Carpets? Here’s How

carpet being rolled up

If you’ve just purchased a home or you’re thinking about redecorating your home, there’s a good chance you’re thinking of beautiful hardwood floors. Whether it’s the aged elegance of reclaimed wood or new bamboo, parquet or any other kind of hardwood, the first step is getting rid of your existing flooring – and all too often, that means tearing out carpeting. It’s a big job, but it’s not nearly as hard as you might think. Even if you’re not up for the challenge of laying down new floors yourself, this is definitely a DIY project.

Don’t Try To Take It Out In One Piece

Your carpet may have arrived in one piece, but there’s no reason at all that it has to leave the same way. You’ll have a much easier time dealing with it if you cut it into smaller, more manageable pieces. A box cutter works wonders here – don’t use scissors, this is actually a lot harder than using a knife. Strips of 2’ by 8’ are pretty easy to handle. Start from the edge and work your way through the room. Not only are these smaller pieces a lot easier to work with, you’ll also have a much easier time getting them into a trash can or dumpster.

Get Rid Of The Padding

Taking out the padding is equally easy. Just repeat the same process you used to take out the carpet, cutting the padding into manageable pieces and taking them out.

Tack Strips

This part can be a challenge, at least until you get the hang of it. However, with the right tools, this can be a very quick and easy job. If you’re planning to lay down a new floor, then there’s an especially easy method: push a chisel (or the end of a pry bar) under the tack strip and push to remove it. This can scratch up your floors, so you may want to skip this method if you’re not installing new flooring afterwards. The slightly less easy method involves a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. Slip the head of the screwdriver under the tack strip and give the handle a gentle tap with the hammer to force the tack strip up. After you have all of the strips out, use the hammer to pry up any remaining nails.

Now, it’s just a matter of cleaning up and preparing your floor for the next step. If your goal was just to expose your existing hardwood floors, then there is no next step. It really can be that easy to give your décor an upgrade and even increase the value of your home!

Redecorating Ideas to Rejuvenate Your Home’s Interior

Does your house’s interior look drab or boring? If your answer is yes, then your house needs a bit of rejuvenation and redecorating to enhance its appearance. Luckily, we have a list of things below that you can do to your house to accomplish this task.

Change Paint Colors of the Walls and Trim

Repaint the walls and trim with new paint and new colors! This will brighten your interior and could even make you feel like you are living in a new house. You must take the right enough time to match the paints, though, as you do not want them to clash with each other or the furnishings.

Do not just depend on the small paint samples from the home store to make your decision. You can now buy small containers of the paint to try on a wall in a place that is out of view. This way you know what each color looks like after it is on the wall and trim.

Add Colorful Throw Rugs

Colorful throw rugs brighten up carpeting that has seen better days. You can use the rugs to cover stains and worn spots. These come in a wide range of prices, colors, patterns, sizes and shapes. It is surprising what a big difference this makes in the house.

Of course, if you have a large enough budget to work with you could replace all your carpeting, but it is nice to know that throw rugs provide a cheaper alternative solution for worn carpeting. You would need to choose the carpet and have a professional install it for you. This is an expensive way to freshen up the appearance of the carpeting.

Don’t Forget the Kitchen

You use the kitchen on a daily basis cooking food for your family. The cabinets and cabinet doors most likely are starting to show the wear and tear. Repaint or re-stain the cabinets and shelves, whichever is your preference. If you need to, you can purchase new cabinet doors to match the cabinets. These doors also may need a coat of paint or stain depending on the look you are going for in your kitchen. Attach the new doors when the paint or stain dries. Add new knobs if necessary. Easy fix for a rundown kitchen.