Bathroom Floor Scrubber

Bathroom Floor Scrubber

How to Keep Your Laminate Floors Spotless

CC0/Sarah Jane/Pexels

Laminate floors can add a touch of style to your kitchen, living room, or other indoor space. They typically have a finish that mimics the natural look of wood or stone. Besides visual appeal, laminate floors have other advantages.

For example, they are easy to clean and they are able to retain their glossy finish for a long time. Learning to take care of a laminate floor, however, requires familiarizing yourself with a few principles so that you know what to avoid.

Not following these simple rules can gradually ruin the surface covering, resulting in a blurred and dull laminate floor. Keep your laminate floor spotless with these cleaning guidelines.

Do Use a Vacuum on the Laminate Floor

The recommended way to clean laminate floors is to use a vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner will fetch out all the dirt and grime from the floor, including small crevices where dirt can hide. You must take care not to scratch your laminate floor during vacuuming, however. This means you must turn off the vacuum cleaner's rotating brush to prevent the bristles of the brush from causing damage to the smooth surface of your floor.

Avoid Polishing the Floor or Waxing It

With a normal stone floor or hardwood floor, you can achieve a shiny, clean, look with regular waxing. However, when it comes to maintaining a laminate floor, waxing is a definite no. You do not want to wax the laminate floor or even polish it. This is because when you polish the laminate floor, the laminate material will slowly peel off. Over time, this leaves your laminate floor looking much less shiny, which is what you were trying to avoid in the first place.

As counter-intuitive as it seems, polishing results in your laminate floor being less glossy over time. In addition, wax tends to accumulate subtly over the surface of the laminate floor. On a natural floor this might produce a good result, but will ultimately cloud the sheen of your laminate floor.

Regularly Mop Laminate Floors

Besides vacuuming, another way to clean your laminate floors without damaging them is to mop them with a soft mop. A microfiber dust mop works well for this because of its soft material. With a bit of water, you can gently mop away dust, grime and other dirt. While you can use ample amounts of water to clean hard-sticking food or other sticky dirt, make sure you dry off the floor sufficiently afterwards to prevent cracking.

Use Special Purpose Laminate Cleaner to Avoid Discoloration

It's tempting to use detergent on your laminate floor, but this is a potential problem area. Regular detergent contains chemicals unsuitable for the long-term care of laminate floors. If your laminate floor has become stained and needs detergent, seek out, instead, special purpose laminate cleaner detergent that does not discolor the floor.

Avoid, and Promptly Clean, Liquid Spills

When liquid spills onto your laminate floor, make sure to clean it up and dry it out quickly. Under no circumstances should you let small puddles lie uncleared for multiple days. During the night time, as the shallow liquid cools, it forms small crystals that press against the material of the laminate floor. During the day, the frost warms up again, and then the cycle repeats. Over time, the tear and wear from occasional puddles will erode and crack your laminate floor. You could end up with a very costly repair job or a complete floor replacement.

How Long Can Laminate Floors Last

If you care properly for your laminate floor, it can last for anywhere from 15 to 20 years or more. Durability is a big selling point for laminate floors. The tough material they use retains its integrity and can withstand plenty of wear from humans or pets.

In order to make sure you get the maximum durability that your laminate floor is capable of, stick to the cleaning guidelines above. In addition, avoid anything that could let scratches develop in the laminate flooring. This includes dragging heavy or sharp objects across the floor, letting water sit on the surface of the flooring, or dropping weights on laminate flooring. The better you care for your floor, the longer it will continue to look spotless.

Bathroom Floor Scrubber

Source: https://www.life123.com/home-garden/cleaning/how-to-keep-your-laminate-floors-spotless?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740009%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex

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Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue Bathroom

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue Bathroom

Dear Laurel,

I only discovered your blog a few days ago. I think I was up until 3:00 AM the other day because I couldn't put it down. Thanks.

Actually, I hate you.

Seriously, I'm joking. Oh, how I wish I had found you a month ago. We just painted our living room. I wanted it to be that soft silvery, calming pale blue paint color I'm seeing all over the place.

I chose the best pale blue paint color I've ever seen. It looked amazing on the paint chip.

The painters came. I went to work… Then, I came home. And, well, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. But, no time to do anything about it. That's because in three days my husband's younger sister and husband were coming for a visit.

And, I had to make sure all was dry and put back. Did I mention that she's having her first baby in six months?

They arrive, right on time. (always)

However, I was so busy mopping up the glass of chocolate milk my four-year-old had just dumped; all over the dog, the cat and the rest of it on himself. And, everything within eight feet of said glass of sticky brown milk.

Fortunately, my DH arrived home from work an hour early and was there to greet and entertain them until I could make myself semi-presentable.

I like my S-I-L. But, for some reason, I've never felt that I quite measure up. My problem, I'm sure. She's super beautiful and talented. However, she looked quite happy to see me.

And, then she said, with a beaming smile in our freshly painted LIVING ROOM, "Betty, this is absolutely the perfect shade of baby blue for our new nursery. I just found out that we're having a baby boy! Oh, please be a dear and tell me what is this paint color?"

I tried so hard to smile, but, really I had a pressing urge to slap that happy grin off her face. However, God came in to rescue me as at that very moment, I realized that the roast was burning and went running into the kitchen.

Oh, Laurel, really, I wouldn't have slapped her. I was just embarrassed. And, that's because she's right.

Even more depressing, is that during the day, the color is even worse. In fact, sister-in-law never mentioned wanting to know the color again.

How could this have gone so horribly wrong?

The color looked so beautiful when I saw it online. And, I worked really hard to find out what it was, too. I asked the designer on HOUZZ and was so thrilled when she let me know the name of the paint color. It was just the best pale blue paint color– ever. Maybe she lied. I don't know.

I did check out the color in the store too. As I said, it looked beautiful on the chip– in the store, that is.

Maybe you could turn this into a blog post if you think there's a lesson here. Please tell me that others have made this mistake.

Thanks so much,

Betty Blueper

*********

Oh Betty,

Not only have others made this mistake, I'm sure that I have too, at some point. But, I've probably blocked it out. Believe me. I've made 100s of mistakes when decorating. If it makes you feel any better, you can read about some of the more hideous ones here. However, that's how we learn. Hopefully. :]

And, for 21 common decorating mistakes, click here.

Okay, this IS a great topic and for numerous reasons.

There are three main problems I'm going to address when selecting the best pale blue paint color; or any color, for that matter.

One, is selecting a paint color from a magazine, website or book, brochure, etc.

Two, is understanding that the paint color doesn't stand alone.

Three, is not understanding how to select a color. Here's a very good post that goes over that in detail.

Exhibit A is an image many have seen on this blog a couple of times before from Pottery Barn. Love that Covington Faucet! The last time I posted this image, which you can see a cropped version here, at least a dozen people asked me for the paint color, AND also the wallpaper.

Guys, I love you, but this isn't my room. So, please don't ask me information about sources which would necessitate me having to research it. I hope that you'll understand that it's not possible.

I'm now going to demonstrate the problem, aside from the fact that this is not my room and I have no idea what the color is. And, even if I did, I can pretty much guarantee that it's not going to look the same in your home.

First of all. Let's look at the space below.

Let me ask you. If I shared this image on the blog, would you be frothing at the mouth to know the paint color? Most likely not.

BUT… it's the SAME paint color.

So, why is it that you aren't jamming my inbox wanting to know what it is?

Anyone want to tell us why?

Don't all shout it out all at once. ;]

Anyone? Nancy, I know that you know. Please tell us why.

Because the Pottery Barn bathroom is gorgeous and charming and the boys room is nothing special? Therefore, I don't think the paint color is going to do much to make it more special.

BINGO! Right on the money. Thank you Nancy, you may sit down now. :]

And, by the way, I have a presie for some of you. I just happened to discover today what the wallpaper is.

It's Atelier Oiseaux Et Fleurs by F. Schumacher.

You can purchase the paper here, if you're not in the trade.

But, let's bring down that image from Pottery Barn again.

Right. The photo is not the same color as the sample of the wallpaper. Therefore, when doing wallpaper, you must have the sample of the paper AND if possible a CFA (cutting for approval) of the current dye-lot. And, that is BEFORE you select your perfect pale blue paint color.

Above is a color corrected version of the bathroom based on the sample as seen on the internet, on the Schumacher website. But, that too, has variations.

Above is a third version of the Pottery Barn bathroom I found. Will the real pale blue paint color please stand up?

The reality is, I could've posted any one of these three images of this pretty bathroom, and, I'm quite positive would've gotten requests to know the paint color.

All three of them.

Therefore, the precise paint color is irrelevant.

I repeat. The precise paint color is irrelevant. What IS relevant is how a color looks in your space and with the other givens surrounding it.

Do you think that this is an isolated example?

No, it is actually a very common issue.

Above is an exquisite entry to an award-winning home by Suzanne Kasler. Suzanne, one of my favorite interior designers is the queen of pale, watery ethereal pale blue paint colors. And, BTW, I've met her a couple of times and she is the nicest person ever. Very humble, too.

However, I found another image of the same room.

The lovely furniture, are Suzanne's designs for Ambella Home.

But, do you see that this image is different from the one on top?

The first one came from Suzanne's website. The bottom one somewhere else. I imagine that the one on Suzanne's site was color corrected as images straight out of the camera tend to have some color distortion.

Did you know that?

So, when we see an image on the internet, most of us don't know if the image has been color corrected or not. And then, there's the situation of our computer monitors. The colors vary there, too.

***Therefore, if you see a color somewhere that you like, try to find a paint color that matches WHAT YOU SEE.  And, looks the way you'd like it to in your space.***

I can't stress this enough. You must do everything as close to how it's going to live in real life, as possible.

And, even then, please test your paint colors before it gets painted.

One other thing. Do NOT take the wallpaper to the store and have them computer match it. I did that very early in my career. It did not match. Fortunately, the clients were either color blind or didn't care. Phew! Dodged that bullet. It wasn't horrible, but it could've been a lot better. Coincidentally, it was a wallpaper from Schumacher.

So, now we've addressed problems one and two. Please bookmark this post. It's super important. Most mistakes are made when we try to take shortcuts. It's not advisable.

This brings us to the third issue which is selecting the pale blue paint color, itself.  Pale blues tend to be more difficult to choose, if you are inexperienced selecting a beautiful pale blue paint color.

The best pale blues often look kind of drab and boring on the paint chip. But, when they go on the wall, the blue really pops out. That's why some blues can go quite intense even though they don't appear that way, at first.

And, then it's important to remember to do the following when selecting all paint colors

You go to the paint store. Maybe you didn't even bother to bring the paint chip home. But even if you did, you probably put it down flat on a table to look at it instead of flat against the wall where it's going to live. Looking down on the color, is not the color.

Looking at it at the store (with the store's lighting) or outside in your car is also not the color.

Still, no one ever told you this, so how are you supposed to know?

Now, I'm going to share some of my favorite pale blue paint colors.

Some of these are in the Laurel Home Paint and Palette Collections and some are not. And there are a few others in the collection that are not listed here.

I'm also going to share some images. None of the images are mine and I don't know what the paint color is. In some cases, it might look like the color name underneath, but I can't guarantee that.

There will be a chart at the end of the post with all of the paint colors for you to pin to your pinterest boards.

Here are some beautiful Benjamin Moore Pale Blue Paint Colors

GRAY SKY 2131-70

Deborah Needleman via Lonny

LOOKOUT POINT 1646

GLASS SLIPPER 1632

HEALING ALOE 1562

For a home I did a while back with Healing Aloe, click here.

QUIET MOMENTS 1563

This is one of my all-time favorite go-to colors. It is especially lovely in bedrooms. Both men and women love it. Every single time. In every lighting situation. But, I prefer it in rooms that get a fair amount of light.

The bedroom above is reminding me of the Darryl Carter bedroom. (below)

ICE CAP 1576

For more terrific bedroom ideas, click here.

And some more terrific bedroom paint colors you're probably not using.

SEA FOAM 2123-60

More furniture by Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair. The fabulous Chinoiserie wallpaper panels are by De Gournay.

Charlotte Moss

SILVER CREST 1583

Naomi Stein

I don't think the walls are actually blue here, but this has to be the most beautiful eating area I've ever seen! I would be the one who would slobber marinara sauce all over the settee and while I was cleaning it up would knock the coffee over.

If this were mine, I wouldn't serve my guests anything but saltines and seltzer. ;] By the way, those gorge chairs, I recognize as one of my faves from Hickory Chair by the wonderful Suzanne Kasler. Love the floral fabric on the back. Really smart.

Another fabulous Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair vignette. Gorgeous wing chair.

I designed some wing chairs for a client and myself that are almost identical about 19 years ago.

You can see them here.

And, don't forget the ceiling! A pale blue-green-gray is amazing on the ceiling.

Another Suzanne Kasler beauty with furniture for Hickory Chair

For more wonderful ceiling colors, click here.

Suzanne wrote a beautiful book which came out a year ago. Click the link for more info.

Summer Thornton

I adore these Pagoda Lanterns.

They are the Mykonos Medium lantern from Visual Comfort. But, medium is pretty large. There is also a smaller  version available.

PICNIC BASKET CSP 730

We used this in a master bedroom and it's quite lovely.

Wonderful blue on blue bedroom by Alexa Hampton

via

CRYSTAL BLUE – 2051-70

This isn't Crystal Blue, but not too far off. It's a strie of these two colors. MYSTICAL BLUE 792 glazed with FADED DENIM 795. Actually, this looks nothing like those two colors! I added this, because I love the photo!

Pholhemus Savery DaSilva

WOODLAWN BLUE HC-147

Woodlawn is the bluest of the pale blues here but it's a definite winner!

Well, I think it's officially fall now. We've had some gorgeous weather recently!

please pin to your pinterest boards for reference

If you'd like to see a post about some deeper blue paint colors, click here.

This post has some even deeper blue colors and shades of navy.

Also, this post on cool gray paint colors has some colors that really read more blue than gray.

xo,

PS: Please check out the newly updated hot sales. There's a nice surprise there, if you missed it yesterday.

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue Bathroom

Source: https://laurelberninteriors.com/2019/09/22/common-mistakes-when-choosing-the-best-pale-blue-paint/

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Bathroom Vanity Factory Outlet

Bathroom Vanity Factory Outlet

Vanities

Often used as the main focal point of bathrooms are bathroom vanities. A bathroom vanity is usually larger than sink consoles often placed in guest bathrooms or powder rooms. Aside from its main function of holding the sink while enhancing the overall look of the bathroom, the vanity is also a go 'to fixture for bathroom accessory storage. Thus, its material and construction are important factors to consider especially since bathroom vanities are installed in areas that are constantly exposed to heat, water and excessive moisture.

Elegantly styled bathroom vanities can totally transform an ordinary bathroom. ShopFactoryDirect carries a line of exquisitely made single sink bathroom vanity with high quality heat and scratch resistant natural marble and granite top and black wood finish. Our contemporary bathroom vanities and sinks are so easy to install and have ample storage space. These classic and modern bathroom vanities and sinks will easily blend well in bathrooms with traditional to minimalist modern designs.

Pamper yourself by having one of our bathroom vanities installed in your own bathroom. Be sure to pair your contemporary bathroom vanities and sinks with one of our beautiful vanity lights to complete the look. Browse through our website to see which bathroom vanity suits your need and taste.

Belmont Decor Ashland Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST10D4-36 Regular Retail Price: $1,309.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$380.99 Your Discounted Price: $929.00	Belmont Decor Auburn Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST15-36 Regular Retail Price: $839.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$179.99 Your Discounted Price: $660.00	Belmont Decor "Hampton" Double Sink Vanity DM2D4-60 Regular Retail Price: $2,139.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$590.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,549.00	Belmont Decor Nautica Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DT2D4-72 Regular Retail Price: $2,629.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$890.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,739.00
Belmont Decor Oxford Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DT3D4-60 Regular Retail Price: $2,239.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$760.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,479.00	Belmont Decor Huntington Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST14-24 Regular Retail Price: $889.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$230.99 Your Discounted Price: $659.00	Belmont Decor Huntington Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST14-30 Regular Retail Price: $999.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$260.99 Your Discounted Price: $739.00	Belmont Decor Colonial Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DT14D4-60 Regular Retail Price: $2,459.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$870.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,589.00
Belmont Decor Colonial Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DT14D4-72 Regular Retail Price: $2,699.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$900.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,799.00	Belmont Decor Dayton Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DM1D3-72-ESP Regular Retail Price: $2,369.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$710.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,659.00	Belmont Decor Dayton Double Sink Bathroom Vanity DM1D3-72-BLK Regular Retail Price: $2,369.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$710.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,659.00	Belmont Decor Hampton Double Sink Vanity DM2D4-72 Regular Retail Price: $2,369.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$710.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,659.00
Belmont Decor Madison Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST2-24 Regular Retail Price: $879.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$230.99 Your Discounted Price: $649.00	Belmont Decor Madison Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST2-30 Regular Retail Price: $979.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$250.99 Your Discounted Price: $729.00	Belmont Decor Madison Single Sink Bathroom Vanity ST2-36 Regular Retail Price: $1,169.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$320.99 Your Discounted Price: $849.00	Belmont Decor Newport Single Vessel Sink Bathroom Vanity WM3-24 Regular Retail Price: $739.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$157.99 Your Discounted Price: $582.00
Belmont Decor Newport Single Vessel Sink Bathroom Vanity WM3-30 Regular Retail Price: $789.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$164.99 Your Discounted Price: $625.00	Belmont Decor Newport Single Vessel Sink Bathroom Vanity WM3-36 Regular Retail Price: $849.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$179.99 Your Discounted Price: $670.00	Belmont Decor Hampton Single Sink Vanity SM5D5-48 Regular Retail Price: $1,729.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$480.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,249.00	Belmont Decor Skyline Double Vessel Sink Vanity DW1D4-60 Regular Retail Price: $2,029.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$630.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,399.00
Belmont Decor Skyline Double Vessel Sink Vanity DW1D4-72 Regular Retail Price: $2,209.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$670.99 Your Discounted Price: $1,539.00	Belmont Decor Vantage Single Sink Vanity SM3D2-30 Regular Retail Price: $1,309.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$370.99 Your Discounted Price: $939.00	Belmont Decor Vantage Single Sink Vanity SM3D2-36 Regular Retail Price: $1,109.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$231.99 Your Discounted Price: $878.00	Belmont Decor Armstrong Single Sink Vanity ST4D2-30 Regular Retail Price: $1,229.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$350.99 Your Discounted Price: $879.00
Belmont Decor Armstrong Single Sink Vanity ST4D2-36 Regular Retail Price: $1,359.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$420.99 Your Discounted Price: $939.00	Belmont Decor Charleston Single Sink Vanity ST6-24 Regular Retail Price: $759.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$161.99 Your Discounted Price: $598.00	Belmont Decor Charleston Single Sink Vanity ST6-30 Regular Retail Price: $829.99 Factory Direct Savings:-$174.99 Your Discounted Price: $655.00

Bathroom Vanity Factory Outlet

Source: https://shopfactorydirect.com/bathroom-vanities.html

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