Remodeling On a Budget

Monday was my anniversary. My husband and I have been married for a year. We had a really big year last year. We got engaged, bought a house, got married, and if all of that wasn't enough, I also started a photography business.

This year we have slowed down a bit and have started to focus a bit more on our house, but there is so much to be done that we often feel overwhelmed and stuck. We don't even know where to start. We are in that middle ground of wanting to create beauty in our home and not being able to afford what we want, much like many people our age who are just starting out their "adult" lives.

We have friends that are avid Craigslisters. Basically everything they have done to their home was a Craigslist purchase. And as far as I know, they are pleased with all of their purchases. Probably because they didn't feel bad about spray painting chairs they got for super cheap to fit their own style and or needs. I LOVE the idea of our home being filled with wonderfully recycled products that we tweak to fit exactly our style, but the TIME involved... We just don't have the TIME to dedicate to it. We don't even have kids. It is just us and our wonderful but allergic to everything black lab/hound, Piper. Well, us and our full time jobs and my "part-time" photography business. And our general lack of corresponding schedules. And our TV. And my photo editing. Okay, so we COULD have time, I'm sure, but we don't want to MAKE time for getting creative with Craigslist. But that wouldn't really help us with the big stuff like our floors and windows.

We bought a foreclosure. Honestly, short sales and foreclosures are the only thing on the market aside from mansions. We are lucky in that the house was not completely trashed when we bought the place. The yard was a little scary.. 6 foot tall weeds all over the place, but the house itself was in pretty good condition. The carpet was dirty but cleanable and will probably last a bit longer. We have engineered hardwood in the kitchen that is in okay shape, but the install job was not done very well. We have horrible vertical blinds that are just a bit too long for the windows and the vanes stick when you're opening the blinds. They flap in the wind if the window is open, and they also let light into our room at night, allowing the moon and or lights to seep through. They are my least favorite things in the whole house.

So, I thought that perhaps I should put together some product information for first time home buyers who are looking for quality but can't afford to spend the big bucks at this point in their life.

Carpet. If you are looking for a good quality carpet that is going to wear well for a good chunk of time, look fairly nice, and hold up to kids, dogs, constantly cleaning, stains etc, Mohawk has a great product called SmartStrand.

Not even joking, they put this product in with rhino at a zoo for two weeks and let them do their business all over it and then cleaned it and the carpet cleaned incredibly well. Watch a video below. They also do a durability test with elephants, rhinos, and camels and the carpet bounced back really well.

http://www.mohawkflooring.com/smartstrand/challenge/default.aspx
Polyesters are also carpet fibers that clean fairly well, and because the technology has improved so much, the durability has improved quite a bit as well. It is less expensive than most nylon products and if you spend a bit more you can get a great polyester product that will wear better than some of the lower end nylons.

If you don't want to mess with carpet and would much rather have a hard surface but can't afford hardwood or engineered hardwood, I'd suggest looking at a vinyl product. Honestly, anyone with kids or pets should seriously consider vinyl or laminate. Armstrong and now Karndean have come out with Luxury Vinyl Tile products that look remarkably like real hardwood because the digital photography has come so far. There are also some really interesting patterns for kitchen and bathrooms in vinyl sheet flooring that really do look like real ceramic tile when installed.

For window coverings, if you want a step up from your generic aluminum mini blinds, cellular shades offer great UV protection and are very energy efficient, especially if you go to a double cell. Composite wood blinds are also fairly inexpensive and still provide a great wood look that will last.

Hunter Douglas provides excellent quality and they are always creating great ways to save money through their energy efficient window coverings.

If you have any questions, please call us! We'd love to hear from you! We would also love for you to stop by our showroom to take a look at these products!

Our showroom is open the following hours:

Monday, Wednesday - 8 AM - 5 PM
Tuesday, Thursday- 8 AM- 7 PM
Friday - 8 AM- 4:30 PM

Come visit us during our new extended hours during September and receive a complementary bottle of Carpet Odor and Spot Remover spray!

Bretz Interiors

1585 Allison St

Lakewood, CO 80214

303.234.1721

A little sunshine today

I pulled up to work today feeling exhausted because of a less than superb night of sleep. Pat, my mom, pulled up just moments after I did. As we walked in the office together she told me that my 13 year old dog (who really is her dog as I have moved out of the house and he did not come with me and he has been a great companion to her all these years) is going to be put to sleep today.

A few months ago we found out that he has a growth in his throat and his health has been steadily going down for awhile now. This morning he definitely took a turn for the worse so we made the decision that today needs to be the day.

My friend and her kids stopped by to bring me a smile today (and coffee!) and it made me feel better watching them run around our showroom playing make believe. Willow pretends she is a puppy and  adorably crawls all over her big sister Guin, rubbing her head on everything while going "ruff ruff ruff". Cutest thing ever.

But as I watched them run around and check out all sorts of stuff in here, I was remembering what it was like growing up with a mom that has worked and owned her own business and spending quite a bit of time with her at her business. I remember the old showroom when we were off of 6th and Federal area and how much fun I would have running around and dancing with this stuffed cowboy thing that had these long gangly legs and arms and a big ole mustache and a cowboy hat. I remember going through the wallpaper books and eating fishy crackers in the breakroom while watching the old black and white TV on days that I was sick and couldn't go to school. I remember being horribly bored but glad that I got to spend time with my mom and so happy I got to see my grandpa and grandma. I remember thinking the building was huge and that there were endless places to run and hide.

It made me smile watching these little girls run around being kids in a pretty adult environment and still being able to have fun. It makes me smile knowing that everyone in this office is so open to people bringing their kids here. We all know that parents have a responsibility to their kids, but still need to get things done. It is what our family owned business really has been built on and I'm proud to be a part of it. From childhood memories to learning the business and growing within it, even on days when I'd like to pull a cover over my head and not deal with the grown up things in life, I am glad to be here with my family and friends.

I'm glad to have friends who are willing to drive from Broomfield to Lakewood to bring me a coffee and a hug and glad to have awesome kids in my life to make me rememeber that all the bad things in the world feel just a little bit easier to handle when you have a little one give you a sweet snuggle.

Thanks to these awesome kids for giving me a smile today!

Bamboo Hardwood

I just read this great article on Bamboo flooring. It has many great points and they list Teragren as one of the top manufacturing companies for Bamboo products, which we have found to be the best company to work with for bamboo, and they definitely have a wonderful product. I've copied some of the most important information to research when looking into bamboo flooring.

http://www.bamboohardwoodflooring.net/

"THE PROS & CONS OF BAMBOO HARDWOOD FLOORING
If you've done your research on bamboo hardwood flooring, you will surely have come across some controversy. There are many forum posts by disgruntled home owners displeased with their dented and scratched bamboo hardwood flooring, only to be tempered by a handful of happy buyers who say their bamboo flooring has been holding up for years. Furthermore, there's the whole debate on just how sustainable bamboo flooring really is. So who's right you ask? Well, that all depends. By no means is all bamboo flooring sub-par. What it really comes down to is a "case by case" basis. Some bamboo plantations are sustainable and engage in fair-trade practices, while others are not. Some manufacturers use toxic amounts of formaldehyde in their processing while others do not. Some bamboo is misleadingly marketed as being harder than oak, while other brands are indeed actually harder! When all is said and done, the answer to whether or not purchasing bamboo hardwood flooring can be better for the environment is.... YES!!!!

What it all comes down to is the cultivation of the bamboo itself and the manufacturing process that turns the miracle grass into hardwood bamboo flooring. Not to sound biased or anything, the pros of properly cultivated and manufactured bamboo flooring truly outweigh the cons. In fact, if you go with the best brands and proper type of flooring best suited to your needs, as opposed to the cheapest priced bamboo flooring out there, you'll find there's no cons at all. In other words, if you don't want any regrets about your decision to buy bamboo hardwood flooring, you will need to do some research on bamboo hardwood floor brands and retailers. Based on the seemingly countless customer testimonials (horror stories in some cases), forum posts and research we've done, the following guidelines are provided to help ensure you are happy with your final selection of bamboo hardwood flooring for years to come."

If you have any questions about products we carry, please call us at 303.234.1727 and we can assist you with answers!

Get Creative With Your Tile!

Tile is a great way to add a splash of personality to your home. The possibilities are pretty endless these days with tile and listelles. Between ceramic, porcelain, stone and glass you have a wide variety of materials to mix and match throughout your home adding pops of color or a more interesting neutral to your overall look within your home.



One of my favorite looks at the moment is painted tile to create murals. The wonderful thing about using painted wall tile instead of wallpaper is that you can easily just do a mural in one section of your wall or you can do the whole wall and still make it look cohesive and flawless while adding dimension to the room.

Apartment Therapy

Another great look is adding glass mosaic tile to your ceramic backsplash. You can bring pops of color into your backsplash and create beautiful depth perception by combining two different styles of tile.





Visit our showroom and take a look at our wide selection of tile. We carry several brands and have wonderful installers and consultation experts who can assist in creating a wonderful look in your home or business.

Bretz Interiors

1585 Allison St.

Lakewood, CO  80214

303-234-1727

303-237-6838 Fax

kyla@bretzinteriors.com

www.bretzinteriors.com