Wow, for just $1,000,000 per square meter these luxurious Pietra Firma floor tiles could be yours!

“The dazzling LuxTouch creation is a black marble tile inlaid with 95 brilliant cut diamonds, mother of pearl and abalone. The centre of the tile consists of a pitch-black agate circle inlaid with 19 diamonds and a mother of pearl flower petal pattern radiates outwards from the centre. Each of the petals is a single piece of mother of pearl inlaid with a large precious cut diamond and the black agate pieces between the petals are also inlaid with diamonds. The tile’s four corners are inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone shell, achieving a visually stunning counter balance with the radiating flower petals. ”

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There really are no negatives to cork flooring, says Ronit McGuthrie, Marketing Manager for Amorim Flooring. Ronit adds that you can install cork just about anywhere, except perhaps, the bathroom. “Kitchens are the most popular place, because the cork is so comfortable to stand on, reducing back, leg, joint, and feet fatigue. We do not recommend bathroom installation because of the variance in humidity.”

Compared to wood, Ronit says cork is more comfortable to stand on because almost 90 percent of it is made of air pockets. “Compared to carpet, cork is more hygienic. Dirt, dust, and microbes can get trapped in carpets, whereas cork is a natural dust, insect, and microbe repellant.” Other positives to cork include the following:

• The harvesting of cork does not chop trees. Cork is the outer layer of the bark that is peeled from the tree and regrows every 9 years (rapidly renewable resource).
• Cork has the ability to maintain the temperature of its surroundings and stays warm to the touch, unlike stone and hardwood.

Wicanders Series 100 Cork Plank with Micro Bevel

Now, cork flooring has a new dimension in Wicanders Cork Plank with Micro Bevel, which is far narrower than standard cork tile. “The standard floating cork is 36” x 12.” Cork Plank is 36” x 4 3/8” wide, making it a product more in line with the North American trends and a similar dimension to hardwood flooring,” Ronit says. Here’s more about Amorim Flooring’s Wicander Cork Plank. It is: (more…)

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The idea of acclimating hardwoods is a solution to a longstanding problem with finished wood products, especially flooring. In fact, it is not so much a solution to any problem so much as a move to work with the innate characteristics of wood instead of ignoring them. Inherently, wood is susceptible to changes in moisture content: when it dries it will shrink or contract, when the wood soaks up moisture it naturally expands. Acclimation is simply the process of allowing wood to adjust to what will be its everyday climate before installing the product.

Every home has felt the effects of wood’s moody lifestyle. If nowhere else than having to slam that front door in the humid, summer months. Even more critical to the look and feel of your home is your hardwood flooring. Problem #1 with hardwood flooring has always been its want to expand and contract, resulting in squeaks, cracks, and buckling from water getting into loose seams and wreaking havoc on the subfloor and beyond. So here are the basics of acclimation–a relatively simple process that can add several years to the life of the wood. (more…)

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