To some people, choosing the right color palette for their home is a daunting, dreaded task.  And for others, it seems to come effortlessly -- like a gift bestowed by the Color Gods!  We ALL have our gifts, and a good eye for color and color retention happens to be one of mine.  I'm just lucky that way -- I can't take an ounce of credit.  I haven't met a color I didn't like, nor have I met a color I couldn't pair up with other colors.  I guess you could call me a 'Color Pimp!'  But for those of you who stand infront of the paint chip display at your favorite paint store just starring for hours until the manager tells you he needs to lock up the store for the night, I've found a little online tool that might help you with your color palette quandries.

It's a wonderfully creative website created by Jessica Colaluca called Design Seeds.  (www.design-seeds.com)  Filled with sumptuous photographs, this website is completely devoted to color and color combinations.  It will help you realize that Mother Nature has provided us with the most inspiring color palettes and we should just follow her lead!  For example:

Choosing your color palette is half the battle when selecting floor covering too.  If you're having a hard time utilizing what you own as your room's inspiration pieces, you might want to spend some time on Design Seeds website scanning the many color combination possibilities.  Print out the ones that inspire you and keep them in a file that you can take with you to the paint store and the furniture store and ACTION CARPET & FLOOR COVERING!  And, as always, any one of our sales people are always happy to share their expertise and offer another set of eyes to help you bring all your color ideas together.

On this Valentine's Day it seems fitting to recognize the employment anniversaries of our Action Carpet Team and 'show the love' and gratitude for their service, dependability and dedication to this company which was created and established by Kevin Blake, Owner & President, 19 years ago this May. 

Kevin initially operated Action Carpet out of a small storefront in North Granby way back when and has since grown the business to a three showroom operation with a 6,000 square foot warehouse/administrative office space in Simsbury.  Liz Listro, Bookkeeper for Action and Kevin's Step Sister, will be celebrating her 12th year with Action this Fall.   Her office, along with Kevin's, occupies the newly remodeled upper level of the warehouse where she keeps the books and the installers' schedule amongst various other tasks.  Carrie Jensen, Warehouse Manager, tends to the daily operations of the warehouse, keeping inventory of stock and assisting the installers with their needs to complete jobs efficiently.  She celebrates her 8th year with Action this year.

Karen Blake Largay, Store Manager in our Windsor showroom and also Kevin's sister, is entering her 18th year of employment at Action.  Karen also maintains the scheduling for our cleaning portion of the business.  She keeps Tony Voytovich, Cleaning Operations Manager for almost 19 years with Action, organized and busy. Joan Blake, Store Manager in Granby and Kevin's Step Mother, is entering her 19th year.  In addition to helping customers, Joan also does all the ordering for us.  While Mike Camilleri, Sales Manager in Granby and Estimator Extraordinaire, is entering his 4th year with Action, he has 47 years experience overall in the flooring industry.  And, lastly, I just celebrated my 9th year this month with Action managing our Simsbury showroom and in-home consulting for our customers who desire another pair of eyes to assist in the product selection process.

Several members of our installation team have also been with Action since we opened our doors in 1993, and we're honored and grateful to have some of the best in the industry.

The longevity of its employees says a lot about a company, the overall operation and it's owner.  Does ACTION CARPET & FLOOR COVERING have excellent employee-retention or what! This expertise is just another value we offer to you, our loyal customers, and we just wanted you to know.

At Action Carpet & Floor Covering we want to make the transition from your old floor covering to your new floor covering as smooth as possible and without any surprises.  Here are some things to consider before the carpet installation date:

1.  RIP AND DISPOSAL OF EXISTING CARPET/PADDING.  When making your new carpet purchase the first thing you need to decide is whether you will be ripping out the old carpet and padding to make room for the new one.  Ripping and disposing of your old carpet and padding will cost you an additional labor charge if our professional installers do it for you, so you can save yourself some money if you do it yourself.  It's time consuming, but not as difficult as it may seem.  TIP -- vacuum the old carpet before removing it to minimize airbourne dirt and dust.  When removing the old carpet/padding DON'T try and get it all out in one piece.  Using a utility knife with a new blade, cut the carpet and pad in 4' strips and roll them up to get them out the door.  Find out what your town dump will charge you for disposal and if you can leave it at the curb for their pick up.  Vacuum the subfloor after the carpet/padding has been removed.

2.  FURNITURE.  The movement of furniture out of and then back into the room(s) will also cost you a labor charge if the professionals do it for you, so you'll want to decide if this is a task you can take on yourself.  The room must be completely empty in preparation of your new carpet.  Some people move as much as they physically can and leave the larger items (bed, armoire, treadmill, etc.) for the professionals.  Detach and store all the wiring from TVs, stereos, VCR/DVD and computers.  It's best to hire a professional piano or pool table mover for these large items.

3.  OTHER REMODELING PROJECTS.  Before the day of the installation you may want to be sure that all other remodeling projects in the room are complete before the new carpet goes in.  (i.e. wallpapering, new trim, painting, subfloor repair, etc.)

After your new carpet is professionally installed, the small scraps will be removed by the installer and any large balance pieces will be left behind for you to do with them what you'd like.  Some people have us cut them to various sizes to use as little scatter rugs elsewhere in the house.  If you decide to do this, a nominal binding fee will apply.  This binding will prevent the carpet remnant from freying.

After the installation is complete all you have to do is marvel at how beautiful and clean your new floor looks.  Be sure to vacuum your carpets regularly and call on Action Carpet & Floor Covering's Cleaning Service to have them professionally cleaned at least once per year.  This will prolong the life of your carpet.

I hope these tips and considerations help!

Today a somewhat frantic woman called and started the conversation with, "How do I get lipstick out of my carpet?"  Now, there are a number of stain removers on the market that claim to remove lipstick stains like 'Goo Gone' and 'Stain-X,' but the issue in this case was that the woman was elderly and unable to get out of her home right away.  She didn't have access to a computer to search for cleaning tips on the web, so I searched through my online resources to come up with products that she might have on hand to help her remove the stain right away.  I suggested the following to her and was SO delighted to receive another call from her later in the afternoon exclaiming, "I got it out! THANK YOU!"  It made my day.  I thought I'd share these instructions in the event you are ever faced with this same lipstick dilemma.  

• Remove any excess lipstick in an upward motion carefully with your fingers and a butter knife.
• Blot the stain in an up and down motion with a clean white cleaning rag or towel.  Paper towel will work too. NEVER  scrub or you'll spread the stain and work it further into your carpet.
• If you don't have 'Goo Gone' in the house, use petroleum jelly on the stain, again working in an upward motion with your fingers. 
• Using another clean rag or towel, in an upward motion remove as much of the stain as you can.
• Finish by preparing a detergent solution: a squirt of Dawn dish soap into about a cup of warm water. Pour some of it onto your cleaning rag and gently work the spot from the edges to the center until the stain disappears. Follow with clear water on a cleaning rag or towel instead of soap, and then blot the area thoroughly with paper towels.

Hopefully this will work for you.  If it doesn't, call us at 860-298-0070 to arrange for a professional cleaning.

Doesn't it seem like the artists all come out of the woodwork in the Fall season?  It could be that Summer keeps most of us, artists included, busy with exterior house projects, yard work and vacations away from it all.  But come September the local papers and community bulletin boards start advertising Autumn Festivals and Harvest Fairs galore, and with them come amazing locally created arts & crafts.  You could hit a different festival every weekend and take home a unique piece of art or a craft to add to your decor and admire for years to come.

I've been a huge fan of art and have dabbled in various different mediums from as far back as I can remember.  To me art is everywhere and if you can capture it and express your view of it through a photograph, drawing, painting, etching, sculpture, piece of furniture, jewelry or any other medium, you share with the world an intimate, unique piece of yourself that no one else can completely duplicate.  It's like a fingerprint -- true, original art is one-of-a-kind.

Having said that, I can't think of anything better to decorate my home with than original art from local artists.  You may share the same wall color with your neighbor or have drapes in the same fabric.  You may even have the same sofa, lamp shade, throw pillows or bed cover.  These types of decoration -- functional or purely decorative -- are mostly mass-produced and although they are beautiful and reflect your personal style, nothing makes a statement about you and your taste like a piece of artwork.  It shows your support for artists, your passion for their work and your desire for unique pieces that compliment your home as well as spark conversation among your guests.  The pieces of art that you are drawn to and that you choose to include in your home's decor not only speaks volumes for the artist who created it, it speaks volumes for the person you are for having chosen and purchased it.  It can show your quirky side or your soft side.  It can reveal your interests  --  your passions.  What you display in your home in terms of art and decoration often forms a repetitive visual pattern of what colors, designs and styles sing to your soul.

I attended the Granby Artists Association's Open Studio Tour the weekend of October 8th and was in awe at the talent we have right in our own back yard!  Every town across the country and around the globe has artists creating awe-inspiring works and many pieces are for purchase.  Like Avis Cherichetti at Honey Hill Pottery who creates Raku pottery using a firing techniqe dating back to 16th century Japan.  Or Kate Snyder who forms her vision of nature into one-of-a-kind pieces of sterling silver jewelry.  Or Laura Eden whose paintings reflect her vision of art that appears in nature all around us.

In this post I'm speaking of Granby, CT artists only because I am familiar with them due to their close proximity to my home, but please know that there are WONDERFUL local artists in your community, too.  Call your town's Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the artists in your area.  Google search engine can be a great help in locating local artists and crafts people too.  Your purchases of art made locally keeps your dollars in your community and supports and encourages the arts as a whole. 

I hope you can get out to an arts and crafts fair this fall and support the local artists by purchasing a piece of artwork that sings to you! 


You can learn more about Avis and see her work on her website:  http://www.honeyhillpottery.us/
You can learn more about Kate and see her jewelry on her website:  http://www.joyofsilver.com
You can learn more about Laura and see her paintings on her website:  http://www.laurajeden.com

The colors of Autumn have such depth and vibrance that even though the air is crisp, there's still sense of warmth.  Why not bring some of those warm hues inside your home and add a little Fall to your living spaces?

You can create a sense of Autumn warmth to your rooms very simply and without a big expense just by adding rich, Fall colored items to your current decor.  Bring in small branches with the colorful leaves still intact and arrange them in a clear glass vase, a pottery vessel or a water pitcher and place them on a dining table, coffee table or hearth.  Create a vignette by adding small pumpkins, gourds and candles in Fall themed holders then weave a length of fabric around and through them that is rich in shades of reds, oranges, golds, burgundies and greens.  Change out your table linens for ones with these same hearty, warm-colored tones.

Give your sofa and chairs a punch of Fall color by switching out the throw pillows for ones that are saturated in rich shades and patterns.  Add small throw rugs to your kitchen floor -- in front of your sink and/or stove -- that mimic the colors of this season.  If you have a little bit of money to spend, a hallway runner can give the space some Fall inspired decoration, too.

Infuse your home with the colors of Fall and then sit back with a cup of hot coffee and a piece of warm apple pie and enjoy what you've created!