Your kitchen counters, the front areas of cabinet shelves, top drawers and the fronts of lower drawers are the place to store the items you use everyday like dishes, cups, coffee mugs, serving spoons, saucepans and skillets. Choose the most accessible areas in your kitchen to store the items you use the most.

Kitchen items that are used often but not daily like graters, strainers, roasting pans and mixing bowls should be stored on the lowest or highest shelves in the cabinets or areas in the backs of drawers. You might have to stand on your tiptoes or stoop a bit, but storage is reasonably accessible.

Items like arcane tools, seasonal items or single-use gadgets that are used once or twice a year should be consigned to the dark reaches of bottom shelves and cabinets. This group also includes seasonal cookie-cutters, holiday dishware, single-use gadgets like potato ricers, oversized serving dishes, canning jars or the waffle iron. Small kitchen appliances which, left to multiply, can overtake even the largest kitchen, dangling cords and all should be gone thoroughly decluttered.  Scrutinize before assigning them storage space in the kitchen. If you have never used that ice cream maker, donate it to a friend. If any of these items are decorative, perch them on top of soffits during the off-season. Small cabinets located over the refrigerator or oven, reachable only with a step stool, are a natural home for these gadgets.

Take some time this weekend to reorganize your kitchen. Have any tips for us? Post them on our Facebook page!

Wall paper is trendy again! Here a metallic paint design on colored wallpaper creates a dramatic look for this contemporary bedroom. To balance the space, choose a neutral, solid headboard and accessories.

Make your bedroom as serene as possible. Create a retreat-like atmosphere with soothing and well blended colors. Light purples, creams and soft greens are very popular.

Bedrooms are becoming our home within our home, almost like a hotel suite-like retreat. The master bedroom is more than just a room to sleep in — it’s trending toward becoming an all-in-one space where you can complete daily tasks without ever leaving the confines of the bedroom. Convenient features are a master suite must-have. Coffee bars complete with mini refrigerators and espresso machines give new meaning to hotel-style luxury. Another handy addition are appliances. Washers and dryers located within the space allow the convenience of tackling laundry any time of day.

Gold is becoming the accent color of choice. See how these lamps to play up this room’s Asian flare without going overboard. The graphic shape and the gold adds a rich tone against the wallpaper and headboard.

And finally inject a big dose of style with a one-of-a-kind headboard. Having a custom headboard made is often cheaper than purchasing one. Bedding can be designed based on a high-end patterns or colors you love. There are always ways to get creative with fabric.

You could do the typical breakfast in bed, or brunch in an overcrowded restaurant. You could send her to the spa (never a bad option) or get her some flowers. Our suggestion this year, however, is to do something unexpected and something that will last for years and years.

Come by the store and let Mom pick out tile for a new kitchen backsplash, or new countertops in the bathroom.

You could finally tear out that old carpet and install hardwood or laminate flooring. Likewise you could replace the carpet with something luxurious and stain resistant.

You could promise to paint that accent wall that Mom has been wanting for years and years.

You could install a flagstone patio and brighten it with container gardens full of Mom’s favorite herbs. Or even just clean off the winter dust and debris and cook Mom an al fresco dinner.

You could power wash the outside of the house, and have the windows professionally cleaned. Window cleaning, we are sure, is not one of your mother’s favorite things to do.

Least of all because our mom’s are super busy, you could make her day by deep cleaning the house, or steam cleaning the carpets, or tackling those chores that she hates.

Whatever you decide to do, we wish your Mom Happy Mother’s Day!

Ballet slipper pink is a pale and flattering shade of pink that can be used on walls, carpets, furniture or bed linens in a bedroom. It isn’t as strong a pink as others and can be mixed with whites and taupes for a subtle but sophisticated palette. The pop of the black of the tutu on the armoire door illustrates the power of a black accent or two in an otherwise pale and monochromatic palette. A little bit of black can be used as an accent on fabric, including French inspired toiles and stripes.

Curving lines of French designs are perfect for a ballet inspired bedroom. Like the long lines of a ballerina’s legs, the sweeping curves of scrolls and vines on the armoire add to the sense of feminine grace. Grace is a key description of a space inspired by ballet.  Along with soft pastels and a few black accents, graceful lines and forms lend themselves to a feminine and glamorous style. Cabriole legs on beds, nightstands and desks have a curving elegance that perfectly suit this style.

Wood floors can lend the feeling of a dance or ballet studio to the bedroom. Soft, fluffy area rugs can break up the hard surface of the floor.

Bamboo has been around for a long time, but what we are seeing lately is an explosion of variations including wide-plank styles that mimic the look of classic hardwoods. As with all wood flooring, it’s best to keep bamboo out of moisture-prone rooms like kitchens and baths.

New factory-finished hardwood flooring offers all the charm of reclaimed timber — right down to that timeless hand-hewn look — but without the high costs associated with true salvaged lumber.

Particularly popular these days, are large-format tiles — tiles that come 12′ x 24′ and even 36′ x 36′ — as opposed to the tried-and-true 12′ x 12′ tiles. In addition to looking great, larger sizes mean more tile surface and less grout lines to clean.

Selected primarily for its amazing acoustic-insulating qualities, cork flooring also is much more comfortable to walk on than traditional hardwood and most certainly tile. Long gone are the days when cork was available in any color so long as it was blonde — today’s options span the color palette. Thanks to new factory finishes, cork is far more durable than it was just a few decades prior. But it is susceptible to moisture damage and will fade when exposed to sunlight.

In the world of carpet we are seeing far fewer shags and friezes and more patterned carpets. By using a technique that combines both loops and cut loops — hence the name ‘cut-and-loop carpet’ — manufacturers can create a carpet with patterns that range from subtle to bold.

Trendy, sleek and durable as time itself, concrete flooring jumped from bare-bones utilitarian to chic. Thanks to a multitude of available colors, textures and finishes, concrete can adapt to almost any decor. The primary concern is comfort, after all concrete is a very hard surface.

Inspired? We hope so!

Liven up traditional design with the hottest spring colors. The brightly colored wallpaper for this formal dining room features two spring-inspired hues: turquoise and tomato red.

Don’t shy away from color this season. Pair classic red with hot pink for a bold bedroom design. By using gold and cream in the bedding and wallpaper, these vibrant shades don’t overpower the space.

Spring hues are ideal for a girl’s bedroom. This polka-dot pillow was the inspiration for a focal wall in a girl’s room. Damask fabric in apple green complements the vivid pink wall, while a white headboard and bedding give the space a crisp, fresh look.

One of the most appealing shades of spring is the deep blue found in this bedspread. It’s combined with other favorite hues, like tomato red, turquoise and apple green, to create an energetic and bright design.

Bring light into your room with a vivid yellow. From the circle artwork to the upholstered footboard, every item in this room has a touch of sunshine.

And there you have it – how to rock spring’s trendiest colors in your home!

In the episode that aired Tuesday, Alison, the host of the show, “crashes” the Lincolnwood Fire Department, giving them a complete kitchen remodel including bright red counter tops and subway tile back splash with a red grout accent, three new stainless refrigerators and a coffee bar. Their massive dining table is refinished with high gloss paint accents and a fire hydrant base. To top it off, she burns their old, worn-out recliners in their break room area to replace them with black leather models arranged in theatre seating and customized with their department logo.

The episode will air several more times. Click here to tune in.

Century tile this year celebrates the 65^th anniversary of its founding.  The company was founded in 1947 as Century Supply Company by high school friends Frank Parks Sr.and Paul Spiewak.  The partners placed ads in the local newspaper of their Chicago neighborhood.  They went to customers’ homes, measured, sold and delivered the tile, giving instructions on how to install it.  When they first started, they had little more than $7 between them.  But with those ads placed in the local newspaper the late ‘40s, the high school friends began a business which last year grossed more than $33 million.

From their beginnings selling through the newspaper, Century grew enough to open their first store on Austin Ave.  At the time, it was 1,500 square feet and carried plastic wall tile and asphalt floor tile.

65 years later, Century Tile has grown into Chicagoland’s premier tile retailer with 12 area locations.  The company is still a family operation, being managed by the second generation of the original partners’ families.  Century Tile’s business is divided equally between professional contractors and homeowners.  The company’s product line features the Midwest’s largesr selection of more than 10,000 styles and colors of flooring, including ceramic, porcelain, vinyl, stone, carpet tile; sheet vinyl, broadloom carpeting, area rugs, hardwood, laminate, ceramic wall tile, glass mosaics, accessories and setting materials.

Century is a leader in style and design with an established reputation for providing good customer service and value prices. The company offers frequent seminars for homeowners who are interested in laying their own flooring; or Century can have your flooring installed while providing a warranty and offering financing for the entire project.

Century Tile’s 12 stores are located in Lombard, Itasca, Mt Prospect, Bolingbrook, Woodstock, Matteson, Mundelein, Naperville, Joliet and in Chicago at 5719 W. Diversey, 3001 N. Austin and 8181 S. Cicero.  Visit their website www.century-tile.com for additional details.

Well, today instead of reprimanding your child about their messy room – celebrate it! Mohawk and Century Tile are excited to announce the official launch of the Messiest Kid Contest!

We’re asking moms across the country to submit a video or photo of their little “mess makers” to the Mohawk Facebook page to win some big-ticket prizes.

Mohawk’s Messiest Kid Contest officially began April 1^st. Check out their Facebook page to see how your child’s room compares.

This is the one time you actually want your child to be messy, as over the next three months Mohawk will select one Messiest Kid entry as a monthly winner. The winning contestant will receive a 9’ X 12’ bound SmartStrand carpet as well as a $100 Toys ‘R Us gift card.

If you don’t know about SmartStrand carpet, you should check out the messy kid SmartStrand challenge that aired recently on The Better Show, a women’s lifestyle and entertainment program. You will cringe as children make ice cream sundaes, spilling chocolate syrup, ice cream and more on a SmartStrand carpet. Then you will cheer as the big mess is cleaned up easily with just water. You have to see it to believe it! Click here to view segment.

So not only could you score a new carpet but you can also win a bigger prize. From July 1 -15, Mohawk will hold a Facebook vote-off between the three monthly winners to determine which messy kid deserves the grand prize – a 4 night / 5 day trip for four to Disney World OR a room makeover of their choice.

For more details about the contest please visit the Mohawk Facebook page. Bring on the mess!

It’s true. Click here and you’ll discover how easy it is to pick new flooring, tile or carpet. Use our virtual room designer to upload a photo of a room in your home. It’s so simple. Just take a digital picture of your own room, upload it, and within 48 hours you will be able to see how different floor coverings and paint colors can make your room look new again.

Take our lifestyle quiz and learn what types of products would work well in your home. Use our notes function to keep detailed notes about your project from design ideas and product specifications to questions you want to remember to ask us!

Take advantage of “Ask the Designer” – our designer can help you find the right design solution for your home improvement projects. Go to the Designers Corner to learn about decorating styles and design perspectives.

Explore our beautiful gallery of floors. Get to know every detail about hardwood, ceramic or carpet.

And finally, come and meet Pete the Pro. Pete Lettecci aka “Pete the Pro” has installed ceramic tile for over 30 years. Since 1995 he has shared his knowledge and experience training our staff and conducting 240 customer installation-training seminars each year. We have videos from Pete the Pro on the website as well as a section where you can ask him questions directly. We would love to help!