It’s been a true joy in my blogging journey to work with some wonderful brands and products and I love being able to share these things with all of you, my readers.  It’s been 5 years ago since I first became acquainted with the folks at Shaw Floors. I’ve partnered with them in the past and will be working with them more this year and next.  They are just up the interstate from Atlanta in Dalton, GA and since I grew up here from childhood, one of the places my dad has always gone to get flooring for any house renovations he was doing is up to Dalton, which is known as the carpet capital of the country. Carpet manufacturing has been in Dalton for many, many years and it’s their main industry in that cute mountain town of North Georgia.  So, I was familiar with Shaw Floors, but as I’ve gotten to know the people of Shaw, I like them even more.
I was invited to do a design event with them 5 Â years ago and we went to the Biltmore and then designed a room around the flooring we chose. Â I had a partner for that fun event, Lindsay, and we both had a great time with this design challenge. It was one of the highlights of my blogging journey for sure. Â So, that was the start of my relationship with Shaw Floors.
I was invited later by Shaw Floors in 2012 to Serenbe, a beautiful community south of Atlanta for the opening of the HGTV Green home there and that is where I fell in love with the engineered plank wood floors that I currently have in my house. Â Shaw graciously gave me a discount on the flooring of my dreams or otherwise I may not have been able to afford this beautiful flooring in my home. Â I have enjoyed my floors for going on 4 years now and still love, love my decision. Â I can now speak from experience on their engineered hardwoods. Â The rustic hand-scraped floors I have called Broadmoor have held up beautifully and do not show scratches or dust badly at all. That’s been a big plus!
It is amazing to me how much flooring has changed in the last 10 years.  When I was in my very first house, we put in refinished hardwoods, which was the newest and greatest over 10 years ago.  I remember looking at laminate then and even though it was affordable and so many people put down laminate flooring over the years, I just never liked it that much at all.  It just looked like plastic to me.  Plastic with a photograph of wood. I daresay so many homes in the 80’s and 90’s have tons of laminate installed.  Hardwoods have always been my first choice and if I can get rid of carpet, I would most always choose that too.  Choosing flooring for my house renovation here was an easy decision. I knew I wanted hardwoods all through my house in every room, using the same flooring for continuity and visual flow.
So, when Shaw reached out and asked me to be on their blogger Style Board for the next couple of years, it was an immediate YES to that. Â I love their products and I really like the people behind the products. Â They have been a sponsor of Haven for the past 5 years too, which is an extra plus for all of us.
I had to miss the blogger event they put together which was during the week of Haven and so after Haven, they invited me up to their headquarters so I could see the products in person. Â They gave us a certain amount of flooring for our homes this year and we could choose from 4 different products: Â An engineered Epic hardwood, waterproof vinyl product called Floorte, waterproof LifeGuardâ„¢ carpet, or their cut-a-rug program, which is binding of a large area rug.
Immediately my mind started racing on where I wanted to use this new flooring. Â My den is the only space that has carpet and it was added last minute by the bank right before I bought my foreclosed house. Â It was OK carpet, but definitely builder’s grade. Â At least I didn’t hate the color! Â I’ll get back to this part in a minute.
In the meantime, I was shown around the Shaw Research and Development building and it was such an informative tour. Â I loved getting to see all their products in one place and to see how they go about coming up with new and innovative products.
Their building is so pretty and showcases a lot of their wood products and the tools used in the carpet industry.  I loved these big machines highlighted in the hallway.
A wall of wood and or wood look alikes for an inspiration shot.  Choosing flooring can be SO hard when there are so many products to choose from. So how do you do that intelligently?  I love to find out what is latest and greatest out there and unless you look, you never know all the new and innovative products that are offered now.  Things have really changed in the last 10 years.
An old Singer sewing machine graces one of the hallways. Â I mentioned that I still have my Grandma’s old Singer it’s quite the antique now.
They showed me a great presentation on color and product trends and all the research that goes into their production and marketing efforts with all their flooring items. Â It was so eye opening and fun to see! Â Color makes me happy and I love to see what out there in designs at any given time! Â Design and decorating a home has always been a top love for me. Â Products to enhance your home are the icing on the cake.
From a board of all white and neutral, to colors galore, there was an explosion of inspiration on the walls.
I thought it was so interesting how much they put into researching trends and colors across the board, from fashion to home design and architecture. Â It all goes hand in hand and reaches the consumer just like you and me who is going in to purchase flooring.
They had a gorgeous kitchen display and I saw all sorts of materials. Â Shaw even makes tile flooring as well, something I didn’t realize until recently.
Carpet has certainly come a long ways too over the years. Â There are so many beautiful carpets to choose from now and when I saw some of the patterns we had to choose from in their new line of carpet, I was tempted. Â From basketweave to dots and wavy patterns, there are some beautiful ones out there.
From a myriad of colors to tones of neutrals, there’s a shade for everyone.
This is not a picture of their newest carpet, which is 100% waterproof, but when I heard about that I couldn’t believe it. Â I saw a video of someone spilling a pink liquid on the carpet and it does nothing but instantly bead up and roll off. Â Can you imagine a truly waterproof carpet? Â Shaw has one!
I really love their cut-a-rug program too, which means you can custom cut any of their carpets and have them bound with several options, such as leather, canvas, or a simple serge.
The Epic engineered hardwoods look very similar to what I have in my house now, so very pretty. I still absolutely love the 3 widths that my hardwoods have, in 3, 5, and 7″ widths.
My head was spinning as I looked at all the options.  I didn’t think I would like the Floorte waterproof vinyl planks all that much, but when I saw them in person, I totally changed my mind.  They are called Luxury Vinyl Planks and they really are impressive in person.  They had these on display at Haven and had them immersed in a tub of water overnight and nothing happened to them.  Totally waterproof, so that is truly a game changer, isn’t it?  The old laminates that have been around for so long were not waterproof and if they got wet, they were ruined just like hardwoods would be.
This vinyl plank flooring can go right over concrete, osb, plywood, or even old tile! Â They said that you can lay it right over old tile without ripping up the tile. Â That’s pretty amazing!
My downstairs den area is a big room of carpet, so this is the area I’m going to redo. Â You can see that it already has wear and tear on the carpet 4 years later. Â This is the traffic pattern coming in from the garage and going upstairs, so there is dirt that has buried in the carpet and I have tried to get it out to no avail. Would it make me happy to get all this carpet out of here? Â Most definitely it would! Â I will not miss the carpet at all. Â Even though when I first heard the options, my first thought was getting the waterproof carpet, because it is really pretty too.
But, once I looked at the vinyl Floorte planks, I decided this would more than likely be the best choice for my den space which is on a slab.  They float these planks and don’t even glue them down.  And waterproof, hello!  That will be amazing!  I have area rugs in here which will keep it nice and cozy.  I looked at their samples and ordered a few to try out in my house and here’s the 3 I’m looking at.  I’m leaning towards the  left one, the long plank.  It’s called Casa and the color is Cafe, that leans toward a brown/gray tone. I really like the right one, but it might be a bit too gray. I like the middle one too, but the longer I looked at it in my lighting, it’s quite a bit darker than the left long plank.  Gray is the new beige and so I don’t want to jump too far to the gray bandwagon either, but the middle 2 have a gray tone without going all gray.
Would you like to chime in with an opinion? Â I’d love to hear what you think, but I think I have made up my mind.Â
The middle one is a little wider plank than the other too and I’m going to have to narrow down my choice soon. I wanted a contrast with my current dark brown floors. Â I’m going to remove the wood on the little landing at the bottom of my stairs and have the new flooring installed there and all the way into the den space. Â That way there is no break and the eye will just flow to the new flooring down here. Â I wanted a contrast and not have it look like I tried to match the wood of my current floors. Â I think either of these will be a nice contrast.
Just for the record, here are the waterproof carpet samples. They are beautiful too, aren’t they? Â I love that this carpet has a waterproof backing and water does not penetrate the pad or subfloor. Â That’s a really neat product for busy households with kids and pets. Â It also has a stain guard built in for extra stain resistance.
I really thought I’d choose one of these originally, but now that I’ve seen those vinyl planks I’m going with that. Â But to have a waterproof carpet would be a dream, I think.
That’s an introduction to some new products from Shaw Floors and I hope you enjoyed hearing about them! Â I love that I’m able to share good information with all of you and I can’t wait to get these planks in my house and get to enjoy them. Â Not to worry about tracking dirt in on the carpet will be fantastic and a really nice bonus of having a waterproof floor in case anything ever leaks around here. Â Stay tuned for this project, it’s going to be a fun one!
Note: Â This post is sponsored by Shaw Floors. Â All the ideas and information I share is my own viewpoint.Â
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says
I love the wood and I would go with something that is more brown with a touch of gray. It would tie in nicely with what you have.
Deborah White says
Hi Rhoda!
Beware…I have Shaw sculpted beige carpeting & I struggle with keeping it clean in high traffic areas. I live in San Diego & the carpet has a palm leaf pattern. While it is very beautiful, the raised portion of the sculpted carpet tends to attract dirt, & while this is a much better quality than we previously had, I have to shampoo it much more often…..& it’s in our family room.
Btw, I have the same birthday as you…including the same year!!
Rhoda says
HI, Deborah, thanks for chiming in. I would imagine that a raised pattern would be a little harder to maintain. That’s why I would just as soon get rid of all my carpet. Oh, how fun! We will celebrate together this year. It’s a big one!
Andrea says
I like the one on the left too!! The other one looks too gray…. That’s my 2 cents
KimberlyJ says
Beautiful colors and waterproof, score! Now, for me, the one on the right appears too grey for the carpet on the stairs, and the next room. The others seem to have enough of the brownish color so things blend together.
Cathy says
Can you move the middle sample into the light? It’s a toss up between that one and the one on the left. I loved this post; I’m saving it for future reference for our retirement home.
Christine Olson says
I like the one on the left. I had vinyl wood like planks installed in my kitchen, dining and living room earlier this year and absolutely love it.
Sonja says
Dear Rhoda, I am happy for you to have had this lovely opportunity to go direct to SHAW and have a visit around their facility, it looks elegant and modern. The clothes you wore fit perfectly fly with the tones inside their building, you look lovely. I like the sample on the far left, it seems to fit very well with the runner on the stairs. I look forward to seeing your installed floors, and am happy for you! Sonja
Jan says
After losing two basement carpet installations over the past ten years, the first to a hurricane and the next to a sump pump fail, I highly recommend the vinyl plank flooring. It is really beautiful, very durable, and, best of all, waterproof!! According to my installer, this type of floor can get soaked, be pulled up, allowed to dry and re-installed. Yay. We’ve had the new vinyl flooring for about a year and a half now. Ii looks so much like hardwood that it fooled my brother the first time he saw it. Now he wants to put it in his basement.
As to your choices, I like the one on the left, more variation in tone. I’m not much of a grey girl myself.
Sharon says
We just took out the carpet in an area of our basement and had the vinyl wood planking installed. To say it was an improvement is quite the understatement. It makes the room cozier (I was wondering if the noise level would increase…it did not)–and everyone who sees it thinks it’s wood. My husband and I could not be more pleased with this addition to our home.
Jane King says
So love the Shaw post. I live in Dalton and every family in this area has someone working in the carpet field. It’s been sad to watch so many being laid off but Shaw and Mohawk have been smart to branch out into other types of flooring. Thanks to you I now know what I want in my kitchen. I wanted the wood look but was afraid of the water issue. I love what you have picked and will go with same or almost like it. You are my favorite blog because of the way you show realistic homes that are beautiful and your parents are such a joy to read about. My dad was so much like yours. He preached and loved to garden until his health declined. Alwasy hoping for the best for your family.
shar y says
Excellent post on flooring. I will for sure look at Shaw’s choices. I need to replace a lot of old parquet wood flooring and have been pondering what to do. I actually wouldn’t mind carpeting but the vinyl planks look pretty good. I have moisture that leaches in from the slab due to old age, etc. I wonder if these water proof planks would prevent that from happening? Guess I will have to locate a Shaw dealer stat. Thanks for such an enlightening post!
lynne beattie says
I love the look of this product! That said, I really don’t like any of the options with the carpet on your stairs. To me they are all too gray and don’t compliment the stair carpet (which I love).
Lori says
The Casa flooring in Cafe (your choice) looks beautiful. The bits of brown in it really go well with the brown on your carpet runner. And vinyl will be so much better than carpet down there!
Jeri says
I like the one on the left. We recently put vinyl planks in our master bath and we love it. It’s easy to clean and no need to worry about water damage. A great choice for your basement!
Nancy says
Hi Rhoda, I love the one on the left as well. And to be honest with you it is YOU who truly can see how it goes. Plus it is you who has made fabulous choices for this house already!
And can I say… These photos of you are soooo dog on cute!
Always enjoy your blog!
Nancy says
Hi Rhoda, I love the one on the left as well. And to be honest with you it is YOU who truly can see how it goes. Plus it is you who has made fabulous choices for this house already!
And can I say… These photos of you are soooo dog on cute!
Always enjoy your blog!
I am not seeing my comment appear… But have a fabulous week! Good Luck with your choice!
Nancy
Nancy says
Ooooo I see it now! Ha ha ha twice! Making you smile!
blondchick says
Well, obviously you’re going to have to go with the one on the left since everyone on here choose that one!!! It’s a good choice considering I’m not a fan of grey and I think it will go away a whole lot sooner than beige will. 🙂 I have the engineered natural red oak in my LR, DR, kitchen and laundry room and just love it! My house doesn’t have quite the natural light that you have in your home so it works well. Looking forward to seeing the install!!!
Cat Insley says
Hi, Rhoda! I’m going thru the same thing you are right now. Bob and I are in the end phase of our 1200 sq. ft. basement remodel. We also chose to go with wood-look tile because of the moisture factor. Here’s what I’ve found:
First, it is good to narrow it down to a “value” (darkness) of tile. In this case – yes, definitely, I would go with the darker tile on the left.
Next, find a tile sample a bit darker than this one. (Trust me on this.)
Get about 6 pieces of both. Lay them out and look at them at various times of the day…..from a distance too. Within a day or two you’ll have your answer!
You really have to look at the tiles over a few days, and in a variety of lighting, to really know how you feel about them.
Can’t wait to see what you pick!
Big hug, cat
Lisa E says
With our kitchen remodel early this year, we had luxury plank installed in our kitchen and adjoining rooms: dining, laundry and foyer. We love them and get lots of compliments on them.
Sue W says
My personal choice is the sample on the left….looks great with your stair runner.
MellyB says
My eye was immediately drawn to the one on the left then I read it was your choice as well. I do agree the one on the right is too gray. It is a little hard to tell in this picture about the middile one. I am sure in person, with the lighting in your room, it is easier to see the difference in the middle one and the left one. I agree about replacing the wood area at the bottom of the stairs. It will give it more continuity. Can’t wait to see the finished project.