On October 24, 2013 at the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Torch Awards, Mira Floors was selected as winner of the Marketplace Excellence award – medium category. The BBB Torch Awards is one of the highest achievements in the business community, showcasing how good business practices can help to build better communities.

The Marketplace Excellence Award is presented to a BBB accredited business in recognition of its superior commitment to exceptional standards for its customers, stakeholders and community. Award recipients are selected by an independent committee after an in-depth application process.

“We are honoured to receive the BBB’s Marketplace Excellence award,” said Kevin Bergstresser as he accepted the award on behalf of the MIRA Floors team. “We have been members with the BBB since day one and the main reason is the values the BBB stands for – honesty, ethics, and trustworthiness. We have always strived to build a business focused on those values.”

In his speech, he went on to thank the office team who were all present at the event. “This award celebrates our team’s dedication. The current core team is a big reason why we won this award and continue to grow as a business”

Here are a few photos of Kevin accepting the award and the whole team at the award ceremony.

Thank you to Better Business Bureau for choosing MIRA Floors & Interiors as the 2013 winner of the Marketplace Excellence award! We are truly honoured.

We are proud to announce we are a finalist for the Mainland BC Better Business Bureau (BBB) Marketplace Excellence Award – Medium business category!

The Torch Awards recognize BBB companies that go above and beyond when working with their customers, suppliers, and surrounding community. The Marketplace Excellence Award award is presented to BBB accredited businesses for their exceptional commitment to the BBB Standards of Trust. Each year finalists are selected by a panel of judges independent of the BBB. For more info on the award and to see who we’re up against, visit the Mainland BC Torch award website.

The award ceremony will be held on October 24, 2013. Keep your fingers crossed for us to add the coveted Torch Award to our “trophy case.”

Often the biggest challenge after a new carpet installation is what to do with the leftover carpet scraps. There are many environmentally-friendly options for the both the used and new carpet scraps including recycling, donating, or re-purposing. Here are 7 of our favourite things to do with leftover carpet.

1. Turn it into a walk off mat

If you have large cuts of new carpet leftover at the end of the job, the best use for them is to turn them into a walk-off mat. The mats will create a cohesive look in your home or can be put over the existing carpet to keep it looking good in high traffic entrance areas. To avoid fraying edges from DIY cutting, bring it in to Mira to have the edges professionally bound.

2. Muffle noisy washer or dryer

Quiet down washer and dryers that shake and rattle by putting a leftover piece of carpet under it to help muffle the noise of the machine moving against the floor.

3. Use it as knee pads

Small scraps of carpet make great knee pads for gardening, solo canoeing, or to store in the trunk for changing a flat tire.

4. Move heavy furniture

Put leftover pieces under the feet of heavy furniture and appliances to protect floors from scratches.

5. Make a carpet pet house

Smaller pieces of carpet can be re-purposed into this innovative pet house. This simple DIY project only has two steps once the carpet has been cut down to size. Instructions are can be found here: http://www.amplesample.net/site/library/img/winners08/CarpetPetHouse.pdf

6. Recycle it

Carpet recycling is the best option for large quantities of leftover used carpet. By choosing to recycle the carpet instead of taking it to the landfill, the carpet fibres can be used to create new carpet or other products that use polypropylene and nylon such as bearings, plastic pipes, and patio furniture. MIRA Floors offers free carpet recycling for all our residential customers. Learn more about the carpet recycling process on our carpet recycling page.

7. Take on a carpet furniture making project
Get inspired by past winners of Ample Sample, an annual contest showcasing innovative ways of re-using the thousands of carpet tile samples leftover each year. Projects vary in difficulty and number of carpet tiles needed.

Inspiration for your home is everywhere – home shows, magazines, or even a walk through your favourite stylish neighbourhood. Here’s a few of our favourite magazines and online resources to look at when gathering inspiration for your next renovation.

Local inspiration

Western Living Magazine
This magazines and it’s website is a comprehensive guide of everything new and unusual in Western Canada, from Winnipeg to Victoria. Their Homes section showcases a stunning selection of homes and condos in Western Canada’s, design tips and new trends in décor.

Westcoast Homes and Design
Every issue of this magazine is full of Vancouver’s best local architecture and creative design trends. By browsing through local homes, there’s a better chance that the products used to create that space will be local. By keeping it local, you’re less likely to fall in love with the backsplash tiles in the photo, only to discover that the product cannot be imported to Canada.

Keep track of your ideas

Houzz
The Houzz website is 100% dedicated to home improvement and interior design. Their extensive library has well-written articles to help you through all stages of a home renovation or design project. Browse through the inspiring photos posted by other users and create an account to save your favourites to your own ideabooks.

Pinterest – The tremendously popular social media site is filled to the brim with renovation and interior design ideas. You can explore the Pinterest Home Decor category or create your own pin board to keep track of the great ideas you find on Pinterest and other websites.

Modern and Minimal

Dwell
This magazine and it’s website demonstrates functional and comfortable modern design. While many photos of modern design homes often look like no one lives there, Dwell’s goal is to show modernist designed homes lived in by real people.

Better Living Through Design
The Better Living Through Design website is a great resource for those yearning for the best eye-catching modern furniture and design options on the internet. The products featured could be from anywhere at the world and at any price point. No searching is required to find the product since each product has a direct link to the retailer.

Retro living

Retro Renovation
Love the sets of Mad Men and have a soft spot for shag carpets? Then Retro Renovation is the site for you.  This website is a comprehensive guide to renovating and decorating your house mid-century style.

Small-spaces

Apartment Therapy
Apartment Therapy is an ode to making the most of small space living. This website boasts inspiring before and after posts, great storage and organization advice, and a video how-to series. Living in 1000 sf or less has never looked so good!

Have other favourite home renovation and decor websites that we forgot to mention? Let us know about them in the comments.

Distressed floors have been a popular choice among home owners looking for a hardwood floor with distinct character. Manufacturers create the distressed look through a variety of processes including ageing, sculpting, hand-scraping and wire brushing. The intentional distress marks are great for active households with small children and pets. The scratches and dents caused by the wear and tear of everyday life will be less noticeable than with a piano finish hardwood.

Our Favourite Distressed Floors
Here’s a few of our favourite distressed hardwood floors with options for any budget.

Distressed hardwood American Restoration by Shaw Floors – $

This wide plank engineered hardwood from Shaw uses unique distressed markings to create a look reminiscent of reclaimed barnyard planks. With four colours to choose from, American Restoration is a realistic and affordable distressed choice.

Cottage Collection by Laurentian Hardwood – $$

The Cottage Collection uses a lightly wire brushed texture and low gloss finish to evoke the image of comfortable seaside cottages. This engineered hardwood comes in 10 different colours.

Castillo Plank by Antique Impressions – $$$

Inspired by the castles of medieval Europe, each handcrafted Castillo plank looks like a genuine time-worn plank walked upon centuries ago. Design options for this collection are endless with hickory or walnut planks in eight colours and a variety of plank widths to choose from.