Josh and Jennifer, and Adele and Kyle are two couples who live miles apart and do not even know of each other’s existence. Yet, they have much in common. Both couples have recently installed beautiful, practical, and durable interlocking floor tiles in distinct areas of their homes.

Josh and Jennifer researched placing some type of flooring in the garage on top of the cement surface in their attached garage. Repeatedly they have tried painting the floor of their garage with special paint to keep the floor easy to maintain. However, after a heavy storm flooded their garage, they needed to vacate it from all the damaged junk and paraphernalia that was stored there. A new garage door was installed which they were assured would prevent water seepage from future storms. The garage was left to dry for several weeks to make sure it was ready for a brand-new floor installation.

After consultations with the experts, Josh and Jennifer chose to go with interlocking floor tiles. These tiles are resilient and water resistant and can always be removed if necessary. They come in a variety of colors and textures. Ultimately this practical couple chose a neutral grey tile which they succeeded in installing themselves. Looking at the finished job, Jennifer was amazed at how clean and new her garage floor looked. Methodically and carefully their salvageable items were replaced neatly back into the garage.

Adele and Kyle both share a large office in the downstairs of their home near the kitchen. Adele had always worked at home as a kitchen designer, but Kyle used to work in a law firm in the city. This all changed when the COVID-19 virus struck. Now that things have opened up again, Kyle only needs to go into the city if he must be in court, which is not more than once a week. Adele was very generous and invited Kyle to share her office with her. The trouble was that along with Kyle came stacks of file boxes from the office. Since the room is big, there was room for the boxes to be placed near Kyle’s desk.

Adele also had various boxes of her kitchen cabinet samples and brochures. This couple’s office has two large windows with a desk in front of each. There is plenty of natural light coming through giving the room a sunny feeling. The one sore spot was the carpet on the floor which was stained and torn from the previous owners who used this room as a playroom.

Adele and Kyle agreed that it was time for a new floor. Adele initially wanted to carpet because she often worked barefoot and liked the feel of carpet under her feet. However, after visiting friends recently who had just redone their kitchen floor with interlocking floor tiles, they both fell in love with the contemporary look and decided to purchase and install interlocking floor tiles. They used a black tile and painted the office walls and ceiling stark white. It looked amazing and they were so happy with their choice. Adele chose a colorful area rug underneath her desk and chair to keep her feet cozy in the winter. All was peaceful for a while.

What was the common denominator in Josh and Jennifer and Adele and Kyles’ homes?

Unfortunately, their shiny interlocking floor tiles were not showing up properly in each of the venues, not in the garage nor in the office. In fact, Jennifer realized this when she showed her newly decorated office to her friend Cynthia and her friend did not even notice the tiles. You may have guessed why these two couples are frustrated with these areas in their house if you have a clutter situation in yours. There were just too many items covering their new floors. At first, the garage couple was careful to keep their storage boxes on the sides of the garage adjacent to the walls but slowly, but surely various boxes, bikes and large tools were taking up more space in the garage and covering up the new tiles. Now don’t get me wrong, those Interlocking floor tiles are strong enough to take the pressure of those heavy goods, it’s just that their garage was getting to look just plain messy.

At the home office of Adele and Kyle a similar issue was surfacing. The boxes were taking up nearly half of the space of the office. There were two nice size closets in this room since it was previously a playroom for the past occupants, but it was hard to sort through the stuff if it wasn’t right in front of the eyes of this couple, so they did not use the closets enough. Being desperate and busy, they decided to call in an organizer.

The first thing the organizer suggested was to take the doors off the closets and install new shelving in each closet. There were old unfinished shelves in the closets, however, since the closets were becoming part of the room, they needed a more finished look. A filing cabinet was installed in the closet belonging to Kyle and clear plastic boxes were purchased for Adele’s various kitchen samples such as knobs, counter colors and materials, and cabinet samples. Ornamental shelves and some closed small cabinets were installed on the walls for certain items that were not really used but that neither of this couple was ready to part with. The next time Cynthia came to visit the first thing she complimented even before the new shelves was the beautiful Lock Tile floor which she noticed immediately.

Organizing a garage is in a way a more complicated job than an office, but because it’s not a showplace it is easier to find storage areas for the various objects. Josh and Jennifer checked online and the word that kept popping up in garage organization was to, “think vertically”. Another very useful website that they took advantage of is called FamilyHandyman.

Since Josh is very handy and a frequenter of Home Depot, he was familiar with most of the tools and materials suggested online. The objective of this family’s project was to get as much as possible off the floor and onto the walls. Josh took a bright colored masking tape and began to check out where the studs were on the walls and identify them.

Wall Storage Systems

If you are talented, then making your own wall storage system will come out cheaper than purchasing a readymade one. For example, for twenty- seven dollars per linear foot or less, you can make an eight-foot-tall unit. As long as each cabinet has a stud behind it can be securely fastened with the right hardware.

Storing Large Tools, Brooms, Shovels and Tennis Rackets

A unique and practical way of storing the above items are concrete-forming-tubes which can be purchased in home improvement stores. Anything that is slim and somewhat vertical such as baseball bats and long- handed tools can be stored in such practical and roomy tubes which continue with the “think vertically” theme. It is wise to get a piece of two by four wood to rest them on so that they stay dry in case of any water seepage into the garage. A thin flexible silver plumbing strap will secure these to the garage wall.

Monkey Bar Wall Units

Often the homeowner may need additional storage above the wall unit and monkey bar style shelving is the answer. This type of steel system will make sure to get any materials and tools that you have off the garage floor and still within your reach. It is also easily modified if your lifestyle and storage need a shift.

Sport and Ball Holders

Have you ever tripped on a basketball or bike helmet in your garage? Let us introduce you to ball corrals. Although these ball corrals can be placed easily on the floor they can almost as easily be hung low for the smallest sports fan to access. Whose kids wouldn’t appreciate having every ball available without having to search for one? This holder is constructed of ¾ inch plywood and 2by2s, with bungee or elastic cords that are threaded through predrilled holes and secured with knots. (If using bungee cords make sure to cut off the hooks before installing.) The holes should be drilled slightly wider than the cords to make the threading easy. Smaller balls can easily get lost as well so for added storage of baseballs you can use short gutter troughs and add some hooks for bike helmets and baseball mitts.

Final Words

Installing any type of new flooring is exciting and inviting for the homeowners and their visitors to complement. Whether it’s a new carpet, ceramic tiles or our favorite, interlocking floor tiles there should be as little disruption in the design of the tiles as possible. What this means is to get as much stuff as possible off the floor and onto walls perpendicular to the floor. Important items will be seen easily and not tripped over. What could be more pleasant than an office floor gleaming with interlocking floor tiles or a clean garage with as many tiles showing as possible?