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motherofdog Absolutely! they definately put electrical outlets in hardwood floors. I've had them and they are great. Mine were brass and they had brass screw tops on them for the outlets that are not in use. Can't answer the carpet question all my floors are wood.

Ironwood Builders Yep. Wall to wall carpet with a brass screw cap outlet where you want it.

Main Line Kitchen Design I would use recessed ceiling lights in most locations where you would want a lamp in the middle of a room. Not only does it keep the hardwood floors and wall to wall carpet from being compromised, but you can still place furniture differently in the future and your side tables will have more usable space without a lamp. For reading, small LED table lamps can run off batteries and last for months without changing them. Don't leave them on when you are not reading of course.

Main Line Kitchen Design Of course you can put some outlets in the floor, but they aren't very attractive and very soon there will be even better battery powered lighting and wireless lighting.

Today I can turn on and dim all the lights in a home and raise and lower the blinds on my iPhone, even from across the country. "Currently" (sorry about the pun) these switches cost $10.

rockbrookway thanks for the input. i plan on hardwood floors with area rugs in sitting areas. i like the idea of recessed ceiling lights, unfortunately our celing heights are 28 feet. also like the idea of led table lamps. any ideas of sights where i can check them out?

Main Line Kitchen Design http://www.modernlantern.com/

Dytecture An arched floor lamp is able to reach further to provide illumination.

rockbrookway thanks, mainline

Main Line Kitchen Design Cheers

BeautifulRemodel.com Hi rockbrookway,

In answer to your questions; yes electricians do place outlets in the floor, whether its concrete or framed construction. The placement is critical, and best determined by the exact sizes of the furniture & furnishings, and their layout, etc (just as you're doing). With regard to cutting holes in rugs - I would never do that, and you can avoid it the majority of the time.

The key is to specify a rug that isn't so large that the furniture has to be placed far inside the perimeter of the rug. Depending on the proportions of your room and furniture, the rug could be as in the first photo below, or where the furniture partially covers it, as in the second. (Or where the furniture doesn't cover it all). With each of these scenarios, the plug sits in the outlet underneath the rug and only a very small section of the cord is slightly visible.

Most floor outlets have deep recessed sockets, so the plug itself doesn't sit above the finished floor level and therefore doesn't interfere with the rug's placement.

- Steve

rockbrookway thanks, steve, for all the good information. all it takes is meticulous planning months in advance! :)

BeautifulRemodel.com You're very welcome Rockbrookway. I'm a big proponent of detailed planning, and while its a great deal of work, it really pays off at the end of the project. The decisions regarding furniture etc have to made at some point anyway, so its better do it far in advance as it affects so many other factors in the early startes. It also helps eliminates surprises at the end too.

Best of luck with your project!
- Steve

iota When we built our home 20 years ago I knew there were really only two ways we could place a couch in the carpeted living room. Both shared a common point (turning point of an L) and were in the center of the room rather than backed against a wall. I had the electrician install a floor outlet at the "turning point", and have NEVER regretted it. Right now the outlet is underneath a side table with a lamp, so cord just goes down the side to the outlet....when I had a side table at the other end of the couch the lamp cord did the same thing, and an extension cord continued on to the outlet, totally out of sight underneath the couch.

At that time I had a provincial couch similar in style to the one in the Kiawah Family Home photo above and even with the open bottom and the extension cord running under it was out of sight..

rockbrookway thanks, iota. i will get working with my tape measure to measure out the furniture placement.