Frieze Carpet: Popular for a Reason

Feeling a little behind the times? Need to bring your 70?s shag or 90?s Berber into the new millennium? Look no further than frieze carpet, the trendy and popular carpet of the 2000?s!

Frieze carpet is distinguished by its high twist level, which means that many short fibers are twisted tightly together to form the shape of the carpet. This not only prevents shedding and pilling, but also helps create a trackless look. No matter which direction you run your hands over frieze carpet, the color remains the same. Additionally, the fibers help insulate both sound and temperature, keeping your house quiet and cool!

But frieze carpet isn?t just for keeping your energy bill down. Need a carpet that will hold up in even the most high traffic areas? Frieze is the way to go. Because the fibers move and shake around, they hide dirt, stains, and even footprints. While you want to be careful with heavier furniture, which may dent or flatten the fibers, lightweight furniture won?t have any ill effects, and the carpet will bounce back good as new.

If you?re interested in purchasing a frieze carpet, make sure to specify that you are interested in a ?true frieze,? and not just trackless carpet. The words have become synonymous in the industry, but some trackless carpets without high twist levels don?t hold up as long, or hide stains as well as a true frieze. Frieze carpets are more expensive than other trackless carpets, but need to be replaced and maintained far less often.

Types of Natural Stone Tile

With all the types of natural stone tiles available, picking out a new floor can seem daunting. Which level of porosity do you need? Which tiles are better for outdoors? Indoors? How willyou ever choose?

Here?s a list of the seven most common types of natural stone tile to help you make your decision.

Flagstone: Flagstone is not a type of natural stone, but refers to any type of paved, flat stone. Mostly used outdoors, flagstones are perfect for walkways, fire pits, and pool decks. The surface is usually non-slip and water resistant, and can withstand heavy traffic and sunlight?however, the irregularity in color and shape can make replacing broken flagstones difficult.

Granite: Granite is the hardest natural stone on the market, which makes it ideal for flooring and countertops. Because the surface is scratch resistant, you can chop vegetables directly on your kitchen counter?no cutting board needed! Granite comes in hundreds of natural colors, making it perfect for almost any room, but some people prefer it as a counter rather than flooring because it?s heavy and cold to the touch.

Limestone: Limestone is a porous stone that?s actually just a young marble! It?s made from seashells and other organisms crushed together, which sometimes show up in the grain of the tile. Limestone is good for flooring, but it does hold moisture due to the natural holes in the stone.

Marble: Marble is an elegant natural stone tile that has been used as a luxurious building material for centuries. The high-contrast veining pattern sets marble apart from other types of stone. Because marble is softer than granite, it is susceptible to stains and scratches?especially from acid-based liquids.

Sandstone: Sandstone?s rough, textured surface is one-of-a-kind. This natural stone is biodegradable, making it perfect for both indoor and outdoor applications. The grains in sandstone weather over time, meaning that the stone will look different five or ten years after installation, but some people prefer the aged look of the stone. Sandstone is extremely porous, so it?s not ideal for bathrooms or kitchens.

Slate: Slate is extremely versatile and comes with a wide variety of colors and sizes. It?s made from clay and shale, so the tiles are both water resistant and slip resistant due to the textured surface. Unfortunately, slate tiles can be uneven, which makes installation and uniform floors tricky.

Travertine: Travertine is similar to limestone and marble, and is the natural stone that was used to build the Coliseum in Rome. These tiles are comfortable to walk on, and come in a range of colors. Travertine has a tendency to scratch and stain, especially if untreated, and will hold liquids if not sealed properly.

Polyester gets a bad rap (thanks, 1973!), but rest assured: it looks a lot better on your floors than on your pants. In fact, one trend that?s here to stay is polyester carpet and polyester rugs. Read on for the pros and cons you need to know before committing to polyester in your home.

For starters, polyester rugs are known for being super resistant to bleaching, fading, and water-based stains. They also keep their color well, making them a great option for ?statement? rugs. They?ll fulfill your little girl?s pink, red, and purple decorating fantasies, as well as your little boy?s sporty ones. In fact, polyester will pack the perfect punch in any room where color matters.Check out Houzz for examples of the beautifulboldness of polyester.

Polyester rugs are also durable and quick-drying. Improvements in the manufacturing of polyester carpet?think better heat settings and finer yarns?mean they?re now way better at maintaining that full, fluffy, and luxurious velvety look. Indeed, installing polyester carpet is a sure way to get those heavy, lush, soft-textured floors that up the coziness factor in your boudoir or dressing room.

Fans of Mother Earth will be pleased to know that polyester carpet has become increasingly green over the years. Today, a percentageof your rug, not unlike your polyester fleece jackets, is often composed of recycled soft-drink bottles. Polyester is also highly reusable, meaning that, when you?re ready to change carpets, your used polyester can re-enter the circle of carpet life, rather than the local landfill.

Above all, polyester carpet allows you to stretch your decorating dollar. There are a variety of weaves and a broad spectrum of colors which can be purchased and installed for a fraction of the price of, say, nylon carpeting. It?s a great choice for those rooms with less foot traffic (think: studies, guest rooms, etc.). However, for those rooms with high foot traffic, you?ll probably want to stick with nylon or with another carpet of comparable quality. Despite advances, polyester yarns are still relatively less resilient, and more likely to show matting and wear-spots. It?s also difficult to remove oil-based stains from polyester?so definitely steer clear of polyester carpeting in your dining room and favorite snacking spots!

Create Your Own Masterpiece with Carpet Binding

Upcyling is a new decor and art trend where people take pieces that otherwise might be thrown away and redesign them into something more valuable. Old mason jars can become hanging herb planters. Broken plastic bottles have new lives as flower vases. Balls of yarn can turn into a cozy lounge chair. Even carpet remnants can be upcycled into a stylish new rug through a process known as carpet binding.

Carpet binding is a simple way to create beautiful and unique home furnishings out of old carpet, carpet scraps, or extra pieces of installed carpet. In carpet binding, the edges are bound together to prevent fibers from unraveling, since wall-to-wall carpets are often unbound or tacked to the sub-floor. This can be done quickly and cost-effectively with polyester tape, which is applied to the carpet edge and then sewn shut. A longer, but more luxurious, way of binding carpet is by surging the edges together with pieces of thread.

Drawing a blank when it comes to redecorating a room? An area rug can be the perfect way to spruce up a drab room, insulate your home, or just give a warm place for bare feet to stand. Additionally, area rugs can set the tone for a new room?s color palette or tie together existing color choices by complementing the tones in your artwork, throw pillows and other home accessories.

But area rug selection can go awry in one big way: size. No matter how great the color or print, an area rug that?s the wrong size can make your room look poorly decorated or unfinished. Here are some tips on how to select the perfect-sized area rug for your soon-to-be-perfect room.

Measure Your Space: Often, we select rugs that are too small out of fear they won?t fit in a room. Measure your space clearly so you know what you?re looking for when you head to the showroom. For example,ideally a 9?x11? room needs a rug that?s 8?x10?.

Visualize Your Rug: Move the room?s furniture and lay masking or painters? tape down to help get an idea of how things will look. This can also help soothe anynervousness that might lead you to buy a too-small rug for the space!

Move It Aside: If you?re looking for a hallway rug, push all of the hallway furniture up against the wall and measure the space between. You don?t want furniture half on and half off hallway rugs!

Leave Room to Breathe: The ideal size for your area rug is big enough to feel luxurious, but not crowded. To avoid a sense of crowding, the rule of thumb is to leave between 12 and 18 inches between the edges of your rug and the walls of the room.

Keep All Four on the Floor: If you?re choosing an area rug for a dining room, the rug must be, at a minimum, large enough for each chair to have all four feet on the rug when comfortably pulled away from the table. This is a good measurement to take at home, before heading to the showroom.