Curious about the beauty of Berber carpets? In Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, Berber carpets and rugs have decorated the floors of oases and homes ever since the Paleolithic era. Here, we?ve compiled everything you need to know about this carpeting, named after its original users?the Berber tribe of North Africa?s Barbary Coast whose members spun cloth and rugs from various natural fibers.

First of all, it?s crucial to understand that Berber refers to a type of carpet weave, rather than a type of carpet itself. In fact, Berber carpeting comes in many different carpet fiber types: nylon, wool, polyester, polyprophylene (Olefin), and more. Atrademark loop construction creates theclassic, woven and knotted look distinct to traditionally woven Berber carpets. As a customer, you have plenty of options when it comes to the size and arrangement of those loops?Berber carpeting comes in a wide variety. Berber rugs typically contain small flecks of dark hues against lighter background colors, which results in a natural and traditional look. Check out some great styles on Houzz.

These days, Berber rugs come in a wide array of color mixes, and are relatively cheap and durable. This makes them a popular choice for areas with significant traffic and wear, such as offices. Besides their resiliency and relatively low cost, Berber carpets arefairly easy to clean. Why is this? Because of its looped construction, spills tend to sit on top of the carpet pile. Which means that as long as you clean up right away, you?ll be able to prevent spills from sinking deep into the fibers. And, in the event that you get to it late, Berber?s traditional flecked and multicolored look is ideal for hiding soil and spills!

While ?Berber? has become synonymous with loops, not all Berber carpets have loops. ?Cut Berber,? also known as ?California Berber,? is indeed loop-less. Some varieties of Berber rugs are made with loops as well as cut-loops. They?re thus known as ?Cut and Loop? Berber rugs. Those styles featuring a repeating pattern are known as ?Patterned Cut and Loop? Berber carpeting. Such options tend to be costly, but quite elegant and beautiful.

Typically, Berber is priced byknots per square meter. Tunisian Berber is known as one of the best?and knottiest?varieties of Berber carpet on the market. These stunningly detailed rugs are made from wool, camel hair, silk, and more. (In fact, highest-quality silk berber carpets boast up to 250,000 knots per square meter!)

One disadvantage of Berber carpet is its susceptibility to snagging and/or running. Because of its loop construction, you?ll want to avoid dragging furniture or, say, letting a toddler drive a Big Wheels across Berber carpeting. You may also want to consider how Berber carpet and your pet?s claws will interact. You?ll want to clip Kitty?s and Fido?s nails (and make sure Kitty has other places to scratch, too). Another drawback is that, depending on its fibers, Berber isn?t quite as soft underfoot as a cut pile carpet.

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.

We all want to keep carpet looking fresh, whether it?s in our home or our place of business. But while home carpet owners worry about wine and pet stains, commercial carpet presents an entirely different set of challenges. With customers and employees walking to and fro, commercial carpet gives a new meaning to the term ?high traffic.? But with a few tips, you can keep your commercial carpet looking as fresh as the day it was installed.

Roll Out The Welcome Mat: Never neglect the entryway! Using a mat in areas of ingress and egress can drastically reduce the amount of mud and soil that comes in on the shoes of your clients, vendors, suppliers and visitors. Additionally, a mat is likely to catch any tacks, thorns, or bits of debris that can cause snags or other serious damage to your carpet. You?ll want a large enough mat that your guests walk in and take two to three steps before they find themselves standing on your actual carpet.

Vacuum Every Day: Daily vacuuming can remove 90-95% of dust and soil before it settles into the carpet and causes discoloration. Left in the carpet, dirt and sand also degrade the integrity of the fiber itself and cause fraying. An upright vacuum with a brush is perfect for agitating the dirt so that it doesn?t damage the carpet and agitate you!

Treat Spots Immediately: During the end-of-day pass with the vacuum, keep an eye out for spots or stains. A client?s muddy boots or a customer?s dripping coffee cup can turn from a momentary inconvenience to a permanent and unsightly stain. Many customers cite staining as one of the top reasons they choose to replace their commercial carpet, so a few moments spent with an environmentally friendly cleaning chemical can do a lot to preserve the life of the carpet.

Go Deep: Twice a year, hire a professional carpet cleaning company for a complete deep-cleaning of your commercial carpet. Even daily vacuuming and spot cleaning can?t remove the dirt that vacuuming misses. If you stay on top of these scheduled cleanings, your carpet will never begin to look tired or worn.

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.

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.