What’s the true definition of luxury? Most arbiters of style would say customization. From clothing to handbags to jewelry, nothing connotes elegance and indulgence like something that’s created especially for you.
Now Karastan, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of premium quality floor coverings, is taking this idea to the floor—literally—with the introduction of Inspired Luxury, an innovative program that allows you to design your own custom area rug by choosing from a wide array of colors, sizes, and wall-to-wall broadloom styles.
“Inspired Luxury gives Karastan customers a unique opportunity to design a rug to their specifications, so that they can create a signature floor covering to complement the room of their dreams,” said Connie Berry, director of marketing at Karastan. “We’re thrilled to offer consumers this novel way to truly ‘make a statement.’”
The process of creating an Inspired Luxury rug is simple and fun. The first step is to select from 15 broadloom styles featuring a variety of textures and patterns, including such Karastan favorites as Coastal Elegance, a hip, fun-loving shag, and Natural Desire, an elegant diamond pattern. Then, choose a color from the options available in your selected style.
Once you’ve settled on a color and look, the next decision is what size is best. There are three popular options to choose from: 6’-x-9’, 8’-x-10’, or 9’-x-12’. And for the finishing touch, Inspired Luxury offers four custom bindings.
Cotton, available up to 1 ½” on the face of the carpet, is a clean, classic choice. Jute, a natural fiber, is another binding that lends an airy, organic appeal and is available up to 3” on the face of the rug. For a sophisticated, edgy variation, Karastan offers a supple leather binding of up to 2” with mitered corners. Finally, a sleek, streamline finish is achievable with 100% wool fiber serging. While all styles are not available with all binding options, there are myriad combinations to be created to suit a range of décors.
Once your order is placed, you’ll receive your rug within four to six weeks. Prices for Inspired Luxury rugs range from $599 for a 6’-x-9’ to $2,199 for a 9’-x-12’, depending on style and binding.
Exquisite, cut-to-order custom rugs are just one part of the Inspired Luxury program. For discerning design junkies in search of broadloom carpeting that’s just the right shade and style, Karastan offers a Custom Color option. Select a carpet style from the 15 Inspired Luxury designs. Then comes the really fun part: choose from a veritable rainbow of 100 colors, ranging from subtle neutrals like taupe, caramel and grey to eye-popping hues including purple, sea-green, and yellow. Karastan will specially dye 3 swatches that will provide you with a range of saturation, from deep to pale, so that you can find the best, most precise match to your walls and furnishings in the actual lighting of the room you’re decorating. You’ll receive the swatches within two to three weeks. Decide which one is best and place your order (minimum: 66 square yards). You can expect to receive your carpeting four to six weeks later. Consult your local Karastan dealer for pricing information for the Custom Color program.
The Inspired Luxury program is now available at Karastan dealers nationwide. For more information on Karastan, or to locate a dealer near you, visit www.karastan.com.
Things to consider before beginning a flooring project
There are many things to consider when you are planning a flooring project. There is more to it than selecting a sample, setting an installation date and enjoying your new floors. Below are a few things to consider before beginning a flooring project. Your local retailer will more than likely review these items with you, but it’s best to know as much as you can in advance so that there are as few surprises as possible!
How long is it going to take to complete?
Changing your flooring out can be a bigger deal than you think. If floor prep is involved, that can take time to dry or set up before installing the new floors. Also to consider, the time it will take to remove the old floors. Be sure and not plan parties or events too close to the installation date of your new floors – that will ensure a delay will happen! Unforeseen circumstances can happen with any type of home project.
What areas are adjacent to the desired area?
It is important to consider what floors are adjacent to an area receiving new floors because of the transition height. For example, if you are installing a wood floor next to a vinyl floor there is a height difference that will need a transition strip to address the difference in height. Also to be considered are the heights of the doors. If you are installing a thicker product than previously installed, the doors may need to be trimmed to allow for this height difference.
When will the floor be ready to walk on?
Just because the floors are being installed one day, that doesn’t mean they can be walked on the same day. Ceramic tile, for instance needs time to “set” before being walked on. Other arrangements may need to be made in your home. An example of this may be if you are tiling your kitchen – you may need to make plans to eat out the night the floors are installed!
Will other areas/items be affected?
If you are remodeling a bathroom or replacing existing flooring you may need to consider things like toilet removal and replacement as well as wood trim removal and replacement. Some flooring contractors prefer to have a plumber remove and reset the toilet. This can be an added expense. Another added expense can come with the removal and replacement of wood trim. Often, when wood trim is removed it can splinter or the paint can chip off. This may involve the need for a painter to come in and touch up any areas where paint has been chipped or wood has been damaged.
Care and Maintenance
If you are receiving new floors, do you have the proper care and maintenance products to maintain and care for your new floors? So many people think they can just use whatever they used on their last floor or whatever is under the sink. It is very important to use a care product that the manufacturer recommends or that is approved for your flooring type.
An informed consumer is a happy consumer! Be prepared for all that is involved in a project such as replacement of flooring. These hints and tips will allow you to have a smoother, more pleasurable experience with fewer surprises!
Welcome to From the Floors Up
From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away! Plus, this will be the go to blog for all your questions about flooring, countertops, paint, design and much more.
The value of this blog lies in the contributors. I will be accompanied by industry experts from across the county from the finest retailers, both big and small, to leading manufactures. As a contributor to this blog, my background includes being the former developer of the industry blog Floor Talk and over 10 years in the construction, interior design and the flooring industry. I have experience in retail sales and complete interior design projects that will enable me to provide the information you need in order to make informed purchases, remain knowledgeable on maintaining the life of your purchase and keeping up with what’s current in these industries.
From the Floors Up is not only a destination for education and information but also for design inspiration and to exchange ideas. We’ll bring you new product introductions, industry news, trends, care and maintenance tips, and solutions to common flooring and design issues.
Join us today by subscribing so you can be in the know from the floors up!
Flooring Care and Maintenance Tips
Protecting your flooring investment is as important as the flooring decision itself. Here are some general hints and tips to help maintain and protect your floors.
·Use walk off mats at every entrance. Using walk off mats will keep the dirt from the outside on the mat rather than inside on your floors where they can scratch the surface.
·Use the manufacturer’s cleaning recommendations. They have spent a lot of time, effort and energy coming up with the best care products for your floors. If you are not sure who manufactured your floor, leave a comment and we can give you some more general advice.
·Use floor protectors, especially on hard surface floors. These are important to prevent permanent scratching, gouging and denting.
·Do not drag furniture or other heavy items across any type of floor. It can also cause permanent damage.
·Different floors need to be cleaned with different products and with different applicators. Use the correct method for each different type floor.
Stay tuned for flooring specific maintenance and floor care advice.
Choosing Grout Colors
The first and most important thing to remember is that grout is not intended to be a design feature, it has a function! That function is to serve as a filler between tiles as well as a protectant so that the edges of the tiles do not get chipped or cracked.
Just like opinions, there are many colors of grout available to choose from and each different grout manufacturer offers different colors. Their intention is to provide colors that blend with the current tiles available on the market, knowing they can’t match each one exactly.
Approaches to choosing grout colors:
You can choose to do what most people typically do which is choose a grout color that BLENDS with the tile. Since there are so many different tile styles available for purchase it would be impossible to match a tile to a grout color exactly. Plus, most tiles are not solid colors and have modeling or shading that prevents one color from matching exactly. In this case, you want to choose a grout color that blends or is in the same color family as the tile. When you look at the overall floor with a blending grout color you will see one complete “picture” rather than each individual tile. The way I see it, you paid for the tile rather than the grout so you want to choose a grout color where you see more of the tile than the grout.
However, in some cases you may want to choose a grout color that CONTRASTS the tile. When you choose a grout color that contrasts the tile, this forces your eye to separate the tiles from the grout lines to where you see more of each individual tile rather than a complete “picture” as you would with a blending grout color. This design option is a good choice if you are trying to create a checkerboard effect or if you have a classic black and white floor pattern.
Alternately, you can choose a grout color that is an ACCENT to the tile. Often people will use an accent color to compliment an accent color in their design scheme. Keep in mind if you choose this route and change your design scheme down the road, you will have to address the grout color as well.
What happens if you make a mistake? Don’t worry; it’s not the end of the world. You can dig the grout out and start over, but you run the risk of chipping or damaging the tiles. Another option that is less expensive and easier to manage is grout staining. There are grout staining kits available that allow you to literally paint over the grout lines to change the color.
Choosing a grout color is an important step in the overall look and feel of your tile project so take your time and choose carefully. It’s a small detail, but has a large impact.
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