From the Floors Up

Designing a Room from the Floor Up

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If you have wood floors or carpet that you love, you can build a room design from the floor up. Often when designing a room, we begin with an inspiration fabric or accent color. Flooring is typically 30% of a room, so it should be a big factor in the overall design of the space.  Taking flooring into account at the beginning of your design will create a beautiful polished room in the end.

 

Even if you don’t love your existing flooring, choosing your flooring at the beginning of the design process is a good idea. Think of how you will use the space. Kitchens and bathrooms have different flooring needs than living and bedrooms. Do you have pets? Kids? High foot traffic? All of these should be taken into consideration when choosing flooring types and colors.

 

Once you have your beautiful floors selected, you can begin building your room.  Get samples of paint, wallpaper, fabric and accent colors to create a unified design.  When selecting colors for the room, take into account the color and tone of your floors.  Dark or light, warm or cool tones in the flooring will make wall and fabric colors look differently.  Keep floor color in mind especially if you have wood furniture on wood floors. A little bit of contrast between the woods will make the furniture stand out more; similar colors will make the two elements blend together.

 

Remember, if it all seems too overwhelming, involve the help of a flooring professional. They can help you pull everything together.

 

Karastan's new area rug styles for 2012

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(DALTON, GA—JANUARY, 2012) — Karastan is stepping into the New Year with a stellar line up of area rugs that celebrate timeless design yet are clearly in sync with today’s lifestyle needs. The group of newcomers—eight to be exact—joins two of Karastan’s most crowd-pleasing collections, and boast captivating colors and magnificent motifs.

All of the additions are nylon construction, woven in the U.S., and perfectly portray Karastan’s distinguished design principle of creating heirloom-quality floor coverings that stand the test of time.

Carmel Collection

Four new patterns have been created for this collection. They are fresh, fashion-forward looks brimming with botanical motifs and bold geometrics. Monte Vista Fog features a pleasing patchwork of traditional Persian florals in soothing shades of chocolate brown, steel gray and caramel that’s punched-up with paprika and lime green. Whitman Place Brown is a style that elevates a traditional classic to a modern masterpiece with its luminous interpretation of a Persian panel rendered in warm grays and cream with accents of ochre and amber. Bristol Lane Gray is a beauty boasting a Regency inspired fret pattern that caters to contemporary and classic styles with its caramel, ivory and gray tones. Portola Sage resonates with an earth-colored field of philodendron leaves that come to life against an ivory ground.

Knightsen Collection

Designed for connoisseurs of classic who appreciate contemporary compositions, this collection offers time-honored styles that have been enlivened with eye-catching colors. Among the four newcomers is Walnut Park Red, with a pleasing pairing of palmettes and vines that dance across a brilliant red field accented by ivory and chocolate brown. Equally expressive is Westridge Slate/Ivory, which entices with a scene of traditional rosettes and curvilinear vines in coral, yellow and gray. Its counterpart, Westridge Taupe/Plum, offers a similar sensation, yet is bolder in its beauty with coral, gold, purple and gray tones. A more traditional take is Prewett Ranch Fog that incorporates a decoration of spice, lime green and aqua-colored florals found within a gorgeous gray border.

Did Ricko the Rhino Destroy the Smart Strand Carpet?

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The SmartStrand challenge ended Friday. The carpet was cleaned with Mohawk Floor Care Products and it was a SUCCESS! The carpet was able to be 100% cleaned. Look for upcoming newspaper ads and TV commercials to show you how you can take advantage of SmartStrand carpet for your home!

Today on Floor Daily with Kemp Harr, David Duncan, VP of Residential Marketing, and Bart Rich, Brand Manager of Soft Surfaces, discuss how Mohawk’s SmartStrand carpet performed after 14 days in the Rhino habitat of the Birmingham Zoo. Listen to the interview to hear more about the results and how Mohawk plans to tie this in with dealers and consumers. To listen, click here: Smart Strand Challenge

Are you a fan of Ricko’s on Facebook? Did you follow along on his webcam? Did you follow along with the SmartStrand Challenge? Did you ever think the carpet would survive? Tell us how you were involved in the SmartStrand Challenge!

Mohawk's Everstrand Chosen for Daytime Emmy Show

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Mohawk’s EverStrand carpet was selected as the “red carpet” for the Daytime Emmy awards ceremony on Aug. 30.

The producers chose EverStrand as part of their effort to stage an environmentally sound production, Mohawk said.  Everstrand fiber is a polyester made using recycled plastic bottles.

The Emmys will use a variety of products and practices to show what can be done to protect and improve the environment, including recycling, using hybrid vehicles, reducing lighting to save energy, and other tactics.  The production is planned to be carbon neutral.

One out of every four bottles recycled in North America becomes Mohawk carpet.  Mohawk recycles more than three billion bottles every year, making the company the largest recycler of plastic bottles in the country.

Checking in with Ricko the Rhino and the SmartStrand Challenge

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It’s been a few days since our last update on Ricko the Rhino and the SmartStrand Challenge from Mohawk. (see previous posts here and here)

If you aren’t familiar with Ricko the Rhino and the SmartStrand Challenge, here’s the short version:

  • Ricko is a 12 year old, 2800 lb black rhino from the Birmingham Zoo.
  • His room, designed by Chip Wade from “Designed to Sell” was installed on August 13th with Mohawk SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona renewably sourced polymer carpet for him to live all over and do whatever it is that they do!
  • Ricko will be living on the carpet for a full 2 weeks!
  • You can see Ricko in action on his live webcam by clicking here.

Ricko and his fellow Black Rhinoceros friends have been listed as “critically endangered” since 1977 and unfortunately they continue to face threats from poachers who are after their horns. It has been difficult over the years to keep their numbers up, and with your support, you can help Ricko and his friends to maintain their ranks.

To get more a more personal connection to Ricko, follow Ricko on Twitter and Facebook! He’s got quite the following!

So far, the carpet is holding up remarkably well! I can’t wait to see it at the end of the test. You know that if this carpet can hold up to a 2800 lb rhino then it can hold up in your household!

If you are like me, then you are wondering exactly what carpet Ricko chose for his bachelor pad. It’s style “Sacred Star” in the color “Egg Nog” (#1326-515).

Tell us if you are also following Ricko and what your thoughts are on how this carpet will hold up!

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!

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