Irwin Weiner ASID - If you're inclined to neglect the decorating and design contributions that floors and floor fashion con bring to a room, please reconsider. What's often underfoot when you step into any room will create first and lasting impressions.- The flooring material itself should be durable and beautiful. (Keep up with floor fashion trends as well.)
- Match flooring to your traffic patterns and room usage. Will you need a washable surface to easily clean spills? Is your flooring durable enough to stand up to muddy and snowy boots and shoes tramping in from the outdoors?
- Do you want your flooring to be patterned and call attention to itself ... or fade into the rest of the room?
- Do you want underfloor heating to warm up the room? For instance, there's nothing worse than going barefoot in your kitchen on a cold stone floor!
Once you have your basic flooring materials lined up, it's time to turn attention to what we call "floor fashions." Area rugs and smaller rugs can define a conversation grouping, accent where the family eats a meal together, or even delimit spaces in an open-plan home.
In a recent visit to Cape Town, South Africa, we had the pleasure to interview Pierre Antoine, owner of Fibre Creations. In the following video, you'll hear Pierre's advice for how to decorate with rugs and see some of his latest innovative floor fashions, including a fantastic indoor-outdoor line of soft and durable wovens, the Verandah Collection (see top photo). Visit the Fibre Creations website for more information - and they also have an excellent guide page with recommendations on how to clean and care for your carpets and rugs.
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