Infloormation

The challenge was to find a replacement for silk. The United States was in a wartime economy, in the middle of WWII, and we were running out of silk to make parachutes and other military textiles. Embracing this challenge, the chemical and textile engineers at DuPont invented a synthetic replacement for silk, which came to be called nylon. Because of its strength, durability and flexibility, nylon fibers found their way into a host of different markets, including commercial and residential carpet manufacturing.

60 years later, the essential chemical structures of nylon remain exactly the same as they were in their wartime debut. What have made dramatic changes are the processes for dyeing, constructing and finishing carpet products. Decades of improvement in these technologies means significant gains in the way nylon carpets perform on your floors. Fortunately, these improvements extend to both cut-pile (plush) and loop pile carpet constructions.

Contributing significantly to nylon’s success as the world’s most specified fiber for carpet is its characteristic colorfastness. In particular, solution-dyed nylon – where the polymer is colored prior to its extrusion into fiber – is almost completely impervious to the effects of exposure to direct sunlight or bleach! Even when the fiber is dyed after extrusion, today’s advanced technologies for stain and soil protection keep nylon extremely colorfast.

Once constructed, installed and maintained properly, you can expect your nylon carpet to retain its original shape and appearance for many years. In fact, nylon carpet will never actually wear out . . . it just gets ugly once its useful life ends.

Over decades, carpet markets and styles have changed, but what hasn’t changed much is the available selection of carpet fibers! Today, just like 20 years ago, nylon and polyester are the sales leaders for residential carpet. Fortunately for us as consumers, their quality has continued to improve. Wool owns but a tiny piece of the market, yet remains the standard for luxury and comfort.

•    Nylon
o    Has led the residential sales market for 50 years
o    Looks good, resists stain, and performs extremely well at reasonable prices
o    Can be expected to last for 10 – 20 years with basic maintenance (when installed over a quality cushion)

•    Polyester
o    The “comeback kid” of carpet, has overcome a reputation of performing poorly
o    Now accounts for up to one-fourth of residential carpet sales
o    Performs well when constructed properly – with multiple plies and twists in the yarn

•    Wool
o    Known for its distinctive beauty, charm, color saturation and elegance for hundreds of years
o    Grows old gracefully, compared to nylon, which “uglies out” as it ages
o    Performs wonderfully for 20 years or more when given basic maintenance and installed over a quality pad.

Stay tuned for upcoming blog entries, where each of the individual fibers will be highlighted.

Understanding Color Part 3: Color Blending from Room to Room

Great room designs create a comfortable, livable home. Connecting kitchen, dining room and family room in one space allows your family to connect even when involved in numerous activities. The challenge is decorating with color without ending up with a space that is monochromatic or filled with so many colors that it moves from decorated to color-cluttered. What is the best approach to balancing color with three connected spaces? How about using three connected colors?

Pick your color palette based on the furniture you already have, your flooring choice or choices, and your personal preferences. Look for three colors that work well together, but are different enough to make a space interesting. A visit to an upholstery fabric store may help give you ideas. Look for patterned fabrics that contain the colors you’re considering, and get sample swatches of the fabrics that match your color interests. Bring them home and you will discover that several work really well with your flooring and paint choices.

Once you’ve chosen your three focal colors, decide which room will feature which color. Try each color in each room, and see if any work particularly well. Furniture or curtains may already direct your color choices. Don’t be shy about adding an accent wall to emphasize one of your colors in a specific area. Then use accessories, pillows, table linens and other features to pull the focal colors into every space in your great room. This will help the space feel interconnected, while allowing each area to have a personality of its own.

Understanding color part 2:

Warm vs. cool neutrals – which choice works best for your home.

While most people think choosing a neutral is the “safe” option, in reality the wrong neutral can make a room feel disjointed. One of the most common mistakes involves not factoring in whether a neutral’s tone is cool or warm. Cool neutrals include white, ivory, gray and silver. Black, gold, tan and beige make up warm neutrals.

Neutrals also run every part of the warm-cool continuum, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether a tone is warm or cool. If you’re not sure, look for the colors underlying the neutral. Blues run under cool neutrals and oranges and yellows are part of warm neutrals. Comparing neutrals against each other can also help you determine the relative cool/warm nature of the tones.

Even in a color-filled room, neutrals help set off the colors, giving the eye places to rest, and integrating colors into an effective whole. On the other hand, if you’re considering a monochromatic room in neutral tones, take advantage of the variety of textures available to add interest to the space.

Most people prefer a neutral flooring choice. That can be a great idea; as long as you make sure that the neutral you choose coordinates well with the other neutrals and colors in the room. Bring samples of other room colors and neutrals with you when choosing flooring, or borrow a sample to bring back home before you make your final decision. The right neutral can provide the background that lets your colors pop.

Stay tuned for the last post in this series and click here if you missed part 1!

Understanding Color Part 1: Warm vs. Cool Colors

Do you remember painting color wheels in grade school art class? You started with the three primary colors, red, yellow and blue, and then filled in the secondary colors. Then it got confusing for most of us. Well, although generally our artistic days are past, that work can still have some value when you’re adding color to your home. One of the basic concepts, warm vs. cool colors, comes in handy when matching color to purpose for various spaces.

First: a quick, review. Warm colors are oranges and yellows, along with connected colors such as orange-reds, yellow-greens and browns. For the most part, warm colors are sunny day colors. Cool colors are rainy day colors: modifications of blue: purples, turquoises, blue-greens and some blue-toned reds and pinks.

When considering color and space, other issues come into play. Warm colors seem to advance to meet us in a room. They are welcoming and can create a sense of excitement. Cool colors are more distant. They tend to be calm and relaxing in a space. This means that different rooms benefit from different color choices. A room where you host parties may be more inviting if the color scheme leans in the warm direction. On the other hand, if you are designing a nursery, you don’t want to paint the walls a color such as yellow that will keep the baby awake and alert all the time!

If you walk through your home, chances are you will find that most of your rooms have a combination of warm and cool colors. This is generally a good idea. Cool colors in an otherwise warm-colored room will create pockets of serenity and keep the space under control. A few warm colors, however, in a basically cool-colored room will make the room seem friendlier. In a cool color space, only a few warm touches are needed, because warm colors have such a strong visual impact.

Want to change some colors? You may find that considering your current balance of warm and cool colors and measuring that up against a room’s purpose may help you determine whether you want to go warmer or cooler in your new color selections. If you’re still not sure about your color direction, grab a few warm or cool color samples from other rooms and scatter them around the room, or remove some warm or cool elements from a room, and see what kind of difference it makes to the feeling of a space.

You can always call us and we’ll be happy to help find the right color floor to compliment the colors in your home!

Steps to Selecting the Right Area Rug

Part Two: Shopping for the Right Rug

Now that you have determined the size, material and colors for your rug (see Steps to Selecting the Right Area Rug Part One), it’s time to start shopping.  It’s important to find a trustworthy store, like us for your rug purchase. In the rug industry, there are often less than reputable operations, and what may look like a bargain could be anything but. Unless you are a rug expert, the best option is to rely on a store with a good reputation.

Have you determined your budget? A room-sized rug can vary in price from a few hundred dollars to well into the thousands. Are you looking for an heirloom or just something soft for your feet or the children’s play space? Budget accordingly! Whatever your budget, we can help you find the right rug for your situation.

Once you get here, take your time. We are here to be both knowledgeable and helpful, but there are many choices of rugs to choose from. Be sure to describe your specifications to us, so we can help point you in the right direction more quickly and easily. Once you narrow your choices to one or two,  make sure you see a rug that is hanging vertically on the floor before you make a final decision on it. Rugs look very different upright than when horizontal!

If you are anxious to get started, click here to look at our selection of area rugs online.

We are proud to share with you news about one of our family members at Pierce Flooring. His name is Kevan Coombs. He is a National Champion power lifter!!(His weight class is 220 lbs.)

Kevan’s accomplishments:

• He just qualified for the World Championship
• Kevan  has competed for 17 years
• He has competed in 72 competitions, finishing in 1st place 59 times!
• Kevan is a 4 time National Champion and is now the National Record holder in Bench Press at 452 lbs.!
• He is also the previous National record holder in the Deadlift at 600 lbs.

We are very proud of Kevan’s accomplishments and wanted to share with you our enthusiasm!

Before you begin the shopping process, here are some tips and hints on how to select the right area rug.

Before You Start Shopping:

Are you excited about shopping for a new area rug, but not sure where to begin? Here are some straightforward suggestions to get you started.

The more closely you can define what you want before you ever head out the door, the easier the process of selecting your new area rug will become. We’re going to look at three key areas to consider: size, material type, and style.

Size depends upon the total space available in a room and the purpose of the rug. For example, a dining room rug should extend at least two feet beyond the edge of the table on any side with chairs, to enable diners to push away without dropping off the rug. Living room spaces need a rug that frames the furniture and connects it together – it’s best to have the rug encompass all the furniture in the grouping. Be sure to take a look at the total size of the room – rugs that come too close to the walls on all sides makes rooms feel smaller.

Rugs are available in a variety of materials. Think of the rug’s purpose when choosing. If the space experiences a lot of foot traffic, choose a durable material such as nylon or wool. For a rug that will probably take quite a bit of abuse, consider an indoor-outdoor rug, which is designed to be tough and can be rinsed off with a hose.

Finally – what look do you want your rug to achieve? Will it bring color and pattern to a room that you want to liven up? Will it soften a hard surface while staying unobtrusive? Do you need more light in a darker space, or a darker rug to anchor the room? Stand and look at the rug’s future location, and think about what color or colors will enrich the feel of the space. Do you have a chair or an accessory with a color you would like to see more of in the room? Pull that color out through your rug choice.

With a couple of photos of the space and some color samples such as throw pillows or paint chips, you’re ready to start your rug search.

To browse and shop for rugs on our website, please click here!