As anyone familiar with the tribes of North-West Africa will guess, the Berber carpet is named after the nomadic Berber tribes found in this region of the world. These people have used these particular weaving techniques for thousands of years and for a very good reason. By the day, the deserts of North Africa are scorching hot but by night, the temperature can plummet and the air becomes very cold. The tribe’s people thus made use of this fabric to wrap themselves up in during the night and still do to this day.

The Berber tribe mostly used camel hair or wool but nowadays, Berber carpets can be found in a variety of materials including olefin and nylon. Most carpets of this type are found in lighter colors and tones such as off-white and cream and this is the traditional style the carpet is found in. However, there are more modern designs which make use of darker colors.

The main benefit of Berber carpets, apart from their attractive appearance, is their ability to withstand wear and tear. A carpet of this type placed in an area where people often tread, will stand up to the test of time very well. The same goes for the onslaught that is vacuum cleaning. Some rugs can be damaged by the vacuum process, but this isn’t the case with the sturdy Berber rug. That said, if you buy the cheapest type of Berber, then don’t expect it to be as strong as the mid-priced and expensive versions. This is usually the case with any item you buy.

The main drawback of a Berber carpet is the fact that it doesn’t stand up well to stains. You can find stain-resistant Berber carpets and these are ideal for more messy areas of the home but in general, the rug will need to be taken to a professional cleaning service if damaged in this way. The dense fibres also mean that any dirt that finds its way into the carpet will be relatively difficult to get out again. If you have cats, it’s also likely to be highly attractive to them as a scratching post due to its particular weave and thus at risk of being unravelled.

There are pros and cons to every type of carpet and the benefits and risks need to be weighed up in relation to your home and lifestyle. That said, a Berber carpet is very beautiful and comes to a lot of cultural history behind it. It’s hard to imagine this type of carpet not being a good fit into most styles of home décor.

The main thing to consider therefore is how to get some of these more common of stains out. There are so many theories when it comes to removing/minimising stains that seemingly everybody has a different technique (most untested and inherently wrong).

We have taken it upon ourselves to outline what we consider to be the best way of dealing with the most common of party stains. As we are currently in a bit of a festivity dry period at the moment, so brush up now or forever live with that strange brown stain!

Beer
Beers stains are one of the most common party stains, whether it is from lots of half empty glasses being precariously placed or due to over excited dancing a stain from this most ancient of liquids is hard to avoid. To remove try creating a mixture of one teaspoon of detergent, a teaspoon of white vinegar and 1000ml of warm water. This mixture is good to use on the majority of fibres including nylon, olefin, polyester, wool and acrylic.

Lipstick
More often than not you have no idea where it came from, or why someone was applying lipstick that close to the floor. Lipstick is an oil based stain, which is good to keep in mind when trying to treat it. A good first trick is to blot the lipstick with alcohol gently, if you keep this up it should take the stain out. Otherwise find a detergent which has a grease fighting formula, apply it to the stain and leave for 10 minutes. Once the set amount of time has elapsed work at the stain with warm water from the outside inwards.

Red wine
This is probably the classic party stain and the one where so many different stain removal techniques are suggested. It always amuses me (if it isn’t at my house) that the probability of a stain usually increasing as the night progresses. The tried and trusted process should be to firstly blot out the stain as quickly as you can with paper towels. Then combine a teaspoon of laundry soap and a cup of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl and dab the stain with a new sponge. Then put a dry towel over the stain and gently dry. Once dry, if the stain remains wash again gently with a bowl of warm water and laundry detergent.

Ketchup
We all know ketchup stains are tricky to deal with and sometimes we only get to see the stains once they are dry. The key to dealing with a ketchup stain is getting to it as quickly as possible and gently scraping as much up of the material. If the stain is dry gently wet it with warm water once ready add ½ a teaspoon of detergent or carpet cleaning solution into a litre of cold water. Soak a cloth in the mixed solution then lay the damp cloth over the stain. Use the back of the spoon to massage the stain using a spiral pattern from the outside inwards. Remove the cloth and spray warm water onto the stain, remove the excess water then dry using paper towels or a cloth.

Coffee
Most of you will have come across this stain, and I would guess the majority of you found it pretty tricky to remove. Initially it seems to come away quickly, but it is extremely tricky to get rid of it totally. To start with try to soak up as much of the spillage as possible using kitchen towels or a cloth. Next create a solution of a teaspoon of white vinegar, a teaspoon of detergent and 1000ml of warm water.

These ideas are brought to you in association with The Rug House. The Rug House are one of the UK’s biggest stockists of large rugs, make some incredible savings by checking out their latest rugs for sale. All The Rug House rugs have a price match guarantee too, meaning if you find a rug cheaper elsewhere in the UK we will match it.

After all how hard can buying the right carpet be? Well you are right and if you take a few simple steps and do a bit of research then buying a new carpet is easy. But it is very easy to be taken in by a special offer in a carpet showroom and buy the wrong carpet.

This does happen and if it happens to you, it will be costly as you may well end up buying another carpet just a few months later.

Firstly you should consider that you will get a far better service if your chosen carpet company comes out to you, rather than you simply taking your room measurements to them.

The reason for this is that they will be able to bring along samples of underlay, and even gripper rods. Both of these items can be essential to a good carpet fitting.

You may as an example have an old carpet that needs replacing, and if it does the chances are that the underlay and the gripper rods will do as well.

Fitting your own carpet is not advised for the above reasons. Laying carpet is a specialist skill and whilst you could save a few pounds by laying one yourself, you then still have to think of the time it will take to rip up the old carpet, underlay and gripper rods, and then if you cut the carpet wrongly you may have a major problem! Also who will dispose of the old carpet – doubt it will fit in your car!

By using a “Full service” carpet company, they will be able to remove your old carpet, underlay and gripper rods. They will then lay down new rods and underlay to a professional standard, ensuring that when your new carpet is laid down, it is to the highest of standards.

Also by having a carpet company come to your own house they will also be able to advise on the correct grade of carpet you need. This may sound simple but if you buy a cheap roll end of carpet that is not designed for use in a shower room, but then place it in one, you will then find it is constantly damp and lets water through to the flooring below it.

So when choosing carpet always use a specialist, do not risk buying the wrong carpet on your own.

This article comes from Beautiful Flooring, a collection of quality flooring retailers across the UK – Buy carpet online or visit us in-store.

So first of all when looking at carpet versus wooden floors you need to have a look at your lifestyle. For example do you have pets or children, or both?

Well if you just have cats or dogs, then there is a lot to be said for laminate floors as they are easy to keep clean in the event of “Accidents”, also they mean your pets will virtually never get fleas. Wooden floors can just be mopped clean if dirty, however it may be susceptible to scratching over a period of time.

Also laminate flooring is not child friendly as it has no cushioning bounce to it, in the event your little one falls over!
That said with carpet it does stain easier, and it does wear out easier than laminate flooring. However you can normally pay extra to have it scotch guarded, which is an invisible waterproof coating that helps to keep off stains such as red wine in the event that a glass is knocked over.

Carpet is also warmer to the touch underfoot, it is also normally easy to clean each week, with only a simple sweep of a vacuum cleaner being required. Carpet also comes in a far wider ranger of textures and colours.

In addition carpet can be made to fit any space far more easily than laminate flooring can be. As an example you could not realistically use laminate flooring in the same way that you could do with carpet in a lot of areas. Laminate flooring cannot be made to curl around stair treads as an example!

However in high traffic areas carpet can wear faster than laminate flooring and this is why a lot of modern properties have a mixture of both. As an example if you have a dog that stays downstairs, then having tiled or laminate floors downstairs and carpet upstairs makes a lot of sense.

However if you have no pets and small children instead, then having carpet throughout your house makes a lot of sense.

Looking to buy a new carpet or wood floor? Buy carpet and wood flooring online, or visit us in-store at one of the many Beautiful Flooring retailers.

The first, and to my mind the best thing that you can do is to get your carpet scotch guarded. Scotch guard is a universal treatment that can be applied to any fabric, such as curtains, jackets or carpets. It is totally clear when applied so it can be put down on any colour of carpet. It then forms a virtually invisible barrier, which means if you spill coffee or red wine on your nice new cream coloured carpet, then you can mop/swipe the liquid up without it staining the carpet permanently.

Without this treatment a light coloured carpet can be ruined if you drop coffee on it.

Also if you are going to be spending a lot of money on carpet then do not try and save money by skimping on the quality of the underlay that you use. Always buy the best underlay that you can, not only will it last longer, a good underlay will make the carpet feel so much better underfoot.

And whatever you do, never put a carpet down without underlay, as if you do, the high traffic areas can see your carpet wearing out within months.

Buying a carpet can be a big investment, a good quality carpet such as Axminster can cost over £50 per square metre so it can be silly to skimp on underlay when spending such a large sum.

To ensure that you get the best from your carpet you need to ensure that you vacuum it twice a week (This is particularly important if you have pets, in order to keep fleas and ticks down) on a regular basis.

You should also budget for getting your carpet professionally cleaned at least every three months. You will notice the difference immediately with a lighter coloured carpet, however just bear in mind that a darker coloured carpet will pick up exactly the same amount of dirt during the same period.

Having your carpet cleaned regularly will help maintain its useful life. If a carpet is well maintained it will last for around ten years or more.

For more carpet advice and information, visit Beautiful Flooring; buy carpet online and visit us across the UK at one of our nationwide flooring retailers.

Carpets

I like carpets in a house
Carpets keep warmth in.
I love to walk barefoot
I love the feel of carpet on my feet.

For a house that has clean colors
I would choose a colorful carpet as you see in the picture.
The carpet will bring forth joy and the colors provide clean lines

The carpets I have at home,
They are soft handmade carpets.
Very simple to clean are these carpets
And just as easy to pick up and change their places.

My house has a lot of carpets!
All sorts of sizes and colors
So …
You can also try and I know you will not regret!

Happy Winter!
Missy Poem.

Most commonly, Afghan rugs are made in the Bukhara print, also known as the octagonal elephant’s foot which usually comes in a deep red or tan coloring, like in the rug images shown in this very post. By the way, Bukhara is in fact a city in Uzbekistan and not in Afghanistan but an Afghan rug does not necessarily have to come from Afghanistan itself. Many surrounding nations have adopted the style and ways of Afghan rug making.

These two Afghan rugs are in fact available to purchase online. The first picture shows the Kashimar Afghan Rug whilst the second shows the more geometric Gem Multi Border Afghan Rug. Both of these deep red rugs will make attractive and sophisticated decorative additions to a variety of rooms in the home. They can be used in a number of ways including as wall hangings and floor rugs.

If you have a traditional setting which will compliment these deep red Afghan rugs, especially with matching Middle Eastern furniture, then these will definitely make an interesting purchase. One thing is for sure, the craftsmanship that goes into these intricate and impressive Afghan rugs is of a very high quality. You can read more about both Afghan rugs as well as see larger pictures of them via the two links noted above.

The Stars and Stripes rug as seen in the picture above is made by the proud American Milliken textile company based in South Carolina. Dating back all the way to the year 1865, the company has since grown to become a leading force in the textile industries, not only in the United States, but also the world. They’ve received numerous awards and accolades including the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and entry into the British Standards Institute for Excellence in Quality.

This premium quality nylon fiber rug is a perfect gift for a proud American. The colors are tastefully toned down to avoid brashness and the design is understated yet imbued with the passion of the stars and strips. It really is a great rug to have in the same room where one would watch a football or baseball game.

You can buy this patriotic rug by following the link below. It comes in three different sizes depending on how big or small you want it.

Click here to buy the American Stars and Stripes Rug

The main characteristic is their very thick pile which is woven in a low knot density. Most designs are geometric and convey a wide range of themes and meanings. Some tell stories, others emotions, more still are purely depicting a beautiful landscape. However, the most common reason for the making of a Gabbeh Rug is to tell a tale, the weaver’s tale. This means each rug is unique and subjective in meaning.

The majority of weavers in the past were women and the rugs were created for family use. One can see in many of the designs, a definite female quality and outlook on the world. From a sociological standpoint, this offers a fascinating insight into the life and work of tribal Persian women through the centuries.

You can see a selection of Gabbeh tribal rugs as well as purchase the one pictured above, from here: Persian Hand Knotted Wool Gabbeh Rug

Elisa Stroyzk, a German design student at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design has created a rug comprised of wood-veneer offcuts. These are bounded to a textile backing which allows for a geometric structural fluidity. The wooden quilt could be mistaken for a static wooden sculpture and that is part of its amazing attraction. It can be shaped into anything one so desires and can even be used as a sleeping blanket.

Stroyzk refers to her innovative creation as the “wooden textile”. She gained the concept when playing with veneer wood leftovers from a closing-down wood workshop nearby. All the pieces are individually cut, either by hand or by lasers, and then stuck onto the textile base.

The geometric rugs were inspired by the presumptions that people make about everyday objects and furnishings. Like many designers of her generation and previous, her aim was to confuse meanings and switch material properties, from what we consider to be the norm. The forms and functions of household items become merged and evolve into hybrids.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but you can see the creative talent behind the concept and design of the wooden quilt or wood rug.

See her website: Elisa Stroyzk

H/T: Inhabitat

Photographs: Sebastian Neeb