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IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CARPETS
by Bill Hudson: As published in the Pagosa Daily Post

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"My carpet sales increase in the winter — and my tile sales increase in the summer.  It seems to be seasonal."

Stefanie Harville, the owner of Flooring By Design, was showing me books of new carpet samples at her showroom on Park Avenue. "That's totally unscientific," she admitted.  "But it seems like people come in wanting warmer surfaces at this time of year."  Continued...

Wool or modern synthetic carpet materials can both make excellent choices for area rugs, to warm a winter floor.  Flooring By Design in uptown Pagosa Springs features a wide range of carpet materials, colors and styles.

Makes sense.  That gorgeous hardwood floor that you installed last summer might not seem so wonderful with cool basement temperatures seeping up into the soles of your bare feet as you head for the kitchen for a cup of morning coffee.  Oooh.  That kitchen tile is a bit on the cool side as well.

But you may not want to cover your lovely floor permanently with wall-to-wall carpet, just on account of a few cold mornings.

Luckily, Flooring By Design has an affordable, attractive — and versatile — solution: 

Area rugs.

"I think area rugs are not only a good way to warm up your wood floors and tile floors, but they're also a way to add color to your room," Harville notes.  "They are very decorative.  We can make custom wool area rugs, for example.  We have several companies that will make custom rugs, but we also have pre-made area rugs, like from Shaw Carpets."

Area rugs — made with finished, durable, serged edges — can easily be rolled up and stored when they are no longer needed.  And they can be made from practically any carpet material available through Flooring By Design.

Harville also thinks people are more apt to replace their existing wall-to-wall carpets at this time of year.

"I don't know if it has to do with family coming over for the holidays, or whatever.  But I've had several people come in recently, wanting to replace a worn-out carpet."

Carpeting is often the most affordable way to renew a floor — with prices as low as $3 a square foot, installed — compared with wood and tile, running about $10 a square foot.

Area rugs can be even more affordable.

"Let's say the tile in your kitchen is cold, but you have a nice large kitchen.  You can make small area rugs for just the areas where you spend time standing — under your island or under your kitchen sink, for example."

Harville said she had donated area rugs to several local fundraising events — including to the Chamber of Commerce, the Parade of Stores, the Builders Association, and the American Cancer Society — and the rugs had proven themselves to be understandably popular items.

"An area rugs needs a non-yellowing rug pad underneath it, especially if you are using to cover a wood floor," Harville says.  Some carpet materials can affect the color of a wood floor if laid directly on the wood surface.

In terms of wall-to-wall carpet, Harville notes, "professional installation can make or break the job.  A poor installation job can require replacement of the carpet within just days — because, you know, the seams will start showing, the carpet will start unraveling.  Quite simply, a good installation job will increase the longevity of your carpet — even if it's inexpensive carpet."

Even if you have to buy a little extra carpet to make sure your seams are out of a high traffic area, Harville says, "that's probably a good idea."  And a high quality pad under the carpet will increase the carpet's longevity as well.

"We start with an 8 pound pad, typically.  An installation from, say, Home Depot will often start with a 3 pound pad."  The price of an 8 pound pad, Harville says, adds very little to the overall installation cost.

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