There are perks to being an interior designer, I must say. One of my favorites (as well as my co worker’s) is our access to free shizz that we can use in our homes. We constantly order samples of products (carpet, tile, stone, fabric, etc) that we use on projects or in the planning process, which leads to tons of leftover samples that can either be returned to the manufacturer or used for our own devices. Thus, the free carpet tile rug was born.
My co-worker and I came up with the brilliant idea of using leftover carpet tiles samples to make rugs in our homes. A non-perk of our job is the smaller paycheck, so the free rugs are a necessity in our home decor budgets. It also gives us the flexibility to change out area rugs in our house without worrying about spending another $500 when we change our minds…which happens a lot.
I plopped down a carpet tile rug in our guest bedroom one day with some leftover samples from a project I was working on. Said project then proceeded to stab us in the back and go with a larger firm, so the sight of the rug brought chunks up in my throat. Not really on the chunks, but the rug just wasn’t cutting it for me. The dark espresso color just wasn’t meshing with the cherry wood floors and was too dark for the tiny room. I decided to contact one of my flooring reps and ask her to send me a few other samples of a carpet I had seen installed recently so I could try it out in place of the other rug (which may make an appearance elsewhere in the house…goody!)
Ahh, that nice khaki color really brightens things up a bit, don’t you think? I needed something to bring some contrasting colors to the dark floor and I think this does just the trick. Now, I know that everyone doesn’t have access to an unlimited library of commercial carpet tiles, but don’t fret! Interface, a commercial flooring company that we use often, also has a residential line called FLOR that provides carpet tiles that anyone can purchase. The beauty of carpet tile is that if one tile gets stained, you simply replace it with another – pennies less than if you’d have to replace an entire area rug. Beautiful.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a plush, wool area rug as much as the next person. But until I discover an ingenious product like post its and make a bazillion dollars, it’s free carpet tile rugs for the majority of my abode.
P.S. I really do love post scripts. It’s a sickness. I have been MIA from the blog because my best bud was visiting and I was enjoying hanging with her and not thinking about blogging. So sorry for being so absent… did I just apologize for having a life? I think I need to get my priorities straight.
No need to apologize for having a life. Just because some of us check this blog daily, don’t feel pressured. We need to get a life, I guess. I love the carpet tiles, by the way. The dark one photographed sort of funky. What’s with that?
Ooops. Are those birds on the dark ones?
[...] this room was really missing was a (free carpet tile) rug. We brought in the orange and navy accents in these tiles, as well as a little thread that [...]