Check out the video below to learn more about why carpet is the best flooring for creating a quiet, comfortable home for your family.

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Throughout this past year and beyond, I’ve realized that our home and its atmosphere are so important for our well-being. With stay-at-home recommendations, it’s ultra necessary to feel safe, comfortable, and happy in your own home! A sanctuary, you might call it. After the start of fostering our two sweet daughters and getting to know them more, we wanted to update their rooms to match their personalities more. With back to school also coming up quickly, we thought it would be great to spruce up the rooms and get them ready for after-school relaxation! My hope is that you can use some of these to spruce up your own child’s room, as well! 

Here are some tips for sprucing up your child’s room: 

Keep your carpets fresh, beautiful, and clean by vacuuming and spot treating, if needed. 

Soft, plush carpet in children’s rooms is a must-have for me. In fact, I love the carpet in our bedroom and the guest bedroom as well! I don’t remember if I told you, but when we moved into our new home, the previous owners JUST replaced the upstairs carpet to exactly the style that I wanted with an ultra-plush carpet pad! We felt so blessed to not have to update ONE MORE thing. Truly, there is a carpet style, color, and pattern for every room AND everyone, but we were so happy they picked the one we also liked! 

In addition, the warmth and comfort that carpet provides is perfect for bedrooms, especially children’s rooms. Kids seem to gravitate towards carpeted areas when they play so they have a soft cushion underfoot or under their tush!

[Side note: Did you know it’s a myth that if you have asthma or allergies you need to remove carpet? Updated asthma/allergy guidelines from the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) do NOT include recommendations to remove carpet as a way to treat asthma and allergies.]

Lastly, and definitely not least, we love how carpet helps dampen the sound of toys and the patter of little feet and reduces slips and falls. I can’t even imagine how loud our home would be if we didn’t have carpet upstairs! 

We like to vacuum upstairs at least once a week. Sometimes more. Good as new in no time! 

Read the full post.

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This post from Modern Day Moguls is part of the 2021 Beauty of Carpet Spring campaign.

Springtime is the time for new beginnings as well as room refreshes! This go-around we are working on my youngest daughter’s room. She would describe her current room as “not my style” or “too mom-ish.” She says these like it’s a bad thing. A few years ago we ended up ditching our guest bedroom for my office and in turn, made her room suitable for guests.

When doing a room refresh, especially for those with finicky taste, I like to keep things as simple and budget-friendly as possible. Keeping with the same furniture and floor coverings really helps make this possible. Also, letting little ones feel like they are part of the process helps so much.

• There is a preconceived notion that carpet is too vanilla but there are so many styles, colors, and patterns available that there is literally something for everyone. A soft, warm cushion underneath little feet in the morning is always in style. If you want to spice it up a bit, I love adding a throw rug to the top of a carpet for a bit of color without a huge expense.
• When the girls get going and bouncing off the walls it really helps dampen the sound of gymnastics tumbles while keeping them safe from slips and falls.
• After doing a bit of research on Carpet & Rug Institute, turns out new carpet is the lowest VOC-emitting flooring choice available. CRI’s Green Label Plus program is a third-party certification that demonstrates which products are among the lowest emitting carpet, adhesive, and cushion products on the market. The vast majority of carpet sold in the US is certified Green Label Plus. It acts as a passive air filter, trapping dust, pollen, and particles- which removes them from the breathing zone. Which is so important in our littles’ spaces.
• Since our air quality is so bad outside right now, we are always trying to improve indoor air quality and carpet supports healthier spaces – including people with asthma and allergies. I am forever trying to figure out ways to help my girls keep their rooms clean and manageable and carpet really helps keep the dust down. Updated asthma/allergy guidelines from the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) do not include recommendations to remove carpet as a way to treat asthma and allergies

Read the entire post at Modern Day Moguls.

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This post is part of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Beauty of Carpet campaign. Read the full post at Modern Day Moguls.

Modern Day Moguls outlines how carpet is the perfect base for designing around the holidays!

Cozy– Carpet was such an easy choice in this room because I knew it would be a central working/collaboration spot for our family. Seeing that carpet is soft, warm and cozy underfoot it  makes hanging out in here so easy. Warm and cozy is important during these cooler months. Most of the time when I am working, the girls are laying on the floor working or color and the dog is right next to them.

Noise reduction – Carpet helps reduce the pitter patter of little feet making it easier to work in here. 

Healthy living – by improving indoor air quality, carpet supports healthier spaces for living for everyone – including people with asthma and allergies.

Easy maintenance –  I did go with a pretty bright white carpet color so that I could layer my vintage turkish rugs on top to provide a pop of color. This is very important when you like to change up decor as often as I do. A lot of people thought I was crazy for going so light with kids and a dog. But maintaining and cleaning your carpet is easy. We don’t do shoes in the house so that def helps. Also the CRI recommends regularly vacuuming your carpet, spot cleaning when necessary, and having your carpets professionally cleaned once a year.

The post Reasons We Love Carpet in the Holidays appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

This post is part of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Beauty of Carpet campaign. Read the full post at House of Hood!

Enter the #BeautyofCarpet sweepstakes here.

Carpet is a great choice for any room in your house, but I wanted to specifically share why we chose it for our girls’ bedrooms. Our girls are still little. They are 4 and 6, and are constantly playing with their dolls. They primarily play in their playroom and in their bedrooms. When choosing finishes for their rooms, we knew we wanted to add carpet since they are on the floor so much.

I know they’ll continue to start playing in their rooms more and more. Carpet is just so much more comfortable to play on vs. hardwood flooring. Like I said above, we didn’t do any carpet pad upgrades in our last home. Since we added a thicker carpet pad, it has made our carpet so much more cushy! Everyone that steps on our carpet comments on how comfortable it feels!

We are extremely happy with our carpet choice. Ryan and I chose a loop-style carpet. It is made out of 100% continuous filament nylon. They have a ton of really pretty colors to choose from.

The Carpet and Rug Institute offers a lot of great information on the benefits of carpet on their website. Make sure to check them out to learn more! They’re the thought leader in carpet, trends, and best practices!  The main reasons why we chose carpet are the beauty and style that it adds to our rooms. It is also super comfortable to sit on. I don’t mind getting on the floor to play with the girls in their rooms!

Improved Air Quality

If you happen to suffer from allergies, adding carpet can be a great way to help reduce your symptoms. According to CRI, new carpet is the lowest VOC-emitting choice available when it comes to choosing flooring. It helps trap dust, pollen, and other particles in the carpet so that you aren’t breathing them in through the air.

Comfort/Warmth and Noise Reduction

Carpet is the best choice in flooring if you want a comfortable and warm space to relax in. It helps reduce falls/trips and our dog Dexter really loves being on a carpeted floor. He runs all over the place, and being on carpet helps him from slipping.

Having carpet in the girls’ rooms also reduces noise. It also helps reduce noise from room to room. Carpet would be a great choice if you’re designing an office because of this benefit. We added carpet to my office for this reason!

Environmental Sustainability

Carpet is a great choice when it comes to finding a sustainable option for flooring. The carpet industry is minimizing the impact on the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling. Through the work of Carpet America Recovery Effort, they have helped to divert over 4 billion pounds of carpet from landfills since 2002. Isn’t that so great?!

Read the full post.

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Now more than ever we are seeing the importance of creating homes that act as a safe haven for our families. As we go through this tough time together, I’m glad we can take a moment to appreciate the little things, and reflect on how we can help our families (especially the children) feel a little safer in a turbulent time.

As our family has been staying home in the last couple weeks during the Coronavirus outbreak, I’ve found a new appreciation for the design choices I’ve made that allow us to be comfortable and cozy.

Today I thought I would share one of those design choices I have never regretted, and talk about the beauty of carpet in our spaces.

Carpeting is in style, and not a moment too soon for this family! Never once have we lost our love for carpet, because of it’s undeniable comfort under foot.

However, there are a myriad of other reasons carpet is my go-to choice when designing a space…

If you love the feel of carpet, but aren’t sure it’s for your home, I’m sharing my top 5 reasons I love carpet in my home. Today, we’re going to explore the beauty of carpet in the home.

#1. It’s Comfortable & Soft Underfoot

Once I asked my husband if he wanted me to consider installing wood floors in our bedroom… he looked at me like I was crazy and said “why do you hate my feet?”.

There is no doubt that our primary reason to love our carpeting is how soft and comfortable it is under foot. There is no denying that nothing is quite as pleasant to walk on than a carpeted floor.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered that my bare feet on a hard ground hurts my feet and aggravates my back. Thankfully the extra padding under carpeting allows me to walk around without having to don special padded shoes.

#2. It Makes A Design Statement

Don’t think you are going to sacrifice design for comfort. It is absolutely not true… with all the designer carpeting styles out there, the options for color, style, and pattern are endless!

As crazy as it sounds, every bedroom in our home has slightly different carpet, and it looks amazing! Why? Because carpet, like every other design decision, should be a statement in the space. If every room has it’s unique decor style, then why not it’s own designer carpeting style?

The trick to keep the whole house cohesive rather than looking like a patchwork is the transition between the rooms. Additionally, keep the carpet color fairly cohesive throughout and simply change the pattern style.

#3. It Works For The Way We Live

It’s not unusual to find one of my daughters sprawled on the floor, reading a book, or working on a project. For whatever reason, they prefer the floor…

That makes a warm, comfortable, padding flooring a priority. No cold hard floors in these girls bedrooms! It’s important to design for the way we live!

#4. It Keeps The Noise To A Dull Roar

I have three girls, and let me tell you, when they are chatting, giggling, and having a good time, they get loud! When you work from home like I do, noise reduction is the holy grail of productivity.

Between the carpet and pad beneath, it acts like much like sound proofing barriers do, and helps keep that noise down to a more dull roar. Especially between our upstairs and downstairs!

#5. Carpet Reduces Allergens In The Air

I have quite a few allergies and sensitivities, so to stay misery-free, allergen reduction becomes an important part of my life.

Most people don’t realize this, but carpeting actually helps capture more of the particles and dust mites that are circulated through the air. Once trapped, less of it is in the air and can be readily disposed of with regular cleaning, such as vacuuming. And since we are always running ceiling fans in our home, carpeting was a must!

Of course, I’m not the expert when it comes to this topic… The Carpet & Rug Institute is the resident expert on all things carpets. You’ll find information on how and why carpeting is good for indoor air quality, and more.

Read the full post at Home Made by Carmona.

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Carpet scores high on health and safety, acoustics and comfort, and environmental benefits. And, new research shows carpet no more likely to transfer bacteria than hard surface floors.

Titled, “These Factors Drive School Carpet Success,” the article describes how “carpet is a better choice for schools than most commonly used flooring materials.” Among the factors that make it the preferred choice, the article lists sustainability, health concerns, safety issues, ergonomic considerations, and acoustic performance.

Under sustainability, the article stresses the importance of proper cleaning and maintenance: “Properly maintained carpeting stays in use and out of the waste stream longer, contributing to lower lifecycle costs. Furthermore, when product, installation, and maintenance supplies and labor costs are considered over a 15-to-20-year period, carpet delivers lower lifecycle costs than other floor covering.”

On the issue of carpet and health, interesting new research from the healthcare design industry shows that carpet is no more likely to transfer bacteria than hard surface floors. “One recent study reported that carpet surfaces are no more likely to transmit infections than hard surfaces. In fact, it was suggested that certain hard-surface floors may have higher potential to transmit infections. While no cause could be defined for this observation, one theory proposes that a carpet’s textured surface limits hand-surface contact area and that the tendency of carpet to increase the contact time of cleaning solutions allows them to perform more effectively. Further, it has been suggested that carpet appears to sequester biocontaminants, keeping them out of the range of contact for transmission and out of the breathing zone.”

On the related issues of carpet’s effect on asthma and allergy and indoor air quality, the article states: “To date, carpet has not been proven to provoke asthma and/or allergies. Its low VOC levels improve the indoor air quality.

In fact, carpet may emit the lowest levels of VOC among common flooring choices and is one of the lowest-emitting products used in new construction and renovation-much lower than products such as paint. Carpet certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label Plus program emits very low levels of VOCs for very short periods of time and is unlikely to act as an allergy activator.

Quite simply, the science available today concludes that carpet may be less likely to transmit infections than hard-surface floors, does not cause asthma or allergies, and does not increase the incidence or severity of asthma and/or allergy symptoms.”

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