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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Being at home more often has inspired many people to make changes in their favorite spaces that focus on health and comfort. You might be surprised to learn that carpeting a room supports both these goals, plus offers near-endless style possibilities.

Carpet is a popular flooring option, accounting for 48% of the total U.S. flooring market, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute. Adding carpet or refreshing the carpet you already have in your home has many benefits, from helping you breathe easier to keeping loved ones safe. Here are the top reasons people are opting for carpet:

Health and Indoor Air Quality

Carpet can help support a healthy home, even for people with asthma and allergies. The updated asthma management guidelines from the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute do not include recommendations to remove carpet as a way to treat asthma and allergies.

“Scientific research shows that carpet does not negatively impact allergies or asthma. In fact, carpet can improve your home’s air quality by trapping allergens, keeping them out of the breathing zone, and making them easy to vacuum,” said Dr. Michael Halwig, allergy specialist on the clinical faculty of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga. “All too often patients have been advised to remove carpeting in the home to deal with environmental allergies. This is often expensive and impractical for many families. Current knowledge shows that the use of vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters and other environmental control measures are much more effective in reducing allergens in the home.”

Many people are installing additional carpet in their homes to help improve air quality. Fortunately, the vast majority of carpet sold in the U.S. is certified through CRI’s Green Label Plus program, a third-party certification that demonstrates products are among the lowest emission emitting carpet, adhesive, and cushion products on the market.

Safety and Noise Reduction

With people spending more time at home, indoor noise pollution is becoming a big problem. Carpet and carpet pads help absorb excessive sounds to soften noises within a room while serving as a sound barrier between floors. This is especially important in rooms with large TVs, sound systems, or speakerphones, as well as in hallways and on stairs to soften foot traffic. Whether you’re working, studying, or relaxing, carpet reduces noise so you can focus.

Carpet is also a safe choice, particularly in multigenerational homes. In addition to added comfort in cushioning footsteps, carpet can help reduce slips and falls that may occur more easily on hard surface flooring. Carpet is safe for the whole family, but especially for toddlers and older individuals who are more prone to falls. If a fall does happen, carpet can help minimize injury.

Fashion and Functionality

Carpet can serve as a neutral foundation, in popular tones of gray, cream, or beige, or it can be a focal point featuring vibrant colors and bold patterns. With thousands of carpet styles, colors, textures, and designs, you can select an option that suits your personal taste and complements your home’s aesthetic.

Beyond beauty, carpet provides a great place to sit and is comfortable underfoot. Because carpet provides thermal insulation, it helps maintain a room’s optimum temperature; for example, in cooler months it retains warm air for longer. It feels good and looks good, helping create an inviting feeling in any room.

“With two toddlers, a dog, and two cats, carpet was a must-have throughout our home. Carpet provides comfort, warmth, and style — and we also love that it improves indoor air quality,” said Chelsee Hood, mother and blogger. “Many families are choosing to install carpet for these reasons and more, making it a great feature in the modern home.”

To learn more about the research and benefits of carpet, visit www.beautyofcarpet.com.

The post Carpet Helps You Create a Healthy, Stylish, Comfortable Home appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

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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In December 2020, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an organization under the National Institutes of Health, released new guidelines for the treatment of asthma and allergies. The guidelines are comprehensive in their content and are used by numerous organizations in government and the medical community.

For CRI, the updated guidance is neutral concerning carpet removal and does not include any recommendations regarding removing carpet as a way to treat asthma and allergies. 

“The process to update these guidelines has been a long-term project, but represents a positive development for our industry,” CRI President Joe Yarbrough said. “We’re glad to see these findings published that recognize the most up-to-date science on carpet and indoor air quality.”

The Carpet and Rug Institute has long held that carpet is the best flooring for improving indoor air quality in homes, commercial spaces, and all other indoor areas.

Our research has consistently shown how carpet keeps allergens, dirt, and debris out of the breathing zone. By trapping these particles in the fiber, carpet acts as a passive filter until the particulate can be removed through regular cleaning.

It is simple science: Carpet improves air quality by trapping particles, dirt, and debris in carpet which keeps them out of the air you breathe. Regular cleaning then removes the particles for good.

The EPA highlights how most people spend a major amount of time indoors making the air quality of these environments paramount. By using carpet, consumers can create a space with positive indoor air quality and breathe easier.

Learn more about carpet and indoor air quality.

The post New NHLBI Guidelines for Asthma and Allergies: What They Mean for You appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

This blog post is part of the Beauty of Carpet campaign from Thistlewood Farms.

We just found out that our local schools are starting out online.

Right now, for the first three weeks, online learning is the current education situation.

My online learners are teenagers in high school, but my sister-in-law has three littles and one kind of not-so-little-any-more student that live at her house.

We’ve all been living footloose and fancy-free with our summer vacation, but school starts in a week here in Texas.

Just between us?

I’m an amazing aunt and Westleigh is an amazing cousin and we wanted to start their online school year off right, so we went shopping and surprised them with new school supplies.

And helped them get the room ready for online school and whatever the rest of 2020 holds.

If you need help creating a space for online learning?

Here are some simple tips for turning a room into a classroom.

WELCOMING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

We made sure that the room is light and bright and airy with warm and cozy carpeting on the floor. The carpet provides a soft cushion for little feet and helps reduce noise in the learning environment.

Carpet also helps improve air quality in the space and it’s so easy to keep clean for students with asthma and allergies.

Students can also spread out on the floor because there’s a cozy surface to read or work on, too.

Read the full post here.

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This blog post is part of the Beauty of Carpet campaign from Sleep in the City.

Carpet vs. Wood Flooring: We ended up choosing wall-to-wall carpet for this farmhouse nursery room (we have wood floors everywhere else) for a bunch of reasons: not only are wood floors chillier at night for feedings, but carpet brings a healthier aspect to the nursery and Easton’s sensitive nose. Allergies are common in our family, as is asthma, and having carpet in the nursery supports healthier living and improving air quality (goodbye dust bunnies). Carpet in your home can also dampen the sound of toys falling over, adults walking, and the pitter-patter of little feet, so your new baby can nap in peace in their beautiful new nursery. You can visit The Carpet & Rug Institute here to enter a sweepstakes to win a $500 Visa gift card to brighten up your nursery or any room of the house with fresh new carpet for the summer!

Read the full post.

The post Modern Farmhouse Nursery with Carpet appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

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.

The post 5 Reasons I Love Carpet (And Why You Should Too) appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

This post is part of the Beauty of Carpet campaign from October 2019. Read the entire post at Apartment Therapy.

It’s no coincidence that some of our favorite homes feature great carpeting—after all, a well-designed room starts from the bottom up. Yet carpet is often overlooked and under-appreciated, despite being one of the most versatile, hardest-working floorings out there. Time to correct that. Read on for our ode to the fuzz beneath our feet.

1. Carpet is beautiful.

Texture, color, pattern: Carpet’s myriad options mean myriad design possibilities, none of which need to stand alone. Classic styles and colors, like lower-pile neutrals, are both timeless solo statements and great canvases for layering a throw rug or two (one of our favorite design moves).

2. Carpet is cozy.

Plush carpet + roaring fire + snow outside = peak comfy vibes. Whether you’re padding around in slippers or bare feet,  carpet keeps you warm—literally. It retains warm air longer (so it’s also an energy saver). Plus, soft, luxe carpeting is the only thing that makes hanging out on the floor sound appealing.

3. Carpet is quiet.

If you have pets or little ones, you might not remember quiet, but it’s that thing that isn’t noise. Carpet helps with that, muffling tiny footsteps (that are somehow louder than big ones), bouncing toys, and even the emo music your teenager is blasting upstairs. It’s also great at absorbing sound from TVs and speakers, so movie night doesn’t echo through the whole house.

4. Carpet promotes indoor air quality.

There’s a perception that carpet is a poor choice for maintaining good air quality. But in fact, the opposite is true. October is National Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month, and now is a great time to consider carpet because it promotes exactly that.

Read the entire post at Apartment Therapy.

Learn more about the #BeautyofCarpet.

The post 4 Reasons to Reconsider Carpet appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

This post was a part of CRI’s Beauty of Carpet campaign in November 2017.

We love cuddling up on soft, warm carpet and enjoying family time together with these fun DIY floor pillows! Did you know carpet actually is GOOD for allergy sufferers? This came as news to me and I bet you’re surprised too. I’ll show you what I discovered when I teamed up with the Carpet &  Rug Institute.

If you or your children suffer from allergies or asthma you may be hesitant to cuddle up on the floor, but new research suggests your fears may be wrong! Studies show that properly cleaned carpet improves indoor air quality by reducing airborne allergens. Carpet acts as a filter, trapping allergens and keeping them out of the air we breathe.

Read the full post at Must Have Mom.

The post DIY Floor Pillows + Benefits of Carpet appeared first on The Carpet and Rug Institute.

This post was a part of CRI’s Beauty of Carpet campaign in November 2017.

Aside from adding style and comfort to our house, carpet has so many other purposes such as improving indoor air quality and even allergies! I always believed that hardwood floors and tile were better for those with seasonal allergies and with allergies to dust and pet dander, but I was so wrong! The Carpet and Rug Institute is working hard to educate people on the facts and I’m partnering with them to share with you 4 reasons why you should have carpet in your home!

One of my favorite things about our carpet is the comfort and warmth it brings to our home.  When you have a lot of hardwood floor and tile, your home can start to look very cold and uninviting.  With an addition of carpet, your room instantly has a softer, more inviting look!

Read the full post at Wanderdust.

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