Dabbieri Blog

What Makes Up a Quality Area Rug

Immersed in the cold winter months, January is the perfect time to upgrade your home with warm furnishings. From heavy velvet drapes to cozy cashmere throws to plush deep-pile carpets, nothing quite beats the warmth of being surrounded by soft materials. Now is the time to invest in quality area rugs for your interiors to keep the cold drafts at bay. While your cool stone floors might be great in the summer months, cold tile is an unwelcome greeting for your bare feet on winter mornings. Area rugs are the ideal solution for tile and hardwood floors in your home since they can be easily matched to your existing design and updated based on the season. But how do you find a high-quality area rug that will last? We’ll explore four factors that should be taken into consideration when looking to purchase an area rug.

High Line Count

Colorado White/Blue by Nourison

The first thing to look at when searching for an area rug is the knot density, which is the number of knots per square inch. Determining the density is important as this is a big indicator of rug durability. A high line count means a finer weave and better clarity of the rug pattern. A looser weave means a coarser rug that can incur visible damage more quickly. Look for rugs that have high line counts, since they will better hold up to your household’s foot traffic.

Detail

Marash Palu Rust by Karastan

The second thing to look at is the detail in your area rug. Clarity and detail are typically good indicators of time and labor spent making the area rug. A sharp pattern means that more time was spent on your rug. Just look at the difference between a high-end oriental that you might find in a carpet showroom versus a cheap living room shag you'd find at a big-box store. Oriental, Persian, and Morrocan area rugs are all hand-knotted and custom-made with details that take careful craftsmanship.

Premium Wool

Ceneri by Kaleen

Handwoven wool makes for the best area rugs as it's soft and strong. As one of the best natural fibers to create rugs, wool is durable and comfortable to the touch because the threads spring back with a soft quality even after being walked on. Quality wool is naturally stain-repellant and water-resistant, as well, so you can rest assured knowing that your area rug can handle your active lifestyle. 

Organic Dye and High-Grade Pigments

Celestial Collection by Nourison

Area rugs dyed from natural dyes have a vibrant quality to their color. While organic dyes and high-grade pigments make for bright and colorful area rugs, inferior dyes are murky and flat. High-grade dyes won’t fade over time due to exposure to water or sunlight. You can easily tell the difference between a synthetically dyed carpet and a natural one by spreading apart the pile and looking at the color over the length of the fiber.

Of course, design and flooring experts, like those available at our International Design Guild showrooms, can walk you through the benefits of each area rug on display, but having this knowledge is indispensable when shopping for your next high-quality area rug.

Unique Flooring to Kick off Your New Year

Are you ready for a home refresh this New Year? 2022 has finally arrived and now it's time to get those new year’s resolutions underway. And what better way to set a fresh slate than with a new floor? As already illustrated, 2022 is bound to see more time spent in our homes so creating a space that reflects your personality and individual needs is important. Whatever the home renovation project at hand, elevate your space with a brand new floor that’s unique to your design taste. We've gathered four unique flooring trends to help you find inspiration.

Leather Floors

Leather Tile by Torly’s

Made from recycled leather, leather floors are available in a variety of colors from rich browns to dark espressos. With its soft suppleness, leather looks and feels extravagant underfoot. Depending on the aesthetic that you are trying to achieve, you can select leather flooring in planks or tiles. Leather floors have the advantage of natural warmth to create an inviting home design that blends well with a multitude of design styles from sleek transitional to rustic contemporary.

Cork

Cork by DuroDesign

If you’re hunting for a water-resistant, environmentally friendly flooring choice, cork floors are the perfect match for you. Warm to the touch and easy to clean, cork flooring is highly durable and naturally hypoallergenic and anti-microbial. Making a popular comeback on the flooring market, cork is applauded for its renewability and recyclable materials. Cork flooring can also be installed to reduce noise, making it ideal for family rooms, home theaters, and home gyms where high levels of noise occur. As an aesthetically versatile choice, cork is available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and grades.

Bamboo

Xcora Tundra by Teragen Bamboo

Another beautiful and durable flooring option for your residential spaces is bamboo flooring. This dent-resistant flooring solution is harder than red oak so you know it will hold up against heavy foot traffic and playful pets. Plus, many bamboo products are now available with a long-lasting wear layer to protect your flooring from potential accidents or spills. Since bamboo is fast-growing, it's a renewable source of flooring that can be responsibly sourced. As an eco-friendly option for your home, bamboo floors withstand the test of time.  

Marmoleum Flooring

Marmoleum sheet by Forbo Flooring Systems

Another unique flooring choice, Marmoleum is a stunning flooring solution made up of all-natural, recycled materials including flaxseed oil, wood flour, pine resins, jute, limestone, and pigments. Both safer on the planet and healthier for your home environment, Marmoleum flooring continues to harden with age, proving to be very durable. From wood-look to solid to marble, Marmoleum is offered in limitless styles and colors, making it easy to find a floor that suits your design needs.

How have you used unique flooring in your interior design to elevate your home?

Infusing Your Home with Nordic Retreat Style

The Nordic retreat style is the perfect way to start fresh this January, with its warm minimalist approach trending towards sustainable and grounding elements in interior design.

This style, heavily influenced by nordic design, embraces imperfection by incorporating rough elements of wood, stone, and concrete into its floors, walls, and furniture. So, how do you achieve this effortlessly elevated look in your interior design? We’ve gathered four tips for you to get started on the nordic retreat-style house of your dreams.

Lean into Warm Minimalism

Orchard Dawn Matte/Satin Porcelain by Emser Tile

The first step towards achieving a nordic retreat-style home is to lean into your warm minimalist tendencies. Since nordic retreat stems from Scandanavian design, it uses a blend of minimalism with soft textures and hues to provide a warm and modern space. Less is more when it comes to nordic design, so think clean lines, practical furnishings, and simple decor. 

Embrace Soft, Natural Materials

Natural Drapes by Graber

Incorporate soft, natural materials through wool blankets, sheepskin rugs, silk sheets, and natural drapery. These materials add texture to your space and give your home a lived-in, authentic feel through their organic elements. Nordic retreat-style utilizes a lot of rougher materials in its foundation of flooring and structure like wood, leather, and concrete, so it’s important to balance this out with cozy pieces such as throw rugs and round furniture pieces to invite in warmth. 

Use Concrete-Look Floors to Your Advantage

Bee Hive in Grey by Daltile

If you’ve been paying attention to flooring trends throughout 2021, you won’t be surprised to hear that concrete floors are increasing in popularity. In fact, some new homeowners have taken ripping out their old floors and pouring new concrete with unique stains and finishes. Not only is concrete incredibly strong and durable, but it's waterproof too. Concrete makes the perfect floor for a colder climate as it works well with radiant heating and its surface absorbs heat to cut down on energy bills. This floor will give your space a chic industrial look that can be easily dressed up or dressed down with area rugs and polished or acid staining.

Think About Adding Natural Wood Finishes

Raku White Gloss Ceramic by Emser Tile

Top off your nordic retreat style with simple wood finishes. Wood furniture and wood accents rooted in craftsmanship and functionality play a big role in nordic design. Furniture that has hidden storage, modular shelving, and flexible designs is key. You can also tie in wood structurally with wooden beams, cupboards, and shelving or by installing new hardwood floors. However big or small your project may be, incorporating wood elements into your design is key to bringing your nordic retreat-style to life. Remember, light woods like beech, ash, and pine will work well to complement the bright aesthetic of Scandanavian design.