Besides the standard fibers like nylon, wool, polyester and olefin, there are several natural fibers currently in use for carpet manufacture. Coir, seagrass and sisal carpets are becoming popular for their environmental friendliness, as well as their fashionable architectural designs.

Coir, incredibly strong, is harvested from coconut husks. About 90% of the coir used in carpet production comes from India and Sri Lanka. Coir generally comes in its natural color, which ranges from golden brown to reddish brown.

Seagrass is a thick and tough fiber, grown underwater mostly in China. Because it is virtually impermeable, it is almost impossible to dye. As a result, you will nearly always find seagrass in its natural green-brown colors.

Sisal is a product of the agave cactus with long fibers, which are spun into yarn and often dyed before manufacture into area rugs or wall-to-wall carpet. Most of the world’s production of sisal comes from Brazil, Tanzania and China.

Each of these fibers results in carpets that are anti-static and organic. They are completely biodegradable and of truly renewable resources. Remember that like all natural fibers, they will vary in color, which simply adds to their beauty and character.

Don’t let the fact that they’re biodegradable give you concerns about performance! With normal maintenance, any degradation will take up to 20 years! Though sisal has some maintenance challenges because of its affinity to dyes (stains), all three are easily maintained with regular spot cleaning and vacuuming. When necessary, any commercially available dry cleaning method works well (never use wet cleaning).

Today’s manufacturers keep providing more and more wonderful choices for flooring and other home design elements. This is good news, but it can make selecting the options that are right for you rather overwhelming at times. Don’t be upset by feeling challenged; studies have shown that the more choices we have, the harder the process of making a decision becomes.

Here are two simple techniques to help you make your final decision: reverse decision making and divide and decide.

Reverse Decision Making: If you’re down to your final three or four options and have hit the wall on deciding, take a fresh approach. Instead of choosing which one you want, eliminate the one or two you like the least. Generally if you take this shift in perspective, you will discover that you can walk away from one or more of your selections. The one that’s left is the one you can’t bear to give up and the right choice for your home.

Divide and Decide: If you are considering many more options, it’s hard to focus on any of them long enough to really evaluate your choices. To make the process more manageable, place your choices in sets of two, then eliminate one of each set. It’s surprising how quickly you can narrow your choices to a manageable number.

Making your final decisions can be stressful, but these two tools can reduce your stress and ensure that you are happy with your final selection.

Feeling a bit intimidated about making your flooring selections? A little pre-planning will make your decision process easier and less stressful. Here is the first of a couple of suggestions to help you make good decisions.

When you go clothes shopping, you generally have a notion of what you’re shopping for rather than just going with no plan. Knowing you need a sweater or a couple of skirts makes the process more straightforward. If you have the information you need, you can determine the type of flooring you want for each part of your home and your budget before even going to the showroom. If you’re not sure what you want, sit down with us and discuss your needs and budget. This makes it easier for your us to use our knowledge and expertise narrow your options to those best for your situation.

Once you make your plan, don’t let yourself get distracted by the other options offered in the showroom. There are a number of truly beautiful choices, but you will be happiest and most successful by focusing on your specific needs. There are good products in every category and price point. Take the time to get to know the options that will work best for you and your home.

Our final post in the series converting Rita Wilson’s fashion tips to our own homes is here. This tip is particularly powerful, and one we often forget: “be grateful.” In the stir of making many selections, working within a budget that simply seems smaller every day, and balancing all the factors when making home decisions, it’s tempting to let the small frustrations ruin the magic of making a home yours.

Take a few minutes to be grateful. Be grateful that you have a home – many people in the world never will. Be grateful for the bounty of options available to you as you customize your space. Many of the choices were not available twenty years ago. Be grateful for the excitement of finding that perfect tile, selecting just the right grout to go with it, and seeing the perfection of the finished version of your vision.

Take time to appreciate the salespeople and designers who help you make good decisions, the installers who work hard to make sure your home looks great, and all of the other people who have helped you turn a dream into reality.

It takes some version of a village to make a house, and it takes your effort to make it a home. Be grateful for the opportunity.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

We’re combining two of the tips in Rita Wilson’s wardrobe suggestions into one because they both end up focusing on the same issue with our homes. “If you travel a lot, have a packed toiletries bag ready to go,” and “There are one thousand stylish things you can wear while traveling…”

We understand that when you’re fixing up your new home or making your current home over, the last thing you are thinking about is selling it. Keep in mind, however, that on average people live in their homes about five years. Job transfers and other life changes may lead to a decision to sell, and when that happens, you want to make that process as easy as possible. Your choices now may make a big difference when that day comes.

This is not a recommendation to turn your home into a standard-issue place. Take advantage of the opportunity to make your home special and a good reflection of your taste. However, if you happen to love purple, maybe that’s still not the best choice for your bathroom tile. When you have a taste or color preference that leans toward the unique, how about demonstrating it with paint and accessories, allowing you to neutralize your home when and if you have to put it on the market. Draw on put expertise  if you’re not sure whether your taste will make selling your home harder some day in the future.

Your home can support who you are, both while you’re living in it and when you’re ready to sell. Find that balance that will allow your home to reflect you and still appeal to its next owner in a few years.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

Tip Number 7 in our look at fashion tips from Rita Wilson is not as easy a fit as some of her other suggestions, but stay with us here and we’ll make it work.

“Enjoy new bedclothes once a year.” The focus here is letting yourself have new nightclothes, rather than living with the shabby ones you’ve been wearing for years. For our home connection, think about maintaining your home’s décor.

Do you have your carpets cleaned twice a year at least? Are you following the manufacturers’ recommendations for maintaining your wood floors and granite countertops? If not, don’t blame them if your home finishes start showing wear earlier than you’d planned.

Speaking of wear, do you have a home update budget that allows you to replace or update your home’s furnishings and finishes as you need to? Just as your wardrobe needs regular updating, your home does too. Many people move into a home and decorate, then never update anything again. By the time they’ve been there 20 or 30 years, the entire house looks dated and discouraging. Don’t let that happen to you. Get those new PJ’s, and keep your home up-to-date.

If you’re enjoying these tips as much as we are, click here to see the other tips in this series.

Tip six of Rita Wilson’s fashion suggestions focuses on makeup rather than clothing, “simplify your makeup if you wear makeup.” On the surface, this may not seem very connected to our homes, but stay with me here. Think of your home’s makeup – your art, accessories and smaller furniture elements. Does your home look overly “made up?”

Too much makeup keeps us from actually seeing someone’s real face. Too much stuff: furniture, rugs and accessories, can hide the beauty of our home behind the little things. To see good examples of overly-made-up rooms, take a look at some homes from the Victorian era. They are so filled with decorative elements and accessories that the eye has no place to light. Too many elements in a room, particularly with accessories, can quickly start feeling like clutter. How does your home look? Why not try removing a few things – possibly some accessories you’re tired of, or a rug that is distracting from your luscious tile floor. Does it look better? Keep taking things out of the room until it starts looking bare. Then put one thing back and voila, you’re done!

Simplifying a room gives the beauty of the space, your finishes such as your floors, and your furniture and accessories, room to be seen. Just as a touch of makeup well applied can improve our look, the right touches – and no more – in our homes can show them off to best advantage.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

Watching Rita Wilson present fashion tips on a recent episode of “Oprah” makes it easy to realize how much fashion and décor have in common. Here, we are  taking a look at these tips and how to translate them from your closet to your home. Tip 5 is interesting, “it’s normal to fear altercations, but not alterations.”

OK, we’re just going to ignore the part about fighting, but the idea of letting yourself make alterations in your home, or customizing your space, is a great one.

If you’re choosing the finishes for a new home, or when renovating your current space, how willing are you to take a few chances to make your space unique? You may choose a neutral-toned floor tile, but how about setting it on the diagonal to add architectural interest to a room? You can customize your beautiful wood floor by adding a border or a medallion to turn your space from standard beautiful to still beautiful but also unique to you. Finish the room off with furnishings you select to reflect the real you – most upholstered furniture comes in a variety of fabrics. Pick something that helps make your space feel customized to your taste.

With only a few minor additions, your home can move beyond standard to become an exact reflection of your style.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.

On a recent episode of Oprah Winfrey, actor and producer Rita Wilson came on to present ten ideas for making sure women looked fabulous at any age.  It’s easy to see that many of those tips could be easily translated into good advice for our homes also. We’ve discussed the first three; how about taking a look at number four?

“Wear comfortable shoes.” You know those sexy stilettos you loved in the store and regret every time you wear them? Don’t make the same mistake with your home. Think about comfort as well as style when decorating. If your feet ache regularly, you’ll be better off with wood or carpeting than tile, because these “soft” surfaces are easier on your feet. If your family likes to collect together and watch movies on a Friday night, make sure your television lives in a room with enough space for all of you. Don’t be tempted by a beautiful couch that no one will want to sit in for more than a few minutes unless you really don’t like having guests. Sit in those charming dining chairs for a while to make sure your dinner party conversations continue around the table long after the meal is over.

Comfort and style can be partners. Let’s plan for both as we decorate your home.

To see the other tips in this series, click here.