FLOR Carpet Design Squares

It’s January and that usually means organize and sort what you’ve got. So while you’re checking out all the stuff you’ve collected over the past year, take a peek at your floor situation. Has that rug or carpet been there so long you can’t remember when you got it? Does cleaning it, no longer make it clean? Perhaps it is the source of creating dust (like mine was)? If you’ve realized a new rug or carpet is on your list of things to do before you put all your organized items back, check out this great review of sustainable, modular carpet squares from FLOR.

Area rugs have always been a way to add some style to the rooms of my home, but unfortunately that style usually comes in the form of a (boring) solid color. So when FLOR contacted me about trying out their eco-friendly carpet squares I was all in!

So you’re wondering what the heck is a carpet square? Carpet squares are individual pieces of carpeting that allow you to be more creative with designing your carpet than traditional carpets allow. Mix and match colors, patterns and even materials to create a carpet that is uniquely you. The great part about this is the option to swap out a tile if it can not be cleaned, instead of replacing the entire carpet. I have heard of this modular type of carpet before, as my Aunt installed it in her basement. Though what I didn’t know was that modular carpet could be eco-friendly too! Well not all of them, but FLOR certainly is and I love that!

What makes FLOR eco-friendly and better for the environment is that their carpet squares are made from 100% recycled fibers that come from used carpet squares that you send back to them once you are through using your carpet. Not only are the fibers able to be recycled but the non-skid backing (you don’t need to use a carpet pad with this) is separated and shredded to create post-consumer recycled GlasBack®Re backing. So pretty much from front to back, FLOR is doing everything they can to make their product from ending up as trash. They will even pay for you to send your carpet back to them. Which is already awesome because they ship your carpet to you with free shipping. FLOR is even working on new ways to keep products from becoming trash. Currently they are working with local partners from around the world to take discarded fishing nets and turn them into 100% recycled yarns that can be used for new FLOR carpets.

Since all of these great aspects make this the most eco-friendly carpet that I’ve known of. I was excited to choose from 8 different categories of styles and 75 different carpets. With those types of options I felt a bit overwhelmed at what to choose for my room. Narrowing my selection down from what wouldn’t work helped until I found a pattern I liked. Then to narrow down a color choice within that pattern was another task to take on. Good thing you don’t have to rely on your computer monitor to make sure the color is one you want. FLOR will send you samples of the exact carpet(s) you are considering. So you can place your sample in the right environment with the right lighting.

Having a physical sample was absolutely worth it because this small 6”x6” square helped me change my mind about the color choice once it was in front of me. To me the color seemed to be much different from the screen to the sample. Which is great because that proves how important the sample is to your purchase. Investing in a rug isn’t cheap so seeing what you’re getting first is a great idea.

Besides the eco-friendly aspects of this carpet, I was looking forward to getting rid of my old carpet because I believe it was my main source of constant dust. As well as not having the burden of a carpet pad, in which I didn’t even have the right type of carpet pad from the start. In fact the previous carpet wore away the finish on my authentic hardwood flooring in one area too, so I can easily say my FLOR carpeting was a welcome change, in functionality and style.

I happily decided to go with the Lasting Greatness pattern and deciding between teal and kiwi. Teal looked great on the screen, but not in person and kiwi didn’t look as vivid in person as it on screen. I went with kiwi for a nice fun pop of color in my sea of blue hues. Although it may have not been a style or color I would have chosen in any other situation, the modular aspect of the carpet squares did sway me to go bold.

FLOR carpet squares can be installed as an area rug or wall-to-wall carpet; I opted for an area rug. Unlike traditional area rugs, I easily could have installed these tiles by myself. But to make things more fun, I asked a friend to help. The most difficult (it wasn’t really that difficult) part was to square up the tiles to each other. The fun part was placing the FLOR Dots (stickers) on them, which holds each tile to the next one. The only problem I faced was that my FLOR Dots are yellow and that was a bit difficult to see when placing them to line them up on the tick marks on the sticker. Within two hours of placing the stickers on the tile backing they become permanent, allowing you to pick up the rug in one entire piece.

I opted for the 5’x7’ rug, which included 12 (19.7”x19.7”) tiles. These can be arranged in a rectangular manner, but I opted to get creative with my space. Arranging them so I could accommodate for my rolling desk chair to allow it not to roll over the carpet. Something my previous traditional rug couldn’t make room for. That was a pretty neat feature; all I had to do was cut one tile in half diagonally on the backing, making for an instant creative looking area rug.

When I was considering what pattern and color would be best, I initially opted away from light and white colors since they have a tendency to show dirt more easily. Then I figured that was the best choice, so I could truly see how it stands up to everyday wear. Since these are recycled fibers, that does seem to create a little variance in the color of the white. It doesn’t seem to be pure bleached white and I like that, not everything needs to be perfect. The carpet has held up well, none of the loops have gotten pulled and despite not being a very fluffy carpet it is a great insulation from the cold wooden floor in winter months. I will mention that the white parts of the pattern have dirtied faster than the green (kiwi) parts. This would be expected since it is walked on with shoes and what seems to be one unfortunate incident where I may have stepped on an old mat that held dirty and greasy car tools and stepped on my rug. Though I haven’t tried to clean it much (just some water and a damp rag as FLOR suggest for a stain) but I’m not sure what gets grease stains out best. However I can just order replacement tiles if I wanted, by easily cutting the FLOR Dots with scissors or a knife. FLOR gives you extra Dots anyways, so you can take your tile away to clean it and still be able to attach it again without having to order more Dots.

If I had been more careful with my dirty shoes then I would consider my carpet in perfect out of the box condition, but otherwise it still is. With the lack of needing a carpet pad, the 100% recycled material and being 100% recyclable this rug is a great investment for you and mother earth. With so many styles, colors and ability to be installed as an area rug or wall-to-wall carpeting FLOR has options to fit your style. Prefer to shop in person? FLOR has 20 locations in the US and even a Canadian location in Toronto, all location allow you to work one-on-one with a design professional to create exactly what you want.

Have you tried FLOR carpet squares before? If you share your experience and designs with them and you’ll receive 10% off your next purchase and maybe even make it onto their blog. We’d love to hear from you too, comment below and let us know what you think. Would you consider using FLOR carpet squares in your home, in what room?