How to clean red wine from your carpet (and other carpet maintenance tips)

We all know the scenario - you're chilling out on the couch with a glass of red wine and accidentally spill it on your brand new carpet!

When dealing with any stain on a carpet, the key is to act immediately. The longer you take to react, the more time the stain has to set into the carpet. Many stains can be removed with just water if you respond quickly enough.

There are many myths about dealing with stains on carpets but we have found a website that we trust for giving advice and tips on treating carpets.

This website provides a list of stains and issues for carpets and provides solutions for each individual problem such as:

"How do I clean red wine from my carpet?"

"How do I remove a coffee stain on the carpet?"

"What do I use to clean make up off the carpet?"

"How do I remove candle wax from my carpet?"

Go to the following page to see a list of common issues or enter your own particular stain in the "stain search engine"

http://www.james.eu/en/stain-solutions.htm

This site provides genuine and clear advice on how to look after your carpet. See the website James.eu to see full details on carpet cleaning and maintenance.

Avoid boring flooring

A consumer recently asked for some advice in creating an interesting floor design using FLOR by heuga tiles for her home. She currently has a floor of our high pile range LazyLounge in one colour - Dark Chocolate.

I thought it could be useful to share the details here in case there are other people out there wanting to get creative.

At FLOR by heuga we always try to encourage the use of different colours and textures to create a unique and interesting floor design as this is the true benefit of carpet tiles and you will see that our catalogue and website is full of photos showing different floor design ideas.

Here are some of the options I suggested:

Combination Ideas - add a few feature tiles to create interest eg a stripe, border or just single tiles

1. Same colour, different texture

See the image for a combination of CountryClassic and Country Contemporary - an example of a combination of different textures in the same colour.

A similar effect is possible using LazyLounge - Dark Chocolate and PuzzlePieces colour Dark Chocolate. This would be an excellent combination product for a subtle variation on the floor. These two products could be used in a variety of patterns.

2. Combine Dark Chocolate with a bright vibrant shade - such as green, orange or red

See the image where LazyLounge Dark Chocolate is combined with colours in our PuzzlePieces range (Carrot Juice and Crimson Pink). This certainly creates impact on the floor.

3. Beige/Brown combination

A subtle complementary combination - Dark Chocolate and Biscotti are a popular pairing. In the picture this shows a main floor in PuzzlePieces in colour Biscotti, combined with LazyLounge in colour Biscotti and PuzzlePieces in colour Dark Chocolate.

With a main floor in Dark Chocolate you could combine with colour Biscotti in LazyLounge and/or PuzzlePieces.

Our online design tool is great for trying out different combinations. This is an easy to use online design tool which has a number of pre-designed simple floor layouts where you can try out different colour combinations.

Please click on the following link to have a go yourself:
Online Floor Designer

Click to view the FLOR by heuga product catalogue

Create My Carpet - Navigram Online Room Planner

FLOR by heuga has teamed up with design software experts Navigram to develop a sophisticated 3D room designer that allows you to design interior spaces and recreate rooms in your own home.

Each project starts with setting the dimensions for the room then selecting furniture and fittings as well as choosing FLOR by heuga collections to decorate the room. The Create My Carpet Planner features the FLOR by heuga Rugs collection as well as a range of products for wall-to-wall installation.

Please click on the link below and get creative:

Navigram Room Planner

For info, you need a PC with Windows and Internet Explorer. Also some
systems have security settings that prevent installing ActiveX components.

Good Housekeeping features FLOR by heuga carpet tiles

Good Housekeeping features a stunning picture of FLOR by heuga carpet tiles in this month's magazine. Different colours of the PuzzlePieces collection have been laid out on a formal lawn to show the beauty of carpet tiles.

The caption states "Not a rug, but carpet tiles! And this bright mix of colours demonstrates just how versatile they can be."

It is great to see good coverage in good quality titles like Good Housekeeping and it is refreshing to see a magazine do something innovative for a carpet feature.

The Good Housekeeping magazine website is a great source for issues like how to declutter your home and for decoration inspiration - see the link below:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/

Combine the comfort of carpet and the look of wood

WoodWork is a very stylish wood-inspired carpet design meaning you can combine the look of wood with the warmth and comfort of carpet.

Many people like the look of wood but for anyone that has experienced the reality of wood or laminate flooring in their home (including myself) they will be familiar with the cold, hard, noisy, dust-collecting problems that come with it!

Personally I like my home to be cosy and warm, which means carpet is the only option for me. Most people seem to lack inspiration and go for plain beige broadloom carpet throughout, but there are plenty of interesting options around. Within the FLOR by heuga range there are various styles, textures and colours, all of which can be used alone or combined to create a unique floor design in your home. This WoodWork range from FLOR by heuga is stylish and modern yet cosy and practical too.

Purple Carpets and Purple Rug Ideas

Deep purple is a popular colour in interior design at the moment and what beats a luxurious shag pile purple carpet for a contemporary swish theme.

Purple rugs can be a decadent addition to a living room or bedroom, especially in a soft feel.

FunkyFeet is a shag pile range of carpet tiles from FLOR by heuga and this shot shows a strong purple shade - colour Amethyst. The tiles are installed as a rug on a hard floor but this works equally well as a broadloom or wall to wall carpet for a truly indulgent flooring experience.

Purple carpets and rugs are quite difficult to find and often the colour is not a strong shade of rich purple. However there are several deep purple carpet options within the FLOR by heuga collection. There is a rich purple cut pile tile (colour Rich Plum in PuzzlePieces). There is also a complementary Rich Plum in LazyLounge (our decadent and sumptuous long cut pile carpet tile range shown in the photo). For the same shade in a purple loop pile product there is Rich Plum in our Basic Beauty range. Other options are Le Bistro Lavender and Tender Touch Heather.

Depending on the tone, purple can be rich, vibrant and strong or it can be feminine, soft and relaxing. The current trend is for strong rich shades of purple as seen in many of today's collections of bedding, accessories and soft furnishings.

Interiors Birmingham 2010

FLOR by heuga are currently exhibiting at Interiors Birmingham at the NEC (24th-27th Jan).

A major trade event for the interiors sector, thousands of retailers, designers and contract specifiers will be attending the show to see what's new for 2010.

Visitors to the show will be the first to see our new range SoftSenses (due for launch in March) along with new wool products CountryContemporary and CountryClassic and our fabulous award winning Rugs collection. There will also be a brand new design tool showing how to plan a room and furnish with the Rugs collection.

The FLOR by heuga team are situated in Hall 1, Stand A36.

Click here to register for free entry to the show or go to the Interiors website to find out more about the show.