Often the biggest challenge after a new carpet installation is what to do with the leftover carpet scraps. There are many environmentally-friendly options for the both the used and new carpet scraps including recycling, donating, or re-purposing. Here are 7 of our favourite things to do with leftover carpet.

1. Turn it into a walk off mat

If you have large cuts of new carpet leftover at the end of the job, the best use for them is to turn them into a walk-off mat. The mats will create a cohesive look in your home or can be put over the existing carpet to keep it looking good in high traffic entrance areas. To avoid fraying edges from DIY cutting, bring it in to Mira to have the edges professionally bound.

2. Muffle noisy washer or dryer

Quiet down washer and dryers that shake and rattle by putting a leftover piece of carpet under it to help muffle the noise of the machine moving against the floor.

3. Use it as knee pads

Small scraps of carpet make great knee pads for gardening, solo canoeing, or to store in the trunk for changing a flat tire.

4. Move heavy furniture

Put leftover pieces under the feet of heavy furniture and appliances to protect floors from scratches.

5. Make a carpet pet house

Smaller pieces of carpet can be re-purposed into this innovative pet house. This simple DIY project only has two steps once the carpet has been cut down to size. Instructions are can be found here: http://www.amplesample.net/site/library/img/winners08/CarpetPetHouse.pdf

6. Recycle it

Carpet recycling is the best option for large quantities of leftover used carpet. By choosing to recycle the carpet instead of taking it to the landfill, the carpet fibres can be used to create new carpet or other products that use polypropylene and nylon such as bearings, plastic pipes, and patio furniture. MIRA Floors offers free carpet recycling for all our residential customers. Learn more about the carpet recycling process on our carpet recycling page.

7. Take on a carpet furniture making project
Get inspired by past winners of Ample Sample, an annual contest showcasing innovative ways of re-using the thousands of carpet tile samples leftover each year. Projects vary in difficulty and number of carpet tiles needed.

Inspiration for your home is everywhere – home shows, magazines, or even a walk through your favourite stylish neighbourhood. Here’s a few of our favourite magazines and online resources to look at when gathering inspiration for your next renovation.

Local inspiration

Western Living Magazine
This magazines and it’s website is a comprehensive guide of everything new and unusual in Western Canada, from Winnipeg to Victoria. Their Homes section showcases a stunning selection of homes and condos in Western Canada’s, design tips and new trends in décor.

Westcoast Homes and Design
Every issue of this magazine is full of Vancouver’s best local architecture and creative design trends. By browsing through local homes, there’s a better chance that the products used to create that space will be local. By keeping it local, you’re less likely to fall in love with the backsplash tiles in the photo, only to discover that the product cannot be imported to Canada.

Keep track of your ideas

Houzz
The Houzz website is 100% dedicated to home improvement and interior design. Their extensive library has well-written articles to help you through all stages of a home renovation or design project. Browse through the inspiring photos posted by other users and create an account to save your favourites to your own ideabooks.

Pinterest – The tremendously popular social media site is filled to the brim with renovation and interior design ideas. You can explore the Pinterest Home Decor category or create your own pin board to keep track of the great ideas you find on Pinterest and other websites.

Modern and Minimal

Dwell
This magazine and it’s website demonstrates functional and comfortable modern design. While many photos of modern design homes often look like no one lives there, Dwell’s goal is to show modernist designed homes lived in by real people.

Better Living Through Design
The Better Living Through Design website is a great resource for those yearning for the best eye-catching modern furniture and design options on the internet. The products featured could be from anywhere at the world and at any price point. No searching is required to find the product since each product has a direct link to the retailer.

Retro living

Retro Renovation
Love the sets of Mad Men and have a soft spot for shag carpets? Then Retro Renovation is the site for you.  This website is a comprehensive guide to renovating and decorating your house mid-century style.

Small-spaces

Apartment Therapy
Apartment Therapy is an ode to making the most of small space living. This website boasts inspiring before and after posts, great storage and organization advice, and a video how-to series. Living in 1000 sf or less has never looked so good!

Have other favourite home renovation and decor websites that we forgot to mention? Let us know about them in the comments.

Distressed floors have been a popular choice among home owners looking for a hardwood floor with distinct character. Manufacturers create the distressed look through a variety of processes including ageing, sculpting, hand-scraping and wire brushing. The intentional distress marks are great for active households with small children and pets. The scratches and dents caused by the wear and tear of everyday life will be less noticeable than with a piano finish hardwood.

Our Favourite Distressed Floors
Here’s a few of our favourite distressed hardwood floors with options for any budget.

Distressed hardwood American Restoration by Shaw Floors – $

This wide plank engineered hardwood from Shaw uses unique distressed markings to create a look reminiscent of reclaimed barnyard planks. With four colours to choose from, American Restoration is a realistic and affordable distressed choice.

Cottage Collection by Laurentian Hardwood – $$

The Cottage Collection uses a lightly wire brushed texture and low gloss finish to evoke the image of comfortable seaside cottages. This engineered hardwood comes in 10 different colours.

Castillo Plank by Antique Impressions – $$$

Inspired by the castles of medieval Europe, each handcrafted Castillo plank looks like a genuine time-worn plank walked upon centuries ago. Design options for this collection are endless with hickory or walnut planks in eight colours and a variety of plank widths to choose from.

Carpet is manufactured by sewing strands of yarn into a backing, creating thousands of yarn loops. What happens to the loops of yarn defines the style of carpet created. When yarn loops are cut, the tufted yarn stands up straight, creating a cut pile carpet. When the loops are uncut, the carpet is called a loop carpet. These two options can be combined to create many carpet style possibilities.

Level loop carpet
As the name suggests, level loop carpets are made up of thousands of yarn loops of similar heights. The level loops create a smooth and durable surface well-suited to high traffic areas.
 

 
Multi-level loops carpet

Multi-level loop carpets are created by combining a variety of loop heights. The results are carpets with unique patterns and textures. Multi-level loop and level loop carpets are also commonly referred to as berber carpets.

Cut and loop carpet
Cut and loop carpets are combination of cut pile and loop pile that creates a sculpted design that gives visual impact to any room. These carpets can create a variety of patterns from a simple pin dot to larger floral or geometric patterns. The texture helps hide soil and stands up well to active households.

Frieze carpet
Pronounced frih-zay’, this carpet is known by many names including twist and shag. Yarn of frieze carpets is heat twisted very tightly so it curls once it has been cut, giving frieze carpets that bouncy texture they are well-known for.

Plush cut pile carpet
Plush carpets are a type of cut pile carpets with a soft, smooth, and dense cut pile. They have a smooth and flawless appearance that gives a space a traditional and luxurious look.

Textured cut pile carpet
A textured cut pile carpet is the classic residential carpet, suitable for mid to high traffic areas. It differs from its cousin, the plush, by having more visible yarn ends. This results in a slightly more textured looking surface that reduces the crushing and traffic marks commonly found on plush carpets.

What do wine and flooring have in common? Nothing really, until now.

Every few months the Mira team does an in-office wine tasting. It’s a bit of fun for the office team and gives us a chance to try staff favourites and wines recommended by customers.

This month’s contenders are:

Sauvignon Blanc – Oyster Bay Marlborough 2012
This New Zealand wine is a crowd pleaser that is well suited for long afternoons on the patio in the coming summer months. The Mira team thought this was a light, refreshing wine with a fruity palate. The lively fruit tones are well-balanced by the wine’s crisp acidity.

Valdepenas Gran Reserva – Anciano Aged 10 Years
This full-bodied Spanish wine was recommended to us by one of our newsletter readers. By law, all Gran Reserva wines must be aged for a minimum of 5 years before they are released. They spend 18 months in an oak cask and 42 more months bottled and cellared. The Mira team members who preferred the red loved its complex fruit flavours that lead into a long, drawn-out finish.

The winner?
Leading by just one vote, the Oyster Bay was declared this rounds winner.

Have a great wine you think we should try for our next office tasting? Let us know in the comments.