New Carpeting for My Summer House
A decorating transformation project in my Summer House is complete.
My Bedford, New York farm has several buildings including one I call the Summer House, which I often use for entertaining during the holidays. Recently, I decided the two main living spaces on the first floor needed new carpeting - something lighter and brighter to give the rooms a refreshing new feel. For this task, I enlisted the help of our friends at Westport Carpet and Rugs in nearby Westport, Connecticut - they've been taking care of my carpeting needs for many years. I selected a sisal carpet in "alabaster." I love natural sisal rugs and use them throughout my Winter House, so I knew it would be perfect in this house as well - and it is!
Enjoy these photos.
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- The Summer House, an 1770 Colonial, is located next door to what I call the Winter House, where I live. I love decorating the Summer House for the holidays and displaying all kinds of delicious desserts for guests to enjoy. Here, the living room and music room are cleared and the floors are cleaned before the new carpeting arrives.
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- Westport Carpet and Rugs came right on time with my new sisal carpets. The team carried the rolls of carpet and carpet padding into the home and went to work right away.
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- The carpets are light colored “alabaster” sisal – one is 10 feet by 20 feet, and the other is slightly larger at 12-and-a-half feet by 20 feet. Because the carpet is cut slightly smaller than the space to expose the wood floors, the area between the carpet edges and the walls must be measured several times, so the carpet can be positioned properly.
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- I have long used sisal carpets. I like its durability, natural color, and coarse, slightly scratchy feel. Sisal comes from the long green leaves of the cactus plant Agave sisalana and is stronger than other natural fibers.
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- Once the carpet is positioned perfectly, it is rolled back to the other side, so the padding can be put down. With the carpet completely centered in the room, it will be easier to roll it back into place over the padding.
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- Here, the team places the padding on the floor. Many rug pads are created from naturally non-slip materials to help anchor the pad to the floor and keep the rug stable.
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- Once the padding is unrolled, it is stretched flat.
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- The padding is carefully flattened on all sides.
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- Because this room is large, two pieces of padding are needed to secure the carpet. Tape is used to connect the two pieces together, but don’t worry, the tape never touches the floor.
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- Next, the edge of the padding is folded and the tape is placed underneath it with the adhesive side faced-up.
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- This must be done very carefully and slowly.
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- Here is a closer look at the tape that is used to connect the pieces together.
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- Half the length of the tape is left bare to stick the second piece of padding on top.
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- And then the second piece of padding is secured carefully. Once the two pieces are taped together, pressure is applied. As one holds the padding in place, another walks on it to press the padding down onto the tape.
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- Although this rug does have a non-skid padded back, I always add a separate piece of padding underneath. Any time a rug shifts, it creates friction between the floor and the rug backing, which can cause premature wear. The padding adds extra protection.
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- The rug is now rolled into place over the padding. The rug pad should stay completely flat to avoid any bunching that will cause bumps in the rug. The rug edges are also bound with cotton in the same color.
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- Rug pads come in a range of sizes, but they won’t always match perfectly, so this padding is trimmed carefully with a knife.
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- The new rug looks excellent in this room. It totally changes the look of the space – it’s so much brighter. Now to put the furniture back!
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- What do you think? This room is so cozy and comfortable – I can’t wait for the next party, but no red wine in here, please.
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- Here is the other side – I think the carpet was the perfect addition to this space. A new carpet can alter a room’s look completely – I am so happy with how it turned out.
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