Trend to Try: Carpet Tiles

Although you may not be familiar with carpet tiles, you’ve likely trod on them if you’ve set foot in schools, airports, and banks. They’ve been around for decades, and although they’re typically used for commercial flooring, they’ve been gaining popularity with residential homeowners over the past few years through brands like FLOR and even CB2. Skeptical? Don’t dismiss this flooring option just yet. Here’s an overview of the benefits of how carpet tiles may spruce up your home, as well as what drawbacks you can expect.

There are different types of textured carpet tiles such as woven, tufted, needfelt, flatweave, and many others. However, despite the different textures and methods to which they’re made, it’s more essential to consider the type of backing of the tile. The quality of the backing of the tiles may determine if they’ll be prone to curling, buckling, or shrinking. Different backings include peel-and-stick, vinyl back, recycled vinyl back, vinyl with fiberglass, fiberglass, urethane back, woven polypropylene, and many more. It’s difficult to try to rank the types according to which one is more preferred, because it all depends on the look, style, and usage you’re looking for.

Pros of Carpet Tiles

Easy replacement. Carpet tiles are particularly installed for areas with high traffic. The singular squares enable you to replace individual stained or damaged tiles as the need arises.

Variety. The tiles can come in different sizes, colors, textures, and patterns.

Aesthetically pleasing. The variety of tiles can cater to homeowners who are concerned with aesthetics, allowing them to still achieve the desired theme, look, and style of their home. The tile flexibility allows for patterns, the mix and match of colors, alternating directions, and an overall design that can be as simple or as complex as you want.

Easy installation. The tiles don’t require padding to be installed, and easy installation avoids the need for the tiles to be professionally fitted. This removes the substantial labor costs that require dexterity and skill when installing traditional broadloom carpet. Because of the easy installation, it’s found to be highly favored among those on a budget and those who like to DIY-it.

Versatility. Their size and versatility gives them the ability to fit rooms with complex floor designs, making it easier to install versus the traditional broadloom carpet.

Cons of Carpet Tiles

Affordable. Although the popularity of carpet tiles in recent history may lower the price, they do tend to be more expensive than broadloom carpet.

Aesthetics. Although they can be pleasing to some homeowners, they might not meet the taste requirements of other homeowners who may feel they’re too modern or too industrial. Broadloom carpet often offers a more refined look, and tiles may not meet that standard for some critics.

Visible seams. If you’re installing tiles, don’t be fooled into thinking that it will appear to be one large piece of carpet. Although some tiles can reduce the visibility of the seams, you’ll still be able to identify each individual tile.

Curling. Depending on the quality of the tile backing, the tiles can curl and buckle when they get old.

Whether you’re tiling an entire room or a small section that would replace a rug, the possibilities that carpet tiles provide are endless.