If you’re looking to carpet your home, you probably want something durable and easy to maintain. Can eco-friendly carpeting really hold up like the kind we’re used to? As a designer, I can tell you the answer is yes. Here are a few products you’ll love.

1. New carpet products have been introduced by manufacturers, but carpets made from 100 percent wool have always been the designer’s benchmark. They are environmentally sound, dirt and soil resistant, fire retardant, non-allergic and a sustainable, hard-wearing fiber.

Why I love it: I have always favored wool carpets for their versatility, beautiful colors, wonderful selection and the way they feel underfoot. For residential decorating, my clients always go with wool for their homes.

2. Synthetic carpets, as opposed to wools, are petrol-based and take hundreds of years to degrade. Fiber companies are now producing nylons with 25 percent more recyclable content. Antron® nylon is the fiber used by many carpet mills and has been hailed by the carpet industry as an “Environmentally Preferable Product.”

Why I love it: There are loads of patterns, colors and styles, and I often recommend it for playrooms, children’s rooms and all contract applications.

3. FLOR (flor.com) is an innovative company known for its unique, eco-friendly area rugs made from a system of carpet squares.

Why I love it: I love to use it for clients who crave the comfort of traditional carpeting in a flexible tile format. For heavy traffic areas, children’s rooms, playrooms, family rooms and even kitchens, the product wears well and looks fabulous.

[main image: flor.com]