After dominating for decades, wall-to-wall carpet’s share of the floor-covering market has plummeted since the turn of the millennium
Wealthy homeowners have been buying increasingly large rugs, and carpet-makers see it as a promising sign.
“The negative image of carpet is because once upon a time carpet was used everywhere,” said Tyler Wisler, an interior decorator and television personality who appeared in HGTV’s “Design Star.” Wisler loves carpet — “it can be amazing” — but rarely recommends it because clients — Gen Xers especially — unhappily associate it with childhood memories. “A lot of people are like, ‘Why did you do that?’”
The research was clear: Carpet was seen as harder to clean, which is a problem for people with messy kids and pets. That led to Home Fresh, which appeared last year. In ads, Empire calls it the “carpet of the future” and says: “If you or anyone in your family has asthma, allergies or you just want a cleaner home, chances are you think carpet is bad news. Not anymore.”
Carpet appeared in the early 19th century but really took off during the post-World War II suburban building boom. Americans constructed bigger homes and filled them with carpet, which was affordable thanks to factory automation. “W2W carpet” became a coveted bullet point in real estate listings. Lower production costs also helped the industry stave off globalization-fueled job losses and factory closures — a rare success story in U.S. textiles.
Empire is one of several companies trying to revive carpet. Mohawk Industries, which partnered with Empire on Home Fresh, is also pitching “permanent stain resistance” and “sustainable softness.” Engineered Floors promises color that never fades. Carpet cut into tiles from the likes of Shaw Industries Group — owned by Berkshire Hathaway — and Interface makes carpet modular, portable and easy to install, like a rug.
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