Natual Fiber Floor Coverings

With an eye towards style and versatility, Green Sacramento is pleased to carry a new line of woven floor coverings, Merida Meridian. Their distinctive natural fiber floor coverings – sisal, jute, wool, paper and abaca - reflect timeless organic patterns and offer a clean, sophisticated look that can match any room decor.

Merida Meridian draws inspiration from the colors, textures and variations in the natural world. For example, long sisal fibers are extracted from the leaves of the agave plant. The fibers are then dyed, which produces colors that are more vibrant and even throughout the product. After dyeing, the fibers are carefully spun to form a tight, rugged yarn and clipped to remove course, hairy ends. The sisal yarn is then woven into a beautiful floor covering. Another popular fiber is Jute. It’s resilient, durable and Jute’s soft, flexible yarns provide a cushiony feel underfoot. Jute’s natural color is in the tan to brown range, but dyes very well and can be woven into fine yarns or heavy cords.

And Merida encourages customers to participate in the design process by customizing the size, shape, color and edge finishing of your rug. There are over 300 different edge finishes available.

Merida Meridian received national attention last September at the West Coast Green Conference in San Francisco. Bay Area architects were drawn to the range of floor covering designs with distinctive weave patters. One of the most popular was the wool and paper Woodstock rug. The combination of wool, a renewable fiber with natural insulating properties, and durable paper yarn created a distinct look that was showcased throughout the conference.

Merida rugs are easy to clean and should be vacuumed regularly to maintain their original beauty. This is essential to remove dirt particles that may be lodged between the natural fibers. To remove stains, a dry extraction carpet cleaner such as Host or Capture is recommended as steam cleaning or wet-shampoo may cause the rug to shrink or pucker.

EcoProcote: Green Building Compliant, Sustainable Coating Solutions

When looking to stain cement, look no further than EcoProcote. This soy-based stain, called SoyCrete, can be used on concrete, masonry, brick, stucco, fiber cement, rammed earth or adobe. Depending upon the porosity and variation of the substrate, SoyCrete will give an asymmetrical, “natural” look to your floor. To protect the stain, EcoProcote also makes an Acri-Soy Sealer in gloss and satin finishes.

SoyCrete comes in a variety of colors from White to Black Granite and Augusta Green to Sedona Red. One of the interior designers for Green Sacramento, Kari Kotyluk, recently finished a cement floor using SoyCrete, noting that the application process was quite simple and the end result was beautiful.

This low VOC, low odor, quick drying stain covers between 400-600 square feet per gallon and is an excellent, inexpensive and beautiful flooring alternative.

Green Building Materials Make Good Reuse of Blue Jeans

When you think of denim, you probably imagine a pair of blue jeans—not a durable building material. But rugged denim fibers are being used as a natural alternative for insulation. And with no chemicals or volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) cotton insulation made from recycled blue jeans is a wonderful option for keeping your house warm this winter. Ultra Touch insulation contains over 85% recycled denim and cotton fibers. Best of all, it’s not itchy and anyone can install it. Ultra Touch has an R-value from 13 to 30, depending on the thickness and width of the roll. R-value is the resistance a material has to the flow of heat. The greater the R-value, the higher the resistance. In addition, Ultra Touch is formaldehyde free.