Those of us who lived through the sixties have horrible memories of homes just like this. Although I've heard it said that if you remember the sixties, you weren't there.  Back in those days wall-to-wall carpet was the height of elegance.  Never mind that it was most often hideously-colored, poorly-constructed, wretched fuzziness, it was one of the sure signs of upward mobility.  And as a result, tack-strip was being nailed to beautiful hardwood floors all over the country. 

But not too many years ago somebody decided the floor is the fifth wall and should be afforded the same decorative consideration as the other four. The result was the meteoric growth of hardwood, tile, stone and the myriad means to install, cut, inlay and otherwise beautifully present it and accordingly, the average broadloom carpet order dropped from full houses to approximately 40 yards nationwide. For those who manufacture upscale broadloom carpets, such as, well... Unique and those who manufacture high fashion area rugs of unsurpassed quality and beauty, like...you know...Unique, this fashion shift is surprisingly good news (It's also great for those of you in the business of selling this stuff). 

How so you ask? Since all of these hard-surface options are generally used in limited areas of the home the price per foot can be higher and still not overwhelm a consumer. It's easier to justify a large expense when it's not throughout the entire house.Carpet appears to be an amazing value by comparison and, since fewer areas of the home require carpet, it makes upgrading to more beautiful, more expensive, and more profitable carpets and rugs far less challenging. Although average high-end carpet orders have dropped in yardage, the number of orders has grown significantly for the reasons above and our business is good. So if you're not upgrading your carpet sales commensurate with your hard-surface sales, you're missing some outstanding profit opportunities.