Published May 2016 | Updated March 2024
A woman called us today looking for an outdoor carpet that she can pressure wash but also looks cool. She described the space it would be going in and stressed that she wants something tasteful yet very practical. We suggested our woven vinyl collections. Fashion Vinyl or Bolon look almost like natural sisal when installed yet, they are easy to clean. We constantly have to gauge our clients’ needs, in this case, how easy to clean they really want a floor covering to be. Some just want a cleanable product that can be restored to its original beauty. So we won’t suggest natural sisal, which will be ruined if stained. Others want to be able to pressure wash their carpet. We find ourselves balancing customer expectations—trying to assess if they want function over style or vice versa.
Here’s my two cents: woven vinyl is by far the easiest to clean flooring and can look really good in the right location with the right furnishings. Our Synthetic Sisal, looks more like indoor sisal and can be cleaned but not pressure washed. I have all of these materials (Natural Sisal, Synthetic Sisal and Woven Vinyl or Modern Synthetic as we call it) in my home in some form (wall-to-wall carpet, area rug, stair runners), and I have to say—they all have their place!
