Natural luxury, crafted for the way Australians live.
Advantages of Using Natural Sisal
Agave Sisalana Cactus is the name of the plant that supplies the sisal fibre for the Natural Fibre floor covering ‘Sisal’. Grown in sub-tropical climates that include South Africa, China, Brazil & Mexico, sisal fibre comes from the flesh of the lower cactus leaves. Natural Sisal is a firm fibre that is extremely hard wearing, with different textures being achieved through different weaves.
Being a 100% natural fibre, Sisal is biodegradable making it an ideal environmentally friendly option for floorcovering. In addition, the modern farming and manufacturing process now achieves a very low impact on the environment. This is done by restricting the amount of pesticides on the plants and using minimal amounts of chemicals in the processing of the raw sisal material. Once the rolls of Natural Sisal reach our factory, Floorspace does its part for the environment by using an underlay with a clean manufacturing process. Our preferred underlay is a needle punch recycled pressed cotton when installing wall to wall so as to achieve the best result. We also minimise the use of glues and adhesives.
Natural Sisal floorcoverings are increasingly popular for a number of reasons. Their increased use is mostly due to their durability, versatile nature, varying weaves and large range of colours. Whether made into rugs, runners or installed wall to wall, Sisal is suitable for many varied applications including traditional, modern, formal and casual settings as well as commercial use. The sisal fibre is very sturdy and is extremely hard wearing and long lasting making it perfect for high traffic areas including stairs and hallways.
Advantages of Using Natural Sisal
- 100% Natural Fibre
- Extremely competitively priced
- Unique look
- Very hard wearing(ideal for high traffic areas)
- Eco Friendly
- Healthy (ideal for people with allergies)
- Easily cleaned and maintained
Tips and Tricks
Welcome to the Floorspace Tips and Tricks page. In this section, you will find helpful hints to assist you with measuring rugs and runners for different areas of your home, as well as handy advise relating to wall to wall installations of our natural fibre floorcoverings. This section will be ever expanding so be sure to have a look from time to time. If you have any handy tips and tricks related to natural sisal floorcoverings and our other related natural floorcoverings then let us know...simply email sales@floorspace.com.au in our contacts page above.
To reduce noise in a large livingroom, a great idea can be to choose a thicker/denser natural floorcovering. A fantastic material for this is the Greystone Pure Wool/Jute Mix and the Fine Rustic Weave Granite Sisal with a tuck under border. This will absorb more sound and quieten the room.
- Unfortunately the possibility of marks and stains are impossible to eliminate 100%. There are 2 ways to minimize the impact of these:-
- Choose a natural fibre that has a fleck to it. The advantage of a flecked material over a single color is that if you do have a stain it will blend more and not have as greater contrast as it would on a single colored material.
- Spray Protection:- Floorspace can apply a stain protection spray in our factory to your wall to wall material or rug. These protection sprays do not stain proof materials. Rather, they slow down the absorption rate of liquids giving you more time to get a clean white cloth and blot the liquid up.
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When measuring your hall runner, always check to ensure any doors will clear the height of the floorcovering you have chosen.
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When measuring a sisal rug for under a dining table, pull the chairs out on all 4 sides as if you were going to sit down. Now take the rug measurement approx 10cm past the back legs of each chair. This will ensure that when you pull a chair out to sit down, the back legs do not catch on the edge of the rug causing it to curl.
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Create the illusion of more space: In a livingroom with large couches, take the rug half way under or all the way under your couch. This will make the space look larger.
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If you want to define the are your rug is going in then having a 2" Linen or Cotton border will achieve this. This style of border creates a framed look that clearly outlines the area and its use.
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If you are measuring rooms for wall to wall installation, ensure you measure to the outside of all doorways leading out of the space.
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To reduce noise in a large livingroom, a great idea can be to choose a thicker/denser natural floorcovering. A fantastic material for this is the Greystone Pure Wool/Jute Mix and the Fine Rustic Weave Granite Sisal with a tuck under border. This will absorb more sound and quieten the room.
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In addition to the above relating to sound reduction, Floorspace can add a padded backing to any rug. This not only creates a softer feel under foot but also increase's the density thus absorbing more noise.
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If you want to define the are your rug is going in then having a 2" Linen or Cotton border will achieve this. This style of border creates a framed look that clearly outlines the area and its use.
Rugs
How should you measure up for a rug?
A question we're often asked is "are there any rules when it comes to placing/measuring for Sisal Rugs?" The short answer is no, but there are things to consider.
What is the Purpose of the Rug?
This will determine the area that it should cover.
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Hall Runner
Usually used to add texture to a hall and protect the floor, it should cover the main thoroughfare leaving space between the edge and the walls for some flooring to show. If you have floorboards or polished concrete that is in good condition then having a portion showing can complement the hall runner and the hall runner can in turn complement the floor.
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Area Rug
These sisal rugs are used in larger rooms of the home to define an area like the dining or living space. Area rugs should be large enough for all the furniture to fit on the rug. If however the sofa is against one wall, the area rug can lay half way under the furniture and still visually define the space.
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Dining Area
When measuring for a sisal rug that is going under a dining table of any size or shape, there is a great tricks to ensure the size is just right. To ensure the chairs do not get caught on the side of the rug when people are sitting down, pull the chairs out on either side of the table as if you were about to be seated. Take the measurement to approximately 5cm past the end of each chair and this will ensure that when people pull their chairs out they will remain on the rug the whole time.
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Textural Layering
This can be an area rug or a feature rug used in a small space just to give a textural element and break up the existing flooring. The only rule in this case is that the rug is proportional to the space.
So, there really aren’t any rules to what size a sisal rug should be just things to consider. After doing your measurements, if you are happy with the proportions and the balance of the area covered by the rug or runner then that is what matters. After all, it’s an investment.
If you would like further assistance in making sure your sisal rug or runner is the correct size, feel free to contact any of our helpfull staff on (03) 98822477.
Cleaning and Maintenance
All natural floorcoverings need to be cleaned at some point, so why not have your maintenance program in place. After all, you clean your bathroom floors weekly, you would clean the floorboards every time you notice dust on them and probably this would be weekly.
Just because your natural floorcovering such as Sisal, Coir and Seagrass does not appear to be soiled, does not really mean that you don’t need to professionally clean it on a reasonably regular basis.
By regular we don’t mean weekly but at least annually. Natural Sisal Carpet should be professionally cleaned in conjunction with the vacuuming that you are doing on a weekly basis.
All of our products are natural, eco friendly and different to the synthetic nylons etc…Therefore you treat them differently when cleaning. Natural Sisal floorcoverings are easy to keep clean with weekly vacuuming but we often get asked about red wine and pet urine and how to clean it.
These are the two most difficult liquids that will stain any soft floorcovering and urine with its high acid content will stain. However, if you can get to them quickly then you can lessen the chance of a possible stain.
However, for the best protection we suggest that you invest in a small kit of Envirodri Microsponges spot cleaning kit which you can tip onto the spot, let it soak up the liquid and then when it is dry vacuum up the tiny micro sponges.
Envirodri contains a balanced blend of moisture, detergent and a small amount of safe-to-use solvents.It will deep-clean spots, spills and traffic areas if used as directed.It is safe to use and is an organic product which can be put on the garden after use.
If your flooring requires an annual clean then you can contact:Karl 0415 138 763
We sell the Envirodri Microsponges spot cleaning kit at $88.00 per pack (ex postage) which will last some time and it is important to have this on hand at home for those unexpected accidents.
Any Natural Sisal Fibre Floorcovering should be DRY cleaned. Do NOT steam clean or shampoo as natural fiber products can shrink or expand depending on the fiber and amount of water used.
Natural Spray Protection (with added UV Guard)
In high traffic areas or dining and food service locations it is advisable to consider protecting your floorcovering as this is as investment in your home. When ordering, we can apply the natural spray pritection to your floorcovering or rug. The life of the protection will vary with the amount of usage.
Testimonials
Background
In 1974 we started as Seagrass Trading Company located in a small shop front at 497 High Street Prahran. In those days we carried all the natural fiber flooring such as Seagrass Matting, Rush Grass etc…. in tile form without any backing.
This continued into the late 80’s when the matting became harder to find and also the consumer was rightfully tiring of this product in tiles. The consumer was looking for something better.
We then turned toward working with our suppliers making Coir, Seagrass and Natural Sisal in 4 meter wide rolls and the look and installation technique changed. So did our name.
We felt that Seagrass Trading Company no longer represented what we were about so we changed the name to Floorspace Pty Ltd but kept our tag line ‘natures beautiful floorcovering’ in our advertising.
Ours is a specialist market and we have only specialized in natural floorcoverings such as Sisal, Coir and Seagrass. After 45 years we believe that we understand our products, the way they should be installed and treated.
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Natural Sisal
This is manufactured from the fiber from the Sisalana Agaves plant which is a cactus plant grown in plantations. The fiber from the leaf is extracted and then cleaned, dried, died, spun and finally loomed into the finished natural floorcovering with a foam backing that you see on this website.
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Natural Coir
This fiber is from the husk of the Coconut. It is held in ponds for about 6 months to soften and then is spun and loomed into a very hard wearing floorcovering that has a very casual look, ideal for the Australian home.
We also make the Door Well matting which is latex backed so that it can be cut to the size of any door well. -
Natural Seagrass
Made from Natural Seagrass fibre. Crossweave, Basketweave and Herringbone Seagrass achieves a look like no other. As with all Floorspace products, Seagrass brings together both a natural latex backing and floorcovering with the end result being a product that is environmentally friendly and a healthier alternative for your home and office.
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Natural Seagrass Squares
This is as it is – a grass from the sea. Seagrass is harvested from the seabed and then dried out and woven into the squares and then these squares are sewn together in a bale that is 9 tiles wide x 36 tiles in length.