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Kitteh!!!

Kitteh loaf!

I agree with you. I don't think it looks right. Although I cutting the FLOR pieces may look odd as well. You do have a beautiful hallway and kitty!

Your instincts are correct; the runner is too wide. Most new runners sold today are around 30 inches wide. You should see more of the floor on the sides of the rug. If you wanted to cover the entire floor, you'd put in wall to wall carpeting, right?

I considered FLOR tiles for a runner, but one-tile width is too narrow, and two-tile widths is too wide for my space. I think it might look odd to cut your tiles down. The proportions would be off.

If you have a modest older home (like my 1920s bungalow), even 30 inches is too wide for narrow hallways. A lot of older or imported runners are 24 inches wide, so I've usually gone that route.

Kitty with no tail! Just like mine!

I'd also agree with the 1" from each side rather than cutting a FLOR tile in half. I think anywhere from 1" to 1.5" gap from the walls would do the trick.

I think your instinct it right on: Cut some tiles in half, and alternate the side that gets the half tile...
...and get some additional whole tiles to extend your runner longer down the hall with the other half-tiles.

You might even consider choosing another color and alternating the colors down your long corridor...

I think 1/3 to 1/2 a tile width needs to go, and yes, there should be a whole tile in the center with cut pieces on either side (and you do have nice floors).

I know nothing about what a runner's width should be, but your kitty is lovely.

You showing much disrespect to Buddha by placing him on the floor. Elevate him on a table or the like as soon as possible.

I agree with bepsf, and would add:

Cut four of the Flor tiles in half.
Take the two leftover whole ones in that column and put them on the end, to extend the length of the runner.
Alternate which side, left-to-right, the half-tiles go on.
Put the cut edge of the half tiles up against the edge of the whole tiles for a clean outer edge.

I'd test this on /one/ tile first... not sure whether FLOR will lose structural integrity or have an unacceptably raggedy edge when cut. Probably depends on the weave.

Another relatively inexpensive option: Get a custom-sized sisal runner and stain it to whatever color you like with aniline dye. I believe NaturalAreaRugs.com will do custom sizes, and even a borderless bound edge, and they're very inexpensive... like under a hundred bucks for a 2' x 8' runner. And yes, I've tried aniline dye on sisal and it worked *beautifully*.

chop a bit off each side, then turn the raw edges inward so that the original edge is on the outside. the raw edges should kind of smush together and you'll barely be able to see the center seam.

maybe try one long runner one square wide, and purchasing another color of carpet and chop it up to use as a border. that way u could make the border as thick as u wanted.

like in this image, but only one square wide:

http://www.flor.com/flor/images/large/R206000038-98404_1.jpg

Since you are cutting, you can do this to an exact custom size. The runner should be exactly 2/3 the width of the hall. If the total width of the hall is 42" (my guess), then the runner should be 28". One Flor tile in the middle, and 4.5" of a tile on either side. Or you could alternate one full tile on the right, 1/2 tile on the left, and then flip the pattern on the next set.

The great news is that your tile order will go much further.

Hehe :) Bepfs, and amandacollier, have already written down exactly what my idea was :D

Looks really great!

My suggestion would be this. The wall with the photographs gives weight to the hallway.

If you do not plan on placing photographs/other on the opposite wall, cut down only one side of the tiles to counteract the "weighted" feeling (so the division of tiles is not equal). This will help counteract the weighted feeling.

If you do decide to put photographs/other on the opposite wall, I would cut down both sides.

All the best,

David
RugRag

Kitty has told me to leave as is...more room for looking gorgeous. That green really makes Russian Blue kitty eyes pop!

Same as Tes Moana...and bepfs, and amandacollier.

I agree with pvett. But I think you should pick up 9 more tiles in a complimentary stripe or print or contrasting color; and cut 8 of those tiles in thirds. Use those as a border on both sides of a single row of the solid tiles you already have, effectively doubling the length of your runner. The 9th tile could be cut in either half or thirds to form the endcaps. You certainly seem to have the hallway length for 12 tiles in a single row, plus borders.

Love how you matched the tile color to kitty's eyes.

First - lovely kitty - twin to my Basil

Second - I'm an interior designer and I am familiar with FLOR. Of course, design is all a matter of opinion. Go wall to wall or cut it short. But I would suggest about a 2” to 2-1/2" gap on each side.

Now to cut the tiles you can either cut both and have two equal side by side. Or you can cut one and have a full tile down the middle and two shorter tiles on each side.

Hopefully the FLOR tile came with cutting instructions. If not, purchase a metal straight edge from an art supply store that is several inches longer than the tiles. Flip the tile over and on the backside, measure dimensions in several locations, mark and then use the straight edge to draw a line with a ballpoint pen or a sharpie along your marks. Using a fresh utility knife blade and on top of a cutting surface, line up the metal straight edge and hold it firmly in place. Rather than cutting through all at once, make several soft cuts through the tile. Once through, if the fibers are connected to the two cut pieces, use scissors and cut. If the fibers edges are a little ragged, turn the tile right side up and use the scissors on a slight angle towards the tile and trim the fibers - these cut edges should be the outside edge of the runner.

Good luck!

Go for it!! :D

You showing much disrespect to Kitty by placing him on the floor. Elevate him on a table or the like as soon as possible.

I agree w/ bepsf. Your russian blue is beautiful!

I think you should go with your instincts and cut the tiles to make the runner more narrow. I agree with everyone else who said to make it longer.

I have the same tiles as Gregory. It looks like he just placed the tiles from the box without raking the nap. This is one of Flor's light shag versions. The borders will not be seen so it shouldn't matter where he makes the cut (I think 30 inches would look best). As long as the arrows on the underside of the carpet are facing the same direction he will be fine.

Good Luck!

thank you tarsengreen, my thought exactly!

We had the same issue with FLOR with our hallway, so we took up all the tiles on the left and extended the entire runner into the living room, we only walked on that one side really, and it brought the two room together as well as creating a unique 1/2 hallway runner and an interesting wall/floor border into our living room

You're right, these are too wide for the space. I don't know if there's an accepted size of gap between runner and wall, but I do know you know it when you see it, and this ain't it.

I actually think you're going to have to let go of these flor tiles in this location altogether. If you cut them down you'll make them rectangular instead of square, which I don't think will look nearly as good.

I also think that whatever solution you replace these with, it should go the full length of the hall. It currently looks like you just ran out...

I think you should cut them, but not how you had in mind or how others are suggesting.

If you were to cut them diagonally, you could create a pattern like so:

|\/\/\/\/\/\/|
|/\/\/\/\/\/\|

If my math* is right, the width would be about 27.5 inches, plus you would have a neat pattern instead of awkward rectangles.

* If the current full width is 39 inches, each tile is 19.5 inches wide/tall, so the diagonal should be just over 27.5 inches. (square root of 19.5^2 19.5^2)

I had the same idea as David (above me). Do that!

I had a defective Russian Blue, in that she craved heat, and couldn't stand the cold. This fella looks tougher than my kitteh, and looks fantastic on the rug.

"Eyem on ur rugz, lookin' better than u"
Hee!

I like your math, David Millar!
Beautiful beautiful cat.
I have a different question-what makes a long, narrow, tall hallway have more graceful proportions? wall-to-wall carpeting? Walls in two different colors? A mirror? My boyfriend's hallway is only a few feet wide, the ceilings are over 10 feet and it is approximately 30 feet long...

As you rightly say your floor is lovely I have two questions:

1) why use a runner at all if the floors are so nice

2) why does the runner stop after a few feet? Its supposed to run the length of the hallway

but yes it is too wide for the width of your hallway

After seeing the photo looking down the hallway, I was thinking that it would be neat to just use what you have without cutting and turn it into one long row of them, but not centered.

You have a really nice gallery-like area. And great floors. Why not emphasize the space by making a long row of them close to the wall of frames, maybe about 4" away from the wall? I think it would look great and a lot easier than cutting! Plus, if you try it and don't like the way it looks, you can always just go back to your original idea. Good luck!

PS- your cat is so pretty! And so is the hallway. :)

Where did you get your buddah? I've been looking for one for a home meditation altar.

Are proper 30" carpet runners REALLY that hard to come by? Just get the right item already...