Next Level Decorating: Creative & Beautiful Ways to Use Carpet Tile

When you think of carpet, maybe “exciting” isn’t the first word that comes to mind. But these days carpet has taken on a lot of interesting possibilities, thanks to a little innovation called carpet tile.

Carpet tile — carpet that comes in small squares (“tiles”), as opposed to rolls — has the advantage of being easy to install, and easy to clean. If one square becomes stained, you can pop it out, scrub it off, and put it in back in place (or replace it if the stain is too stubborn). But another advantage of carpet tile is its versatility. The tiles come in all kinds of colors, patterns, and even textures, and can be combined in almost any pattern you can imagine.

Wall-to-wall carpet gets a style boost with this gingham pattern, spotted on Wit & Delight. A great thing about this pattern is that it doesn’t require any cutting of the squares (except, of course, at the edge of the wall).

Here’s another pattern from Wit & Delight, a somewhat more labor-intensive Navajo-inspired look.

The floor of the living room in this Australian home from Inside Out (also lead image above) is covered in a lively herringbone-esque pattern made from Bolon carpet tiles. The tiles are vinyl, which makes them easy to clean, and a great choice for a family with kids.

This argyle pattern, made from FLOR tiles cut diagonally into triangles, was spotted on Martha Stewart.

This ombre pattern, also seen on Martha Stewart, involves four shades of tiles in the same color cut into strips and arranged into a parquet pattern.

This pretty rug from VT Wonen combines tiles in a variety of colors and textures. These tiles are from Heuga, a European division of Interface (which is also the parent company of FLOR).

By Meta Coleman and featured on The House That Lars Built, here’s a fun carpet tile combination, inspired by the playful cutouts of Matisse.

Here’s another option for arranging diagonally-cut tiles, from Laur Interiors. I love the way this combines both zig-zag and ombre.

And yet another pattern made from diagonally-cut tiles, this one from Parents magazine. The mix of cheerful colors is especially perfect for a child’s room.

Jennifer Farley made this rug, inspired by IKEA’s Stockholm rug, from commercial-grade carpet tile she bought at her local carpet warehouse for $1.25 a sq/ft.

Here’s one more rug we couldn’t help but include, from Design Mom, with a wave pattern reminiscent of 70s supergraphics. When it comes to carpet tile, only your imagination is the limit.