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We are redoing the carpets in the bedrooms, stairs and hallway, and living room. We’ve narrowed down the choices to either the Fabrica St Croix, Fabrica Dolce, or Karastan Perfect Peace. Anyone have experience with any or all of these? We like the softness of the Fabrica Dolce, but the denier is awfully low and we worry about the wear when used on the stairs. The cost of the Karastan Perfect Peace is half of either Fabrica (Dolce and St Croix are priced similarly), but we’ve heard that their quality is not what it used to be. We are purchasing about 3000 sq ft, and we’d save about $14k if we purchase the Karastan. If price were no object, we like the Fabrica St Croix the best. Please chime in with advice, past experiences, or suggestions! Thx!
I've got a Karastan wool area rug that is close to 40 years old and holding up quite nicely. But you don't want wool, and you say that Karastan quality has gone down, so I guess that doesn't help.
The problem is that a lot of products aren't what they used to be, so just because someone has had good luck with a product bought years ago, that doesn't mean that the same product bought new today is going to hold up the same as the older item.
So my only advice is the same as K'ledgeBldr's. Nylon is probably the best choice if wool is not acceptable. Other than that, get the color and pattern that you like the best. Then in 20 years, you can come back and tell us how it worked out for you.
Thank you oregonwoodsmoke! I am hoping someone has had more recent experience (maybe within the past 10 years or so) with any of these carpets and could offer their opinion.
Thank you oregonwoodsmoke! I am hoping someone has had more recent experience (maybe within the past 10 years or so) with any of these carpets and could offer their opinion.
Again; I can’t stress the “non-importance” of brand names and the real importance of materials! 30yrs of building experience has seen everything. Nylon, polyester, Olefin (polypropylene), “plastic”, sea grass, sisal, and other “plant-based fibers”, along with wool. Time and again, BCF has proved to be the best overall wall-to-wall carpeting (if there’s any other kind!).
The only other “features” that stand out are stain-guards. But, nylon in itself is stain resistant. I’d be more concerned about the backing material.
All three carpets have the standard backing for residential use (I believe there’s performance and high performance backing, but those are primarily found on commercial carpets, which the above are not). What particular things would you be concerned with in the backing material?
Both Fabrica have the nylon BCF 6,6 while the Karastan has a proprietary nylon BCF which the salesperson was not able to provide further info on (is it BCF 6 or BCF 6,6— proprietary, so who knows).
So, still looking for anyone who’s had recent experience with any of those three carpets. How did they wear? Did you like them once installed? Thanks in advance!
I seriously doubt that you will find useful responses here to a question about such a specific product. I mean, there are a zillion carpet brands/styles/products out there. I spent a year looking for carpet for my stairs and upstairs room, and I have never even heard of Fabrica. I would up with 2 Tuftex carpets that I both love the look of, and feel will hold up well (I used a patterned on the stairs, a matched solid in the room). For me, appearance was as important as the stain-resistance. I probably could have found a more durable carpet, but I was looking for a very specific color and application so I am very pleased with my choice.
I have several area rugs ( two are wool/silk), and spent time looking for them as well - so I am familiar with Karastan.
The Fabrica is a Stainmaster fiber. Stainmaster, from what I have read, is an excellent fiber. The Karastan "Kashmere" is sort of a mystery - but since Karastan is owned by Mohawk, I suspect it is a Smartstrand fiber - which is also excellent. I would choose the one that I liked the look of, the best.
You might ask the question on Houzz, but as I said, it's really hard to find specific carpets with reviews.
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