The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A taste for texture Fashion for the floor Texture is fast replacing colour in importance to home décor, especially for the floor, where it offers the perfect break from smooth walls and furniture surfaces. The floor represents the largest area of uninterrupted space in the room and therefore the choice of floor covering will set the tone for the entire room. Today's cleaner, more focused home architecture and interior design demands texture interest to build dimensional character and provide a layer of sensual comfort. With the new interest on texture and pattern for the floor, wall-to-wall carpet is rolling back into the spotlight as designers and consumers are taking full advantage of all that the latest styles have to offer. "Breakthroughs in fiber and manufacturing technology in the last five years have fostered the creation of a new and exciting range of wall-to-wall carpet fashion, offering an endless landscape of decorating possibilities", explains Leslie Beaumont, Director of Marketing for Beaulieu Canada, Canada's largest carpet manufacturer. Great design is multidimensional and integrated right into the carpet. Texture refers to the actual smoothness, nubbiness, or sculpture of the carpet surface and can be further enhanced by the visual impact of colour and pattern working together. "Textured carpet offers added depth to a room and brings incredible energy to the floor with visual impact which can be subtle or dramatic, rich and elegant or clean and contemporary", says Beaumont. A small repeating textured pattern on the floor can even make a small space appear larger. Conversely, a bigger pattern can make a larger open space seem cozy. Representing great value for your decorating dollar, today's new carpet fashion offers a sense of luxury combined with unique modern design perfect for any lifestyle. Look for the latest, most popular carpet styles which include contemporary "California-casual" shaggy friezes, soft, tonal corduroy ribs, earthy sweater-look loops, multi-level-loop waffled and checkerboard textures to sophisticated sculpted vine, leaf & geometric patterns. Consumers are becoming bolder and are demanding new looks, new textures, and new colours underfoot to suit their individual style but still require carpet that stands up to the way they live. Not only is today's new carpet available in a striking collection of design and colour, it has been engineered for optimum performance, soil and stain resistance, and long-term appearance retention. Many of the new contemporary patterned styles are manufactured on the same equipment and to the same exacting standards as commercial carpets with lower pile or loop heights and tighter, denser constructions, for long wear and easy care. For more information about carpet styles and construction, visit www.yourhomestyle.ca. --News Canada