Flooring

Carpet seam placement & pile direction — run seams with the light, all pile one way

Two rooms of identical size need different layouts. Run seams parallel to the main window light, out of traffic and pivot points, and keep every strip’s pile (nap) facing the same way — reverse one and the halves look like two colors.

Source: CRI 105 residential installation practice (seam placement & pile direction)

What this diagram shows

Two plan views of the same room compare a wrong and a right carpet layout. On the wrong side a seam runs across the middle of the room, perpendicular to the daylight from the window and across the main traffic path through the door, and the pile of the two strips faces opposite directions so the halves reflect light differently and look like two different colors. On the right side the seam runs parallel to the window light, set off to one side away from the door and out of the traffic path, and all the pile faces the same direction so the carpet looks uniform.

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