Mill guide · For the trade
DMI carpet: a designer's guide to the line, the fibers and where it belongs
DMI carpet is natural-fiber flooring from Design Materials Inc, a Kansas City, Kansas company known for seagrass, sisal, coir and wool and a partner of Wools of New Zealand since 2009. It is for the designer who needs a seagrass dining room rug with a wide border, a sisal stair, a wool flatweave that looks natural but is soft underfoot, or a woven vinyl for a mudroom, on a short lead time. Interiors carries 55 DMI styles, 52 sold as broadloom or custom rug and 3 as broadloom only, on the DMI brand page, with complimentary samples for approved trade accounts.
The mill
Design Materials Inc, which is what DMI stands for, is a natural-fiber house rather than a weaver of pattern. Its range is seagrass, sisal, coir, jute and wool, plus a small woven vinyl group and a contract line, and its partnership with Wools of New Zealand since 2009 is where the wool flatweaves and bouclés come from. The mill inventories its goods in Kansas and ships across North America, which keeps lead times short for a natural-fiber spec; that is the practical reason DMI is often the first book we open when a client wants seagrass or sisal and the install date is fixed.
What we carry
Of the 55 styles, 24 are sisal, jute and seagrass, 21 are wool, 2 are nylon and 2 are vinyl and performance fibers. By construction, 31 are flatweave, 10 machine woven, 5 tufted and 1 Wilton. Flatweave has no pile, which is why a seagrass or sisal reads as a textile on the floor and why it takes a bound or bordered edge so well. Seagrass is the classic choice for a dining room or family room rug with a wide cotton or leather border; sisal is firmer and better on a stair; the wool group gives a flatweave or bouclé that looks natural but is softer underfoot. The woven vinyl styles handle a mudroom or a covered porch.
Widths are mostly 13 ft 2 in (46 styles), with 12 ft (2) and 6 ft 7 in (2). By pattern, 36 styles are textures, 6 are herringbone and chevron, 5 are geometrics, 5 are stripes and 3 are solids. The catalog lists 10 low-pile styles, to 0.30 in, and 7 high-pile styles, over 0.50 in; the rest are the flat naturals. Our catalog marks 9 styles as made in Belgium, 6 in the Netherlands and 2 in India; for the rest, ask us for the spec sheet on a specific style.
Collections to know
The line is organized by fiber. DMI Wool is the largest group we carry at 22 styles, the flatweaves and bouclés from the Wools of New Zealand partnership. DMI Sisal has 13 styles, DMI Seagrass 9, DMI Contract 5, DMI Woven Vinyl 4 and DMI Jute 2. Styles to know include Collect, Gamma, Kappa, Arrowhead, Alfa, Magellan, Miramar and Livos.
Where it belongs
Seagrass goes under the dining table and in the family room, cut to the room and finished with a wide border. Its smooth, hard fiber sheds crumbs and takes a vacuum. Sisal is the stair and hall natural: firmer than seagrass, with a tighter weave that holds on a nosing, and the herringbone and chevron patterns are made for a straight run of stairs. The wool flatweaves and bouclés belong in bedrooms, living rooms and studies, where a client wants the natural look without the hard hand of a plant fiber. Jute is the softest of the naturals and the least durable; keep it to a bedroom. The 5 contract styles and the nylon pair are rated commercial and go in offices and corridors. Woven vinyl is for the mudroom, the laundry and the covered porch, where water is a given.
Custom rugs and runners
Custom rug is available on 52 of the 55 styles, and every one can be cut and bound in our Design Studio. A DMI seagrass or sisal rug with a cotton, linen or leather border is one of the most common natural-fiber orders we place. Send us the room dimensions or the stair count and tread width and we will draw it, pick the border and quote it net, with the rendering and net quote in about two weeks.
How to order through Interiors
Interiors is a to-the-trade showroom for interior design professionals; we do not sell to the public. DMI carpet samples are complimentary for approved trade accounts and ship from the mill, enough to cover a job. Net pricing is quoted by the showroom; there is no public pricing. The 3 broadloom-only styles are made to order, and the 52 custom styles are fabricated to your dimensions; the ship date is provided by the showroom with your order, and because DMI inventories its goods in Kansas, the lead time on a natural-fiber rug is often shorter than designers expect. We measure and install anywhere in the United States through our installer network.
| Styles | 55 |
|---|---|
| Types | Broadloom or custom rug (52), broadloom only (3) |
| Fibers | Sisal, jute and seagrass (24), wool (21), nylon (2), vinyl and performance (2) |
| Constructions | Flatweave (31), machine woven (10), tufted (5), Wilton (1) |
| Widths | 13 ft 2 in (46), 12 ft (2), 6 ft 7 in (2) |
| Made in | Belgium (9), Netherlands (6), India (2); others, ask for the spec sheet |
| Availability | Custom (52), made to order (3); commercial and contract on 5 |
Questions designers ask
What does DMI stand for?
Design Materials Inc, the Kansas City, Kansas company behind the DMI carpet line. Designers also search for it as DMI floors and Design Materials Inc carpet; it is the same mill, and the same 55 styles on our floor.
Is DMI carpet good quality?
Yes, for what it is. DMI is a natural-fiber specialist, and its seagrass, sisal and wool are the standard for a bordered rug or a natural stair. Quality in a natural fiber shows in the evenness of the weave and the latex backing; sample a corner and look at the back before you spec, and match the fiber to the room, because seagrass, sisal and jute wear very differently.
How much does DMI carpet cost?
DMI sits in the mid range for natural-fiber flooring, with the wool group above the plant fibers. Net pricing is quoted to approved trade accounts; we do not publish DMI carpet prices. Cost is driven by fiber, seagrass and jute lowest and wool highest, by construction, and for a rug by the border you choose.
Where is DMI carpet made?
Our catalog marks 9 DMI styles as made in Belgium, 6 in the Netherlands and 2 in India; the mill is based in Kansas City, Kansas, and inventories its goods there. For any style without an origin in our catalog, ask us for the spec sheet and we will confirm where it is made.
Where can I buy DMI carpet?
Through trade showrooms such as Interiors. We carry 55 DMI styles for interior design professionals, with the library on the floor in the Laguna Design Center, and we ship and install nationwide. DMI samples ship from the mill to your office.
Can DMI carpet be made into a rug or stair runner?
Yes. Custom rug is available on 52 of the 55 styles, cut and bound through our Design Studio with a cotton, linen or leather border. For a stair runner, choose a sisal or a sisal herringbone rather than seagrass or jute; the tighter weave holds on the nosing and wears better on the tread.
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