What Is Shag Carpeting?

Carpeted floors provide warmth, comfort and style to your home.

Shag rugs are a type of carpet characterized by a deep, thick pile, which gives the carpet a shaggy appearance (hence the name). Pile is usually made of strands of yarn or upright loops, and the part of the rug faces up from the backing. Shag carpeting is a cultural icon synonymous with 70’s culture and is reemerging today with newfound popularity. With that in mind, Floor Coverings International® presents the history of shag carpet flooring.

Different Types of Carpet Flooring

Shag Carpets And The Ancient World

While there is a very distinct association of shag carpets with the 1960s and 1970s, shag is older than that. The first shag carpets were known as Flokati and came from ancient Greece, where they were hand woven from goat hair. These Flokati rugs were used so people could sit comfortably on the ground and keep their feet warm. The shag style was also common in Turkey and Central Asia, where they were favored by royalty and decorated palaces. Whatever the shag carpet’s current reputation is, it certainly has an illustrious origin story.

Shag Carpeting In The 60s And 70s

The 1960s and 1970s in America were when shag carpet flooring skyrocketed in popularity. Readily available wall-to-wall carpeting was still a relatively new phenomenon, only a couple of decades old, and the urge to experiment was high. The unique and unorthodox look of shag carpeting was perfect for a generation experimenting and experiencing a cultural shift. It was beloved by hippies, and the new color TVs showed off shag in the houses of families like the Brady Bunch. Due to improvements in the manufacturing processes, shags came in a whole new variety of colors. People got creative with them, leading to shag carpets that came in the quintessential 70s green and orange hues. This was the era of shag when it was not only a style of carpeting but also a dance and a hairstyle. The fluffy, fashionable attributes of shag ruled the era.

Shag Carpets Today

Recently, shag carpet flooring has recently surged in popularity. New carpeting materials and advancements in manufacturing techniques have given way to softer and more durable shags. While there may be less brown and orange color schemes, there are still plenty of other fun shades to choose from. Many people have turned to shag to satisfy their feelings of nostalgia and take them back to an era they’re fond of. However, other customers simply love the feel of soft shag carpeting underfoot in their homes. To all of us at Floor Coverings International®, shag will never die.

Let Us Come To You

No other flooring company has the customer satisfaction that we do! Our Design Associates are proud to bring the shopping experience to your door with our Mobile Flooring Showroom®. See and feel our shag carpeting options up close and in the comfort of your home. We’ll gladly give you a free estimate and take care of the installation process. At Floor Coverings International®, our process makes customers for life.