By Bob Dvorak

The architect and interior designer for the new hotel faced an interesting problem. The plans called for hundreds of rooms. And the layout of the hotel included a central corridor which would be several hundred feet long.

They immediately recognized that, over time, any floor covering in this area would not survive the traffic for any great length of time; at the same time, in sleeping areas, a durable material such as ceramic or marble tile would be too noisy.

They settled instead on a plan to divide the corridor into sections; each section, much shorter, would feature a length of heavy-duty carpet with a Persian inlay. Thus, as an area became worn or stained, only a small portion need be replaced.

They both agreed that this arrangement would work much better over the long haul.