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Fuel prices are adding to the pressure on construction pros.

The commercial carpet segment is getting a little more hip. According to Jenny Rogers, director of creative marketing and sustainability for commercial carpet maker J&J/Invision, the commercial market has taken a welcome turn back to color. This is in sharp contrast to a few years ago, when the market favored what she calls “a tonal, blank canvas.”

Bailout or keep bailing?

Tom Davis, CEO of Mannington Mills, did not mince words during Wednesday's open house for his company's commercial division. "This is the worst housing slump I've seen since probably World War II," he told the architects and designers on hand at Mannington's headquarters in Salem, N.J. Despite that dire assessment, he also saw a silver lining -- the continued expansion of the commercial market.

Shaw Industries announced yesterday that it would be dipping its toe into the water of a new segment: specifically, the marine market. This means that Shaw, looking to expand its business, will soon offer a special range of flooring for use in boats and other nautical craft. According to Fred Thomas, Shaw Marine's marketing manager, the new business has its roots in the purchase of the Dixie Group's Carriage Carpets division about five years ago.

Don't be wild-eyed from this week's wild ride on Wall Street.

September 11 was a somber day for me. From the moment I turned on my car radio in the morning until I went to sleep, words and images kept flooding my mind.

Did you happen to catch that wonderful segment on eco-friendly flooring that debuted recently on two cable TV networks? It is sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association and started running on the WE Channel on Sept. 5 and on The Learning Channel show, Designing Spaces, the following day.

See what readers said about their 2008 losses and their 2009 forecasts.