Inhabit Design Works Floor Mat Review
If you’ve ever vacationed or lived in a van, you know how difficult it can be to keep your floors clean. With the limited space in a van, a dirty floor can quickly spread the dirt around to places like seats and beds. This is unhygienic, but also stressful because you can end up feeling unclean and disorganized, not what you want when you are trying to relax and enjoy your travels. If you have a pet with you in the van, this only compounds the issues.
Wet weather can also be a challenge from a safety perspective. Many van flooring options are smooth, which is attractive because it can make sweeping easier than a textured floor. The problem is that when you track in water from rain or snow, it can cause a slipping hazard…trust us!
In addition to cleanliness, van flooring is often hard and cold during the winter and shoulder seasons, especially in the morning. If you are lucky enough to have radiant heated flooring in your van, then you have eliminated one of these issues!
Inhabit Design Work’s flooring mats are a great solution to all of these issues and we highly recommend adding them to your van.
Company Overview
Inhabit Design Works is located in Portland, Oregon. They make floor mats for a variety of production van models (Revel, Storyteller, Ekko, Solis, Launch/Terrain etc.) but they also make mats for custom vans built by DIYers and Professional Upfitters.
What's so special
Inhabit Design Works addressed the issues with standard van flooring by creating a comfortable, warm, durable, easy-to-clean, removable and beautiful flooring system.
Comfortable:
Inhabit mats are created by combining Chilewich’s woven vinyl sheets and a durable backing. If you have ever felt Chilewich’s rugs or place mats, you know they feel both soft and durable. The addition of a durable backing (either TPO or Latex) gives Inhabits mats cushion and extra durability.
Warmth:
The mats create a thermal barrier, not allowing the floor temperature to transfer to the surface you walk on. This means when you get out of bed in the morning, you aren’t greeted by a shockingly cold floor!
Durable:
Chilewich is a very durable material, the woven vinyl doesn’t dent, chip or scratch. You don’t have to worry about dropping a heavy object or dragging dirt and debris into the van that might scar your van flooring. The additional padding from the TPO or Latex backing provides protection in addition to comfort.
Easy to Clean:
Even though Inhabit mats are made from a woven material, they are extremely easy to clean. If you have a textured van floor, sweeping & vacuuming your mats are much easier than the textured flooring. You can even blow them off with a leaf-blower or air-compressor if you have one and want a little fun!
Deeper cleaning can be done by wiping them with a damp cloth or removing them to rinse or power wash with water, no cleaning solution needed.
Removable:
One of the biggest advantages comes from Inhabit mat’s removability. You can easily pull the mats out of your van, they are built in segments so you can remove only the parts you want to, or the entire mat system. This is handy if part of the mat has become particularly dirty while you are on the road. Just detach the part(s) of the mat that need more attention, now you can shake the mat out, rinse it off or even power wash the mats!
We power washed the entire mat system at least 2 times a year. However, I pull just the mats from the cab and living area in the van to power wash several more times each year as they get the dirtiest…and it is so easy to do!
Beautiful:
Inhabit/Chilewich mats come in a variety of colors and patterns. They can add a splash of color or a touch of elegance to your van build, enhancing your van aesthetics in addition to their functionality.
View, color and pattern options
Our Van Before (cold, hard and difficult to clean)
Our Van After (warm and comfortable!)
Cost:
Complete sets (cab, living area and garage) start at $1799 and go up to $2299 depending on the model of van, production or custom layout, and color/pattern selection. Custom van builds cost a little more because they require an in-person sizing template.
The costs vary depending on how much of your van floor you want to cover. You can add sections incrementally to your van if you aren’t sure if you're ready to invest in a full system.
While Inhabit’s mats are expensive, they are well worth the cost. If you cannot afford to purchase them all at once, you can purchase them in sections (cab, living area & garage) until you get the full system.
If you are building out a custom van and know that you will be putting Inhabit mats in your van build, you could go with a cheaper flooring material, knowing you’ll be covering it up with your stunning Inhabit mats!
How to purchase:
Production Vans:
If you have a production van, you can purchase mats directly from Inhabit's website.
Custom Vans:
If you’re having a custom van built by an upfitter in the Portland, Oregon area, you may be able to have Inhabit template your van at the upfitters facility, you can either have the mats installed when you pick your van up or stop by Inhabit after picking your van up to have them do the install and answer any questions
If you’re at an Adventure Van Expo that Inhabit is attending, you may be able to have a template created (template appointments are limited) and either schedule a time to stop by Inhabit or have your mats shipped. Inhabit's 2024 Adventure Van Expo Schedule
For more information about their custom mats, including pricing, you can get in touch with them at: info@inhabitdesignworks.com or (503) 329-2141
Our Overall Impression:
We HIGHLY recommend Inhabit’s mats. They are a true upgrade to any van as they improve the comfort, convenience, cleanliness and look of your van. They are expensive, but we would say they are worth every penny. After upgrading your suspension, these are the most noticeable upgrade you can make to your van.
Free Accessory Pack:
Calico Van does not receive any commission or compensation from Inhabit Design Works. However, they have given us a coupon code for a free accessory pack ($100 value) to extend to our community. The accessory pack includes door, dash & cup holder inserts made from the same material as their mats. It’s a nice way to add a little cushioning and rattle-reduction to your van!
Use CALICO at checkout to receive the free accessory pack when you purchase a floor mat product, excludes accessory purchases.
Note: At checkout you’ll see a $0.01 discount applied to your order, this indicates that the free accessory pack has been added.