Interesting question. My sewing space is in a walkout basement space. It has carpet-very low loft and I really like it. It is easy on the legs when I am standing for cutting and pressing (and doing my ironing). I have an office mat under my sewing machine area and my office style chair rolls around easily. Most of the pins I drop are on the office mat and I use a hand held magnet wand to pick them up. It is easy to vacuum and we use a hand held brush to pick up threads.