Interior Accessories

Interior Accessories

Your car is your castle, and your cockpit is your throne room. However, if you want your ride to look more like Buckingham Palace and less like Grey Gardens, you need to keep it protected and decorated with interior accessories. Life on the road can be mighty unpredictable. You never know when that grande latte is going to bounce out of your hands and spill its scolding-hot contents all over your seats and floorboards. Without a proper set of custom seat covers and all-weather floor mats, you'd have a serious stain on your hands. And, you can score matching cargo & trunk liners to safeguard your ride's rear while maintaining a uniform look throughout your interior. Of course, toppled drinks and spilt foods are not your only enemies. The sun has a grudge against your dash and tries to bake it into submission, so you have block those crack-causing UV rays with custom sized dashboard covers. While you're protecting your dashboard, consider adding some elegance to your dash and console with genuine wood grain or carbon fiber dash kits. You deserve nothing but the best, your highness.

Dash Covers - Choosing the Right One

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Whether you’re looking for added protection, style or both for your interior, dash covers are the way to do it. Dashboard covers come in a variety of colors and materials that complement your ride’s interior while protecting your dash board from cracking and fading caused from the harsh sun rays. In addition, using a dash cover eliminates the blinding glare that can be caused from the sun reflecting off your dash. And, some dash covers even help keep your cabin cool.

 

Dash covers are available in carpet, suede and velour materials for the ultimate in comfort, style and luxury. They are custom designed to fit your exact vehicle for the maximum protection, and they are available for both the front dash board and the rear deck.

 

From front dash covers to rear deck covers to carpet dash covers to molded dash covers, there are so many options available when it comes to choosing a new dash cover. If you’re looking for a top-quality dash cover, but don’t know where to start, allow me to make a couple of recommendations: the Coverking Molded Dash Cover or the Dash Designs Suede Dashboard Cover.

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The Coverking Molded Dash Cover is designed to form fit your dashboard for the ultimate style and protection. It’s made from poly-carpet material that has a thermo-formable backing to fit your dash like your favorite pair of jeans. Once the cover is molded into shape, it holds that contour for life. You can choose the Molded Dash Cover in a variety of colors, including beige, gray, blue and black. What’s more, Coverking backs it with a Lifetime Warranty.

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The Dash Designs Suede Dashboard Cover is also custom made to hug the contours of your vehicle’s dashboard. It’s crafted from a rich, foam-backed simulated suede fabric, and it is available in several hues of black, gray and brown. This dash cover actually helps regulate your interior temperature as it blocks out hot UV rays. Plus, it’s backed by a 5-year warranty.

Dashboard Covers

Seat Covers: All the Info Fit to Print

Matt GroeningThey say you should dress for the job you want not the job you have, which is why so many dress up in stained chinos and obnoxious Tommy Bahama shirts like Matt Groening. The same maxim can be applied to your auto's upholstery, too. Think about it: would you rather your seats looked like a short order cook at the end of the dinner rush or like one of the high-powered executives ordering steaks out in the dining room? If you haven't yet slipped on a set of car seat covers, then the answer is evident—order up.

Seat covers are like a stylish suit of armor for your interior. First and foremost, they block gunk from staining your seats and spoiling your resale value. Toppled drinks, fumbled nachos, lost linguini—all of this sustenance can wreak havoc on your seats. Plus, the simple act of sliding into your seat and scooting around while you drive wears down your stock upholstery, opening up the possibility of rips, tears and discoloration. Seat covers add a layer of defense against all these dangers.

seat_coversNow, there's an unfortunate stigma associated with seat covers: people assume thatthey're about as form-fitting as a muumuu. That might be the case for seat covers that come from big box stores or grimy auto parts shops, but not all seat covers are created equal. There are number of modern seat cover manufacturers who take the time to custom tailor their covers for a bespoke fit. Who are these sultans of stitching, you ask? The most respected seat cover makers out there are Saddleman, Coverking, Wet Okole, Covercraft and CalTrend. Even though their creations are premium quality, they don't charge a premium for their work.

There's another myth out there surrounding seat covers: that they only come in dull black, beige or gray. Not so, dear reader. There is a veritable cornucopia of patterns and colors available, from neon yellows and hunter greens to camouflage and hibiscus flower patterns. Of course, you can score standard black, beige and gray seat covers, too, if hot pink really isn't your style. And, you can choose between an impressive array of fabrics. Although cotton and saddle blanket are mighty popular, you can stand apart with some leather seat covers or neoprene seat covers.

Seat Covers

Dash Kits: A Pinch of Info

dash-IILooking to add a dash of class, style or manliness to your vehicle’s interior? Come on—admit it—you are, right? Good, well, you’re in the right spot, because this is the place to learn all about adding class, style and manliness, in the form of custom dash kits. No matter the current condition of your car’s interior, whether it’s a brand new dash plagued with the dreaded ubiquity found in today’s vehicles or it’s a craggy, bombed-out battlefield that’s seen better days, a custom dash kit is guaranteed to deliver character, elegance, luxury, even the aforementioned manliness with very little effort, we promise.

First, you gotta decide what kind of dash look you’re seeking. Is it going to be the classic deep, polished wood look found on fine motorcars, the racecar stylings of carbon fiber and brushed aluminum, or the one-of-a-kind look found in the color molded kits? The possibilities are virtuallydash-I limitless.

When looking for a wood dash kit, the array of wood selections alone can start to boggle the senses. There’s burl wood, lavish wood, cherry wood, walnut, bird’s eye maple, etc. Sometimes, the kits match the wood grain found in the more opulent factory trim levels of your make/model automobile, sometimes they’re fashioned after the trim found in the European motorcars of old. Either way, wood is the go-to material when you want the look of a classic dashboard.

dash_IIIA racy carbon fiber dash kit, on the other hand, is much easier to narrow down. After all, it’s just carbon fiber, so you can get grey carbon fiber, or black carbon fiber, that’s it. This look is far from the classic wood trim, and adds an industrial, more mechanical look like you’d see in a race car. The color-molded kits are a whole different beast. You can basically trim your dash with any color of the rainbow and beyond. Some manufacturers, like Sherwood dash kits, even offer several colors of camouflage for your dash. Just be careful, you don’t want to lose your keys or your stereo in all that jungle print!

Dash Kits

Floor Mats and Liners: The Straight Dope

nasty_carpetHoarders. You know they're out there, and you can just imagine the condition of their carpets. Before you judge their sloppy ways, remember one thing: the flooring in your automobile is one overturned Big Gulp away from looking like the shag carpeting in your shut-in neighbor's cat box room. Instead of casting disparaging stones, take steps to prevent your auto's interior from spoiling by laying down a proper set of car mats.

If you think that those flimsy pieces of scrap carpeting that came with your car are going to put up a serious fight against a fumbled chilidog or a burrito blowout, then you're in for a rude awakening. A carpet floor mat set may look plush and inviting, but they won't look very luxurious once you track in a wad of Big League Chew on your shoe. For maximum stain-fighting action, you need an all weather mat set. Constructed from durable rubber and synthetic materials, all weather floor mats catch and contain gunk before it has a chance to seep through into your carpet.

weathertech_floorliner_tanNow, a lot of people use the words car mats and car liners interchangeable, but there's a difference between the two. Car mats lay flat on your floorboards and usually have a ridge around their perimeter to contain some fluids. Car liners, though, have tall outer walls that go up the sides of your floorboards, providing maximum fluid stopping power. Spilled coffee? No problem. Melted snow from your boots? Contained. Upchuck in the back seat? Caught. Auto liners are the ultimate line of defense.

In the floor mats and liners industry, there are a number of big cheeses. Husky Liners are one of the best-known manufacturers of quality car mats and liners, and WeatherTech comes in as a close second. Other trustworthy brands include Hexomat, Catch-All, Nifty and Rugged Ridge. On the carpet side, Lloyd Mats are probably the largest manufacturer of aftermarket floor mats, and Intro-Tech Automotive has a huge lineup of options as well.

Floor Mats

Cargo Liners Guide

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cargo_linerLook behind you. Further, further, keep going—too far. When it comes to keeping your vehicle’s carpet clean, you took all the precautions in the book to save the floor below you. Unfortunately, when it came to the cargo and trunk area, you skipped out on floor mats. Treating your cargo or trunk area like the red-headed step child isn’t the answer. Sure, it may seem like that somewhat hidden area of your vehicle doesn’t need as much protection, but that’s only an assumption. And, you know what they say about you when you make assumptions…

Quality cargo & trunk liners are vital when protecting your vehicle. Sure, your feet may not be tracking in dirt and debris, but what about all the other action your rear cargo space gets. Everything from muddy cleats and rackets to lawn sod and flower pots—there are tons of items that wreak havoc on your cargo space daily, but you can keep it safe with a quality cargo liner.cargo_liner_egg

When choosing the perfect cargo liner, start first with the fit—spend the extra Washingtons and go for a custom fit that’s sure to give you maximum coverage and superior protection. The next step is just as important: deciding on a material. You can choose from carpet or all-weather cargo liners made from rubber—each boasting their own benefits.

A carpet cargo liner boasts factory-like style. But, when it comes to durability, upholstery shielding and washing, rubber floor mats win hands down. All weather cargo liners are crafted from heavy-duty rubber, vinyl or thermoplastic to provide extreme defense against mud, much, snow and other grime carted in my cargo items.

The third and final step when selecting the perfect cargo liner is choosing a brand that represents quality. Lucky for you, there are plenty of top brands in the cargo & trunk liner industry. BedRug mats, Canvasback mats, Lloyd mats, WeatherTech mats and Husky Liner mats are just a few cargo liners that get the job done right!

Cargo & Trunk Liners