Choosing the right carpet for your home

Adonis Adoni Adonis Adoni
Minotti space, Architectural Visualization Architectural Visualization Salas de estar modernas
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Have you ever considered the importance of a carpet? The right one can brighten a dark room, add zest to a cold apartment, divide an open-plan space and mute sound to help create a relaxing atmosphere. If you have children in the house, carpet can make the room safer for play and, if you believe the stories, some can even fly!

Given the many possibilities of their uses, carpets come in a diverse range of designs, materials and colours so it might get a tad difficult to choose one for your home. Some carpets require high maintenance whilst others are too expensive to be practical. There are even some that will exhibit signs of wear relatively soon after purchase, rebelling against any cleaning methods you employ.

Hence, today we are helping you choose the right carpet for your home!

Consider the room and use

A carpet purchase is a significant investment in the house. Thus before committing to buying one, you will need to consider what room they will fill and why they are going to be used. As we will discuss in later sections, there are different material and styles in carpet each with their own attributes. 

A living room that is in constant use by the family will need a different type of carpet than a luxury master bedroom. A different carpet will be suitable if you are too use it for warmth and catching the inevitable falls of your toddlers rather than brightening up a room. Hence, understand the needs of your home well before investing in a carpet.

Evaluate the different materials

In the making of carpets, varieties of natural and synthetic fibres are being used. The most common material used in carpets are nylon fibres, which are highly resistant to stains, soft and hard-wearing. Similarly, polypropylene fibres make durable carpets that can resist stains and shedding. 

Polyester fibres are eco-friendly as they are mostly made out of recycled bottles and are prized for being non-allergic while at the same time come in bright colour schemes.  However polyester fibres are a bad choice for high traffic areas as they tend to flattened under a lot of weight. 

The softest material in carpets is wool, which at the same time is the most luxurious and durable. However, they tend to have an expensive price tag, while if their quality is low grade they can be vulnerable to stains. You can find a lot of manufacturers that combine synthetic and wool fibres to create a hybrid carpet that has the best of both worlds.

Think about the different styles

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A carpet is created by a movement similar to stitching a button that involves a looping yarn through a backing material. These loops are either left untouched, or cut at different angles and the way a loop is treated is usually known as the carpet pile. Why is this important? 

Because the different styles of carpets are applicable to their pile. While each style has a very particular look, what interests you is how they will fit into your lifestyle. For example plush carpeting, has a luxurious and soft surface yet has an issue with revealing footprints and is prone to scuffing. 

Saxony style carpets have similar qualities with plush, so they prefer areas with low traffic. If you are looking for a durable, stain and print resilient carpet style, Berber is the choice and along with textured and frieze style carpets, they are perfect for high traffic areas.

Pick a colour and pattern to suit your décor

Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks when buying a carpet is to choose its colour and design from the numerous options.  What is important to remember here is a carpet will supplement the overall look you wish to set in a room.  If for example you intent to add a sense of warmth then go for hues of red or gold, while for a chill-out area accents in soft blue or beige would be quite relaxing. 

A room that is windowless or small, will benefit from light colours as they tend to trick the senses in perceiving the space larger than it is. When buying a patterned carpet, in order to make it work with the patterns already in the room, the designs should share similar colour accents. But in any case, before getting a carpet is better if you took home as many samples as you can. Only then you will have a more complete idea if they fit with a room.

Calcuate your budget

Buying a caret shouldn’t blow you budget! The best way to go about it is by getting a different quote for the carpet material and its installation. In order to make the most of the purchased carpet you have to understand what benefits each style confers in relation to the needs of the rooms. As we already discussed, areas that foster high traffic will better suit Berber style carpets.

If the household has kids or pets, then carpet tiles rather than rolled will be a better fit, since they will allow you to replace single files of carpet instead the whole lot. Of course, you should also take into account maintenance expenses and lifetime replacement in your budget. 

In balancing price and cosiness, consider that different material can confer similar attributes. For example, while wool is the best material is usually the most expensive and synthetic carpets can confer the same benefits with a lower price tag.

Think about maintenance

It is fairly obvious that a carpet will require maintenance, so to make the most of your purchase go for carpets that can be maintained easily. Children and pets are constant stain factories, so you might regret quickly buying a high-end carpet which is hard to clean.

Don’t be afraid to ask the advice of a salesperson when buying a carpet in regards to cleaning and maintenance. They will inform you what products or equipment should be used to clean a specific material thus helping you avoid cumbersome carpets. Unless you have the time and money, of course!

The different types and materials of carpet have diverse requirements when it comes to maintenance. For example high traffic carpets, such as textured or Berber, are resilient to footprints and vacuum tracks. Before committing to a carpet purchase be informed about their maintenance needs!

Perhaps a rug would be better?

Instead of carpeting a floor there is always the choice to throw a rug. How will you know what’s the best choice? 

Well, you will need to balance their benefits and drawbacks.  On one hand, carpets offer a soft, zesty sensation that can mute sounds. However they can be devastating to allergic or asthmatic people as they tend to hold different allergens and dust. They can also be difficult to maintain while they have a lifespan of about decade which can translate to an expensive re-carpeting. 

On the other hand, rugs can be quite cheap and can be easily switched between rooms. They can be used to zone specific areas of the house and coming in a range of colours and designs they can become a playful addition in a room. However unlike a carpet that consumes the floor, area rugs leave naked spots. Hence you will need to have a cool floor underneath!

In order to protect your investment in a carpet, you will need to evaluate your needs and make a comprehensive research prior to purchase. We hope our list has make the requirements of carpets clearer and helped you in choosing the best for your home!

For more carpet ideas for your home, you might like to check out: Inspiration For Stair Carpets.

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