Carpeting a home

Along with paint, carpet can be one of the easiest ways to personalise an environment. Its colour can be a neutral foundation or a vibrant focal point. Carpets are quick and easy to install, allowing a homeowner considerable scope for fashionable creativity - whether they are used in a wall-to-wall design or in combination with other flooring surfaces.

 

There are numerous benefits for selecting good quality carpets for a home, and we take a look at a few of these with help from Belgotex Carpets...

More than a floor
Previously considered as a neutral background when designing a home, carpets were limited in colour choice to muted tones of grey and beige. Now, with more texture and colour options, carpet is being favoured more as a focal point. Colour sprinkled against a neutral background adds interest and dimension while it helps mask spots and spills. Flecks of colour are now appearing against tan, beige, and cream backgrounds as well as in the "new neutrals" of soft greens, pale yellows, and shades of blue.

Colour and texture underfoot

A major shift in new products is toward layered colour and soft texture in carpet. A combination of texture and pattern will always be popular because it minimises soil and vacuum marks. But the other advantage is that colour and texture offer more distinctive styling and fashion appeal.

 

 

The right carpet for your home
Natural colour carpets go with all shades of paint. Lighter carpets or flooring create an open airy feel; darker shades make a room seem smaller and cosier. Plain or lighter colours are best suited for rooms where soiling is less prevalent. Textured and multi-coloured carpets should be used in high traffic areas and areas adjacent to external doors, to hide dirt.

These new products are changing the public's perception of carpet as only a background to showcase other furnishings to the possibility that the carpet itself can become a design focus.

Educate yourself! Take time to learn about the different types of carpet construction before you buy. There are 4 main categories of carpets: Cut Pile, Twist, Loop Pile and Needlepunch. Cut Piles are plush and comfortable under foot. Twist are a form of Cut Pile with longer tufts, best suited for bedrooms. Loop Piles are durable carpets. Various textures can be achieved with a loop pile depending on the construction. Tighter constructions give cleaner smoother looks while the chunky berber constructions creates a lot of texture with great soil hiding properties. Finally Needlepunch carpets are hardwearing carpets.

Carpet Construction

Taking advantage of new choices can add great interest to a room in coordination with the florals, stripes, and other patterns on furniture and window treatments.

Carpet pattern and texture increase the perception of quality and value in carpet, and can contrast beautifully with smoother elements such as furniture surfaces, walls, and counters.

Location, location, location
Choose a carpet that is suitable for each room. High traffic areas like entrance halls and passages need durable carpets with patterns or textures to hide soiling between cleanings. Softer carpets suit bedrooms or bathrooms where comfort is more important. The rule of thumb in selecting a carpet is location, location, location. You will find that it pays to spend slightly more for a higher quality carpet for areas of high wear such as hallways and living areas, while saving on areas where traffic isn't quite as frequent.

Design a home with carpet
Carpet offers much more than other flooring choices. It is the foundation of your decor scheme. It can enhance a room with causal simplicity, or create a showcase for formal elegance. The style and colour selection is so vast, you can find carpet to complement any décor.

Caring for carpet
To care for carpet, daily, or at the very least, weekly vacuuming, is essential for ensuring the life of a carpet, as is quick attention to spills. A clean carpet is a long wearing carpet; therefore you cannot vacuum too much. Cleaning by a professional is recommended to maintain your carpets appearance.

Cleaning should be proportional to the amount of soiling to which the carpet is subjected. With their superb dust-trapping properties, carpets are conducive to a healthy living environment. Dust settles quickly and is then securely held by the pile fibres of the carpet until it is vacuumed again.

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