Living Room
Your living room flooring makes quite a statement in your home. Have you noticed how much cleaner and tidier your entire home looks when all you’ve done is vacuum the floor? The floors are such a dominant feature in a room, it is important to choose the right product to create the look and mood that you want but which also suits your lifestyle. Carpet has the ability to create a glamorous, formal living room ambience or a relaxed, friendly, casual-living kind of vibe, depending on the fibre, colour and type of pile you choose.
What should you consider when choosing carpet for your living room?
Firstly, determine the style of interior design you want to create. Do you want your room to look elegant and sophisticated? Or do you want to create a sense of casual comfort?
For an executive couple sleek, light-coloured carpet in a chic, urban home will be an easy floor to maintain and you will have a variety of carpet fibres and pile types to choose from to achieve the look you desire. But if you are a family with pre-schoolers and several pets, your carpet is going to absorb a lot of activity, so the smooth, serene look of a light-coloured plush carpet probably won’t work in your home. You will need to look at pile types which don’t stain or soil easily and fibres which are hardwearing.
How much direct sunlight will your living room floors receive? Some synthetic carpets have greater in-built fade resistance properties than pure wool or other synthetic fibres.
Do you prefer a natural fibre to a man-made one? If so, a naturally beautiful, pure wool carpet in either a cut, twist or loop pile would be ideal for your living room.
Consider which colour will best suit your living room and the amount of foot traffic it gets. In a formal lounge with minimal foot traffic a light carpet would be fine, but in a busy family room you may want a neutral or slightly darker colour to hide the signs of daily activity – unless you like to vacuum often!
What carpet is durable?
The fibre and the pile type determine a carpet’s durability.
Most man-made synthetic fibres such as nylon, polyester and polypropylene are designed to be hard-wearing, soil and stain resistant and fade resistant, making them highly durable. Synthetic carpets are easy to clean and some are less likely than others to leave tracking marks caused by vacuum cleaning, furniture or foot traffic.
Pure wool is also a durable fibre with natural stain and moisture resistance and resiliency which allows it to bounce back after being compressed.
When you have determined which fibre you prefer, you can also govern the durability by choosing a pile best suited to your living conditions. Loop pile is a construction frequently used in polypropylene carpets which are chosen for rental properties and commercial environments due to their high degree of durability.
A twist pile carpet has good durability because twisting the fibres gives them added tensile strength and resiliency.
A plush cut pile is extremely dense making it difficult for spills and dirt particles to penetrate so it too can retain its stunning good looks over time.
Discuss your specific needs with the friendly and knowledgeable representative at your local Carpet Court store to determine which is the most durable carpet for your living conditions.
What types of carpet are stain resistant?
Most synthetic carpets are treated to provide excellent stain resistant properties and pure wool has a high degree of naturally-occurring stain and moisture resistant qualities.
The pile construction can contribute to the speed at which spills are absorbed into the fibres, so a loop pile carpet has a little more stain resistance than a cut pile carpet, but again it can depend on the soil prevention treatments they have received.
What colours are great for your living room carpet?
The colour of your living room carpet should fuse well with any other flooring products in your home. Living room carpet will usually meet with your kitchen or hallway floors which may be tiled or hardwood flooring. Carpet Court also provide laminate, floating timber, vinyl, hybrid and bamboo flooring products, so while you may want your feet to luxuriate in a deep, wool pile in your formal lounge, your family living or dining areas may be another flooring type.
When choosing your carpet colour, make sure the tones complement each other across the different floor surfaces.
Colour can create a mood, a fashionable look, a sense of style. Choose a colour you love, which is suitable for the amount of activity your floor will see, and which blends well with your overall colour scheme.
How can you get a quote for your living room carpet?
Arranging a free, in-home measure and quote with a friendly Carpet Court consultant is easy with our online booking service. Book online or phone 1300 CARPET to speak with your nearest Carpet Court store today.