Are you planning on buying a carpet for your home or office? Have you picked a color of that you think would suit the place? Do you think the next step is to go to a store and buy that shade of blue that you want for you living room? Think again! There are still many things to consider before purchasing a carpet. Carpets vary not only in color but also in textures, patterns, fibers and performance ratings. All these need to be considered first to be able to buy a carpet that will best suit your place.
The start off point in carpet selection is the location. This too needs to be considered as the type of carpet must depend on the location you intend to use it. One of the things to consider about the location is the traffic. Heavy traffic locations include family rooms, hallways and stairways while a light traffic area may be in the guest room. For heavy traffic areas, a carpet with a performance rating of 5 is best. This means that the change of appearance number is a “no change” as opposed to a 1 that is a “very severe change.” The best type of carpet should be chosen for this area as this is the most prone to friction, and therefore would mean the most prone to early wear and tear. The light traffic areas can do with a lesser quality of carpet and a performance rating of 2 to 3.
After the location, the color can be considered. Picking the color for your place can reflect your personality or even change the atmosphere of that area. For the home, choosing warm colors can turn up the heat where there is less light. Cool greens and blues also have a calming effect. While lighter colors make the room seem larger and dark ones provide a feeling of coziness. For a commercial space, choosing the right color can also bring in different effects. Colors with contrasting highlights can differentiate the departments or teams and earth colors can provide a corporate look for the place. Warm colors can also provide a feel of vitality and invigoration in the room. A soft color is ideal in stores and establishments so as to not overshadow and to showcase the merchandise.
Texture and pattern is the next thing to work on. Carpets provide a wide array of choices for the consumers. You need to know what kind of texture provides the durability that you need. The textures to choose from are cut pile, level loop pile, multi-level loop pile, and cut and loop pile. Among these, the cut pile provides more twist to the loops to minimize foot prints and vacuum marks. Level loop pile would also last long for heavy traffic areas as well as the multi-loop pile which gives good durability because of its different hoop heights. The cut and loop pile can create an effect on your carpet such as squares or swirls because of the combination of the cut and looped yarns. And when it comes to patterns there are also various carpets to choose from and these are floral, fleur-de-lis or multicolored carpets.
The fiber is also an essential aspect in selecting a carpet. This will determine which can stand to the different factors that can damage the carpet. There are basically two kinds, the synthetic and the natural fibers. The wool is fiber that gives the carpet the most comfortable feel. It is also considered as the most superior in performance that’s why it is much more expensive than synthetic fibers. Among the synthetic fibers, nylon is the most popular. This is especially good for traffic areas and it has the ability to hide soils and stains. Olefin, another type of fiber, can be used both indoors and outdoors because of its resistance to moisture and mildew. Polyester works best if produced with a cut pile texture and acrylic provides the feel of wool. This is usually used in bath and scatter rugs.
Now that all the essential details have already been considered, the last thing to do is to measure the dimensions of the area. You need to give a ten percent allowance to leave room for irregularities and pattern match. After this, you’re good to go. Pick out that ideal carpet for your place. And enjoy the comfort and the excellent performance that it provides.