When designing your living room, you have to think about everyone and everything involved – your family members and their needs, your pets, and even your guests. More importantly, it is a living space and, as such, should fit your lifestyle and be a treat for yourself to look, enjoy and rest there after a busy day.
Why is carpet so important?
When you are designing, your priorities are sofas, coffee tables, TV, and gadgets stations. However, apart from your usual décor pieces like pictures, pillows, plants, and many memorabilia from different life events, there is one often underestimated piece that makes a huge difference. A carpet has the power to tie in the whole room, to make ‘spots’ and divide the space, and to give that final accent in design. But it is not that easy to decide which carpet will fit your space, schedule, and habits the best, so we’ve made a short guide to help you decide.
Durability and Quality
The first characteristic you should consider is the durability of the carpet, as the room use will majorly affect the longevity of your carpet. Aside from stairs and hallways, floors in the living room typically receive the hardest use of any other floor in the home. Here, the carpet is a protection for the floors and you ought to consider that before anything else. Depending on the activities you are planning for this room, you should ask for the advice of the professional, but you can also check yourself.
First and foremost, check the back of the carpet. The stores have samples available that you should bend and check how the carpet sample bends. If the backing does not easily show, the carpet you are looking at is higher quality and is preferable for living rooms that see high traffic. When it comes to materials, nylon fiber carpets are some of the most durable on the market. Secondly, the carpet’s durability is measured in face weight, tuft twist, and density rating. Look for a 34- to 40-ounce face weight, a tuft twist of 5 or more, and a density rating of 2,000 or higher.
Maintenance
The highest frequency of activities, especially where children and pets are involved, makes easy cleaning one of the essentials when shopping for carpets. There are materials that are hard to stain and easy to clean, and from which you could still choose the lighter color if that is your preference. Furthermore, some shops give lifetime stain warranties but do be careful to check whether there are exclusions in the warranty, especially if you have children (of your own or as common guests).
No matter the existence of the warranty, you should consider at least yearly carpet cleaning. Even if the carpet backing is guaranteed to provide moisture protection and antimicrobial properties, the dirt stays in it without the help of a professional. The professional carpet cleaning done with the proper maintenance in between will help you have the perfect carpet for years to come.
Materials
There is a myriad of materials in the world of carpets and rugs. The antique style where the skin and animal hair are used, the wool, the cotton, and silk are all more traditional, natural materials. Even though they make your living room look luxurious, they are considerably more expensive and do not forgive spills. Wool is the most durable and stain-proof natural material for a rug or carpet. The situation is different with synthetic fibers.
The nylon, acrylic, and propylene fibers are mostly made to be durable and resistant, making those excellent choices for high-traffic areas. They are also usually not expensive, come in a rainbow of colors and designs, and have the backing that doesn’t get mildew.
Style & Design
The size of your carpet greatly affects the design of the room, the importance of its design, and of course, its price. The rugs and carpets that are not supposed to cover the floor completely most often serve as design accents and protect only the part of the flooring. As smaller and supposedly attracting attention more, rugs are best used if they cover a bit more flooring than the unity of the furniture it is matched with. The other designer-approved advice is that the rug is connected to the furniture with its front legs only.
The carpet should be used to balance out the space and ideally tie it more. Usually, the buyers are not sure whether to go for the bold design or to stick with the solid colors. The decision is not that complicated, as solid color ties the more bold and busy furniture and décor design, while pattern adds accent missing from the blander pattern of the other furniture elements.
Overall, carpet truly proves to be an important part of the home design. Whether you need it for the sake of having a perfect living room or you want comfy spots for your children and furry friends, take your time. As many factors are involved, go to multiple stores to get the best advice and best price, all the while ensuring the best addition for your ideal living room design.
