What to Look for in a Modern Living Room Carpet

Qualities You Need for Flooring You’ll Love

While hardwoods continue to be a popular flooring choice, many homeowners still veer toward carpeting to cover living and game rooms and other areas where family and friends gather. After all, who can resist sprawling out on an inviting, plush bed of carpeting?

If it’s been awhile since you explored flooring options, you’ll find that modern living room carpet choices have been upgraded. Not only can you choose from a wider range of colors and textures, you also have upgraded materials — from natural materials like wool, jute and seagrass to synthetic yet environmentally-friendly materials like nylon, polypropylene, and polyester. Whatever your preference, you’ll find carpets designed to deliver a high level of comfort.

Ready to dive into your carpeting options? Take a look at these tips for choosing carpet for your living room, game rooms, TV rooms and, if you’re renovating floors throughout your entire home, the bedrooms.

With rooms that you really live in, choose carpeting that’s comfortable yet withstands heavy traffic, reduces noise reduction, cleans easily and hides stains and smudges until the next cleaning.

To get all that, there are several characteristics you should look for in modern living carpeting.

Select the ideal carpet pile

In addition to different types of materials, you can choose from among numerous types of construction, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute. The most common type of construction is cut pile, which also is available in different types. For the most durable cut pile, choose textured plush which not only provides the durability because of the density of tufts common in cut pile but offers a texture that delivers an interesting, casual design that hides footprints.

If you want a more upscale or formal look, choose Saxony, which has a more refined surface. However, be aware that this type of carpeting is a tradeoff; it will show footprints and vacuum marks more readily. Frieze, on the other hand, provides a more casual, curly texture that hides those footprints.

Choose the right color

With the right hue, your carpet can disguise the abuse of family and guests. There’s no need to choose dark brown carpeting to hide dirt and occasional spills. As it turns out, darker carpet colors could end up showing marks more readily.

If you decide to go with a neutral, don’t be afraid to go with lighter colors which can make your room look larger. Many carpets are made with stain and soil-resistant technology that makes them easier to clean. Consider carpeting with slightly different colored threads, like Berber, to further disguise soil. Carpet color and pattern choices, like a subtle tweed, also include many different hue variations to suit your personal design tastes.

Before deciding on a carpet, make sure you bring home numerous samples to see how they look during different times of the day and in different light.

Invest in great padding

You don’t see it on a day-to-day basis, but you’ll definitely feel the difference of great carpet padding. The right carpet padding is the key to a more comfortable surface and noise reduction. It also provides an extra source of protection against premature wearing of your carpet. If you expect to have a lot of traffic in your room, go for a denser padding.

According to the Carpet and Rug Institute, the type of carpet you choose carries weight in the type of padding that goes underneath it. For example, carpet with thin loops or Berber carpet work well with padding that is 3/8 inches or thinner. On the other hand, cut loop carpeting works well with 7/16-inch padding.

Choose user-friendly materials

In most cases, you’ll be selecting from among synthetic materials — more than 95 percent of carpeting is made of synthetic materials because they allow for easy maintenance and upkeep. However, if you have concerns about environmental impact, you can choose from among synthetic fibers that have been recycled or natural fibers like wool.

Ask a professional carpet supplier and installer to guide you through the many options you have for upgrading your living room flooring with carpet that you, your family and friends can enjoy in comfort.