And then he said, ”let there be rugs and carpets”, and there were rugs and carpets all around, and alongside them, there was class and comfort and luxury. And then God said, “my purpose is now over. Humans have been blessed to perfection.” Such is their elegance that a sheer sight speaks a statement to those ever who see it. But not all know how to choose rugs and carpets for their home. Not all are God. And we understand your concern. Says Radvi, interior designers in India take care of hell many things to choose even the tiniest of items in the interiors – know more about Radvi. And then there are carpets that take up a large space. So, what should you avoid while choosing rugs rightly?
Rugs are smaller and are used at smaller areas; carpets are larger and form a part of edge to edge flooring.
How not to choose carpets for your living space!
Carpet is a flooring type that goes from wall to wall. What many people do not know is that they come in many fibres and types. For example, there is a broadloom carpet that gets woven on a wide loom. It is generally sold with a standard width of 12 feet.
When we talk about choosing carpets, it gets hard to select one rightly in the showroom. The reason behind this being a small sample size that makes it harder to visualise the final outlook of the complete room. Furthermore, it is hard to tell if the carpet will stand the test of time for long.
What you must not do is to go into the showroom without the required knowledge. There are things that one must know beforehand. Interior designers always know more about quality and how to choose one. There are things that one must consider beforehand. It helps in making the right choice.
Things to consider while buying carpets and rugs!
Buying carpet is much harder than buying fibres. Clothes we use occasionally, but carpets see hell lots of footfalls throughout the time. This means one must be far more careful while choosing carpets as bad quality carpets can lead to reflooring.
- One must understand the fibre type beforehand. We’ll discuss it below.
- Knowing the carpet construction is a plus.
- Know what guarantee the seller provides against wear, tear, colour fade, holes, streaks, pile loss, premature crushing, etc. This will help you have confidence in buying and security for the future.
- Poor quality carpets must always be avoided as they wear out soon and thus cost much in the long run.
- Ask the seller to recommend something for you. This is one good way to get quality.
- Know the quality through hand tests –
- bend the back of the carpet to see if the primary backing is exposed. Be vary if you see it. It means the tufts are loosely packed and the carpet will go bad.
- Twist and untwist the pile, stretch it, and see if it loses fibres at this point. If it does, it is of poor quality.
- Take the sample to the site and see how does the colour behaves under the lighting conditions. You must choose wall colours like this too as it will be the true colour you’ll see later on.
- Choose the right colour. Choose patterned carpet for high traffic areas. It will help you hide soil marks and wear and tear. Also, choose a colour with medium value and low intensity. This will help you hide soil marks.
- Choose the right quality padding and confirm it back once you get it delivered.
These are the things that you must consider. Says Radvi, interior designers in India always walk through these things. But as they hold knowledge and experience, they make the right choice easily.
Now, you need to know more about the carpet fibres!
Knowing about the carpet fibres!
Carpets are usually composed of a single fibre type. For example, you might find fibre made completely out of nylon. However, companies have started to sell a blend of two fibres too. For example, you might find 60-40 nylon wool as a combination. Blending fibres helps in three ways –
- it gives the feel of more than a single fibre.
- one may pay less and get the feeling of costly fibre.
- and colouring two fibres differently gives two tones to the woven carpet.
Here are the common fibre types used for carpeting!
- Wool – It is durable and lasts long. But woollen carpets are often needed to be treated for moss growth. Furthermore, this fibre type emits an eerie smell sometimes when moist. This fibre type costs high.
- Nylon – Nylon is the most common fibre type. It is made using oxygen, hydrogen, phenol, and nitrogen. This fibre type lasts longer, retains colour, hides dirt, and needs no treatment for pests or moss. But the bad thing is that it is prone to static charge and does not feel good on touch. However, fifth-generation nylon is much better. The cost structure is moderate.
- Polyester – It again is a synthetic material. It is soft and cool to touch and quite resembles wool. It lasts longer and holds dye too. The disadvantage is that it wears off easily when not bonded well. Polyester carpets cost moderate to a high amount.
- Olefin – It is a synthetic fibre made of ethylene. It is durable (less than nylon), long-lasting, fuzzing and pilling resistant, and abrasion-resistant. However, Olefin needs to be treated for sunlight damage if used on outdoors. Also, it is less soft to touch. The cost of olefin fibre is low to moderate.
- Acrylic – Another synthetic fibre. It resembles wool and thus gets combined with wool to lower the cost. However, the life span is shorter. But it could be increased by blending it with others. Oil stains are hard to remove. The cost structure is moderate.
These are some of the fibre types that need to be known beforehand.
Should you hire an interior designer for carpeting?
Carpeting is not rug and needs proper installation. It can not be done by an inexperienced person. Thus, you must always hire an interior designer if you plan on using carpets.
Carpeting is not just about installation too. There are many things like choosing the right fibre, right colour, right size, right location, and right texture and pattern. Things in the interior must harmonise. Otherwise, carpets can make a room look dull. Says Radvi, interior designers in India should be looked for if you require carpeting. It could easily grace up your home, and also easily ruin it. Know more about Radvi and consult them to get your home shaped towards perfection.
Always remember that carpets are not to sleep, unless you have done a mistake and your wife knows about it.