When buying a new carpet, as well as choosing a colour or look to match your vision, you'll also need to pick a type of carpet and a material. Which you select will depend on what areas in the house it is for and budget considerations.
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Carpet wear - High-traffic areas, such as stairs and hallways, will benefit from more durable materials. If you have children or pets, you may want something that's easy to clean and therefore consider man-made materials.
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Look and feel - Are you looking for glossy and plush, soft pile or dense and tight pile? Consider if it is suitable for the area you are carpeting.
There are two main types of carpet in the UK: woven carpets which are labour intensive and therefore more expensive, while tufted carpets are easier to produce. Most carpet sold in the UK is tufted.
The pile of a carpet can be looped (where the fibres loop back into the backing material) or cut (cut off at the top). In general, short, dense, heavy carpets are more durable and hard-wearing than those with long loose strands.
TWIST
Twist carpets are smooth, hard-wearing, and practical – a good choice for high traffic areas, families, and pets.
STYLES
LOOP
Loop pile carpets create rustic style or a contemporary look. They are hardwearing. Made in plain coloured, textured or level pile surfaces, as well as striped designs. Be careful of this choice with pets as loops can get snagged by claws!
SOFT DEEP PILE
Soft deep pile carpets tend to be manufactured from synthetic fibres, such as ‘Luxelle’ giving a soft and silky feel which can be popular for bedrooms.
VELVET
Velvet carpets have a dense, short pile with a smooth, luxurious finish. This makes them a popular choice for bedrooms or living rooms.
BERBER
Berbers are affordable, hard-wearing, often with a light fleck which hides dirt well. This is a berber twist, they are also available in uncut loops with a distinctive knot effect.
MATERIALS
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Polypropylene: This is a good choice if you’re on a budget. It feels soft to the touch and is stain resistant and bleach cleanable.
Easy clean, twist pile carpets are an obvious choice for many, as they are practical and comfortable and stand up to the everyday challenges of busy homes.
Wool is an excellent natural fibre that offers superb resilience to everyday wear and general soiling. It is mainly used on its own in a pure 100% form for loop pile carpets or in 80% blends with polypropylene in cut pile to improve its wear properties, ideal for all round the home.
80% wool twist pile carpets tend to be produced in wider colour ranges.
Plant-based material options are very popular being stylish and contemporary.
- Sisal is hard-wearing. It can stain however.
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Jute is softer and is a good choice for bedrooms
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Seagrass has the benefit of better stain resistance
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Coir is tough and low maintenance, but can feel a little harsh underfoot
Wool and synthetic mix provides the benefits of a natural carpet with some of the useful qualities of synthetics, such as increased stain resistance.
There are some great new products on the market that appear like wool but are, in fact 90% Polypropylene and 10% Wool. These are incredible hardwearing, much more stain resistant than wool and come in a range of exciting contemporary looks.
