Carpet is the ideal floor covering for a range of rooms in your home, and because of its textural properties, it works wonderfully in a bedroom setting where ambience and heat retention are important. But carpet can be a big financial investment and it’s also a lot more difficult to replace than things like furniture or curtains. So it’s worth looking at all your options carefully before taking the plunge! Here are some expert tips on choosing carpet for your bedroom.
Why Choose Carpet?
Carpeting your bedroom is a great option in terms of flooring for a variety of reasons. Carpet provides a slip-free surface, value for money, it’s easy to maintain and it offers a soft cushioning underfoot. Carpet also offers great insulation properties – homes with carpet are warm in winter and cool in summer and they’re also much quieter. Plus, it offers lots of décor versatility. With an extensive range of textures and colours, it’s easy to complement your existing style or even create an entirely new one!
What Is Carpet Made From?
Carpets today are predominantly made from wool and/or man-made fibres and each of these materials has their own particular qualities and benefits. Wool carpets are truly luxurious as they’re durable, they reduce noise, they’re wonderful to walk on and soft to the touch. Wool is also an excellent insulator, so if you’re carpeting your bedroom with pure wool carpets they’ll remain warm throughout a winter of chilly conditions.
Man-made carpets are attractive, hardwearing and low maintenance, particularly if you have pets or young children. This is because they can deal with dirt, spillages and heavy footfall particularly well. Wool-blend carpets offer a combination of properties, including some of the advantages of natural fibres and some of the other man-made fabrics.
How Is Carpet Constructed?
There are two basic carpet constructions – cut pile and loop pile and they can also be combined to create a cut and loop construction. These constructions can also produce a vast range of different surface effects known as styles. Cut pile styles include Velvet, Shag, Plush, Frieze, Saxony, Twist, Heather Twist and Hard Twist.
Loop pile styles include Sisal, Multilevel, Level Loop and Cord, and there are Loop and Textured Loop styles as well. It’s worth noting that carpet trends come and go but functionality lasts forever. So if you’re buying bedroom carpets, look for styles that offer good insulation and complement lighter traffic areas.
What About Colours, Patterns And Textures?
The colour and texture of your carpet can make a huge difference to your home. Lighter colours can be used to make small spaces look bigger and more open, while darker colours create a cosy, quieter and a more intimate feel, which can be ideal for bedroom spaces.
In terms of bedroom carpet ideas, large areas consisting of strong, complex patterns can help ‘close in’ a room and can help disguise usage indicators. This is particularly important if bedrooms are subject to constant traffic particularly by pets and/or small children. In this case, it’s worth choosing carpets that don’t show marks too easily and can withstand some vigorous cleaning!
The Importance Of Underlay
If you are carpeting your bedroom, an important aspect to consider is ensuring you choose a good quality underlay. This will ensure your carpet performs better, lasts longer and looks good for years to come. There are three main types of underlay – foam, felt and rubber. Like carpets, they are available in various qualities and grades and can be matched to your carpet and its specific usage.
Underlays should be firm and comfortable, offer warmth and allow for soft cushioning underfoot. Installing a lesser quality underlay can lead to stretching and rucking and may result in a breakdown of your carpet’s backing.
If you’re replacing your bedroom carpets, you should also never use the existing underlay. This is because it will have the same wear patterns that were in your old carpet, and these will quickly resurface in your new carpets. All reputable carpet manufacturers these days will abide by warranties that mean all of their products have to be installed over new underlay.
It’s also worth mentioning the health-related aspects of carpets and underlay. Trapped dust and microbiological pollutants can be a problem if they are released into the air or maybe a direct problem for crawling babies and young children who are playing on carpets. If new carpets are fixed with adhesives, they may also contain volatile organic compounds or VOC’s. VOC’s are chemicals containing carbon that evaporate into the atmosphere at room temperature. Always ask for ‘low emission’ carpeting products and ask your supplier to unroll the carpet in a well-ventilated area several days before they are due to deliver and install it.
Get Expert Advice
Carpet installation is a profession, and it should only be conducted by skilled tradespeople. In terms of choosing carpet for your bedroom, carpet experts can help you save time and money over the long run because they’ll know what types of carpets will suit certain spaces and can offer advice on laying and measuring.
Reputable companies will also only install carpets according to Australian/ New Zealand Standard AS2455 to ensure carpet manufacturers’ warranties are still valid. Carpets graded by the Australian Carpet Classification Scheme (ACCS) are also worth considering. These carry distinctive ‘star’ labels that provide guidance on the performance properties and appearance retention of certain carpets. All ACCS graded carpets also carry a minimum two-year performance warranty, which is supported by the manufacturer or supplier.
Considering new carpets for your bedroom? Get in touch with the carpet & flooring experts at Bennetts Carpets! 1300 653 314.
