choosing carpet

Among its benefits, carpet absorbs a lot of noise and reduces echoing in a room, adding a cozy atmosphere. Carpet also acts as a thermal insulator, keeping rooms cool in summer and warm in winter, thus helping save money on heating and cooling bills.
While frieze carpets remain popular for the home, patterns have been finding favor with many homeowners who like the appeal of mixing carpet patterns with other patterns in the home.

Frieze carpet, made up of thick, independent carpet fibers that move in different directions to help hide prints, stains and other messes on the carpet, has a high twist count. It remains popular, especially for high volume areas. The legendary durability of Frieze carpets is an attractive feature for families with children and pets because it hides blemishes and dirt.

But patterned carpet now captures subtle designs that emulate hard surface swirls, patterns, and striations. The pattern can come from combining loops and textures or using different tones of similar color, or combining yarns of different thickness in one carpet, or even different luster levels in a same carpet. The end result is quite magical and definitely sensual: you can't help but feel it with your hands to better understand what your eyes tell you.

Today you can have a swirly granite floor in a foyer area paired with a dreamy counterpoint swirl in carpet for the living room space off that foyer.

Kathy Rahman of Watson Floor Gallery says, “Our favorite recommendation is to install hardwood in hallways separating carpeted areas, eliminating the worry of matching existing colors and styles of carpet if the customer should decide or need to change their flooring choice in the future.”

And while friezes remain popular and are suitable in any room in the home, Rahman says, Watson Floor Design consultants suggest a pattern or plush carpet in the master bedroom with a coordinating frieze in other rooms, setting the master bedroom apart.

What carpet style and type is right for you? “Lifestyle will determine the life of your carpet,” says Rahman.  In high traffic areas, choose a dense, possibly a multi or mingled color, take your shoes off, and treat stains as soon as noticed. She adds that a favorite of hers is Shaw’s R2X…Resistance x 2. “We demonstrate this in the showroom—you see the spill bead, allowing more time to react to the situation.

While patterns allow a great variety in colors, mingled or tone-on-tone neutrals are in demand. Rahman reports they reflect and enhance wall color and fabric palettes without being “trendy” or “too busy.”

The most common area for experimentation, she adds, is the theater or bonus room. “It’s here the customer often steps outside the norm and selects fun patterns,” she says.

There are a number of sources for carpet in the Nashville area including:

House of Carpet
Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro
615/ 773-4470, 615/895-8791

Myers Flooring
Nashville
615/ 777-3344

Watson Floor Gallery
Brentwood
615/ 371-1111