Photo Courtesy: Kooni Sutra
So, you have finally decided to replace your age-old rug with a new one. However, you can’t just barge into a carpet shop and pick the softest and the most appealing one. There are many more aspects to a carpet you simply cannot afford to ignore, especially if it is for home use.
Let us take a look at five of the crucial ones.
1. Awareness about the different types of carpet:
Knowledge is power and in this case, it is essential too. You don’t want to pick a crude rug for your home, since you will even lie down on it. Home carpets come in various types with varied degrees of softness and durability. There’s the textured carpet, the Saxony carpet, the Berber rug, the California shag carpet, a print carpet, and patterned rugs. The common kinds of carpet include those woven, needlefelt, tufted, and knotted.
2. The durability and softness:
You might think that durability depends heavily upon the softness of the product, given that carpets are made for comfort. However, there is no solid connection between these two. Durability of the carpet essentially depends upon its density, its preparation technique, and the type of fiber used. The fiber types may be any kind, ranging from the woolen to the polyester. And the density of the carpet is ideally inversely proportional to its softness.
3. The most apparent aspect – the look of the carpet:
The color should obviously be in contrast with the wallpaper and the floor. Usually, most blokes opt for carpets splashed with numerous colors. Such bright colors light up the entire house in even the gloomiest of seasons. Neutral hues go well with a smaller room, since they make it appear larger; and the darker, more vivid ones provide a closed effect. In this department though, a major part of the choice rests with you.
4. The cleaning woes:
How do you feel when a glass of cola spills on your favorite rug? The stain, the eventual smell, and the rough patch are irritating to say the least; and the cleaning process, frustrating. It is thus crucial that your rug doesn’t spoil when something spills on it. It is better to pick one with a high stain resistance than stain treatment. Prevention is better than cure after all. A moderate bit of both is preferred by most folks though; but these might cost a fortune, which brings us to your budget.
5. Prices are skyrocketing:
Above: Nadia, from Sydney, Australia, while deciding to buy this ‘veg dye rug with goofy animals in situ’ says “We aren’t going to buy it becuase it’s rather expensive but it was good to see it in context to better appreciate size and colour scheme”. Photo Courtesy: Nadia Priestley
Believe it or not, carpets are more in demand today than they were in the ancient Arabic era. There is nothing like an affordable rug these days that comes with comfort. Indulge is the term when you have to spend on carpets. Now you might think that more the price, better will the quality of the rug be. But that is not always the case.
Sometimes, a carpet may be tagged with an exorbitant price, but the quality may be poor. It may be essentially compromised for style. So check with the dealer, scan the online world and heed the recommendations before jumping the gun. Don’t just go by the price offered.
Sam Wellback is a freelance blogger by profession. He’s a fervid interior decoration enthusiast and has a keen taste for aesthetics in decorative linings. In his spare time, he indulges in reading non-fiction books.
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