At Home: Carpet capers

Buying new carpet? Here are a few pointers on picking the right kind.

Look

There are four types of carpet looks: texture, twist, pattern and Berber or looped.

Textures, or plushes, are pulled down and all the fibers are one height, providing good wear and a more formal appearance. Twists, or friezes, are looser fibers with a more casual appearance and will show wear faster than a tighter and shorter texture. Patterns are comprised of cut and looped fibers and can be large and ultra modern or subtle and traditional. Berbers are all loops. Patterns and Berbers are both tight and short and wear well in high traffic areas.

Fiber

There are four main fiber types: nylon, polyester, Triexta and olefin. Nylons are known for resiliency and preferred for high traffic areas. Polyesters are stain resistant and provide more hand for the money but are less resilient. Triexta, or Smartstrand, is known for resiliency and superb stain resistance. Olefin is used in looped products because it is lower in resiliency but will not mat or fade in the sun.

Ideally, high traffic areas like living rooms, hallways and steps would be better suited to a tighter, shorter constructed nylon. Polyesters or twists would be best suited in lower traffic areas like spare bedrooms or dens. Anticipating lots of spills from kids or pet accidents? Smartstrand would be the best option.

Trends

New color pallets have shifted away from golds and beige to taupes and grays, and patterns have emerged as the newest trend. Solids are still prevalent, but flecked carpets are very popular, fooling the eye and being more forgiving to everyday life. Soft carpets are also emerging into the market. However, soft fibers show more vacuum marks and footprints and won't work with every vacuum.

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