Choosing a carpet for your living room is a pretty big deal! This is the room where you spend most of your time so you want to get it right. It’s not just a simple case of choosing a carpet that looks nice either – there are many considerations to make if you want the best carpet for your living room and this is what we discuss below.
Assessing Your Living Room Specifications
Before you jump into the different factors of choosing carpet for the living room, take a step back and do a little assessment. Think about how you use the space, and how it looks, and consider the following:
- Floor space
- Wall colours
- Furniture size and colours
- Who uses the living room
- Typical living room temperature
- How often do you use your living room
With these pointers in mind, you should be able to pick the best carpet for your living room to suit your household and habits.
Choosing the Right Carpet Fibre
The first thing I advise considering is the carpet fibre. This has a huge impact on the longevity, cost, feel, and durability so understanding what each carpet fibre offers is important.
Nylon
Nylon is one of the most popular synthetic carpet fibres and it has numerous benefits including great stain resistance, affordability, and longevity. It’s really durable and can withstand regular use and due to its popularity, you can find it in a huge range of styles and colours.
Polyester
Polyester carpets are generally the most affordable for both installation and the carpet itself at a square foot rate. Because polyester is relatively easy to dye, it usually offers a wide range of colours too. Although it can be less durable, it’s soft to walk on and has decent stain-resistance too.
Wool
Wool is considered one of the luxury choices and is generally one of the most expensive carpet types regardless of if it’s 100% wool or an 80/20 mix. Wool carpets are durable, sustainable, incredibly comfortable, and just have a wonderful luxurious look and feel.
Olefin
Olefin (Polypropylene) is another type of synthetic carpet and is another affordable option. It has some great properties such as stain resistance, and resistance to mildew. However, this carpet fibre also loses its shape easily and can be damaged by friction (such as dragging furniture over it).
Blends
Blended carpet fibres can be beneficial as they combine the features from several fibre types such as a wool/nylon blend. In this example, an 80/20 wool/nylon mix means the carpet is even more durable and it reduces the price slightly compared to a 100% wool carpet.
Pile Type and Texture Options
Aside from the fibres, carpets also have different pile types and textures which can affect their performance, style, and longevity. Some common pile types include:
- Tufted
- Woven
- Loop pile
- Berber loop pile
- Bonded
- Saxony
- Twist
The pile is essentially how the fibres are formed. For example, a standard loop pile has the fibres woven into a loop shape and these are durable and great for high-traffic areas.
For living rooms, loop piles and twist piles are great options as they are both durable and work well in high-traffic areas that multiple people use.
Colour and Pattern Selection
The colour and pattern selection is typically one of the most important factors aside from functionality and durability. Ultimately, you want a carpet that fits with your living room decor and enhances the look of the space! Some popular colours for living room carpets include:
- Beige
- Cream
- Light grey
- Grey
Look at your existing decor and colour choice including your walls and furniture. You should then be able to select an appropriate carpet colour and pattern that matches this. For example, if you have darker walls and furniture, a lighter colour may be more appropriate for your carpet. You can check out our guide on carpet colour ideas for your living room for more inspiration.
Durability and Wear Resistance
You want your carpet to last and retain its shape and lustre years after its installation. As a result, consider the durability and wear resistance. Nylon and wool carpets are both durable and retain their shape nicely after cleaning whereas polyester is usually considered the least durable of the main carpet fibres.
Maintenance and Cleaning Considerations
Carpets can be tough to clean, especially if you have kids or pets who are prone to making a mess. However, some carpet types are easier to clean than others due to their depth, and the materials. The following three carpet types are considered some of the easiest to clean:
- Nylon
- Polyester
- Olefin
Nylon is potentially the most durable type and is the easiest to clean too while polyester has excellent stain resistance. Olefin or Polypropylene is also great in high-traffic areas and can withstand regular use. Nylon is also known for being able to retain its shape and “bounce back” after cleaning so it always looks great.
Your Budget
Price is always an important factor and while you should never sacrifice quality for affordability, you have to be realistic too. To get the best carpet for your living room that you can afford you need to first measure the floorspace so you know exactly how much carpet you need in square feet.
You can then browse through our living room carpet choices and calculate an approximate price. In terms of cost, nylon, polyester, and olefin are generally the cheaper carpet types, with wool being the most expensive.
Making the Final Choice
By now, you should have a pretty clear idea of which is the best carpet for your living room. By considering how you use your living room and the above factors, the choice should be easy and you can now find a suitable carpet that will last for years.
