The living room is one the highest traffic areas in the house, and your choice in carpet for living room is an investment that will want to last for years. It’s also a room where you spend a lot of time relaxing and entertaining, so you want to make sure you choose a carpet that’s comfortable, durable and easy to maintain.
In this article we discuss some of the best carpet choices for the living room. When you combine our suggestions here with the points in our article ‘Subtle Aspects Affecting Your Carpet Choice,’ you should have a clear idea of what type of carpet will be best for your living room.
1. Frieze Carpet
Frieze carpet has a twisted high-pile, and has a soft and fluffy feel and aesthetic. It can be a great choice for areas like the living room where you want something soft underfoot but don’t want the high maintenance of plush carpets.
The best frieze carpets are made with wool, although they are also commonly made with nylon. Wool has a soft feel and naturally resists stains and odours, making it an ideal choice for high-traffic areas like the living room.
The fibres in frieze carpets are woven tightly together to create a dense pile that feels soft underfoot yet stands up to heavy traffic. It won’t display foot or vacuum tracks like plush carpet does, and can be found it casual and luxurious aesthetics.
2. Cut Pile Carpet
Cut pile carpet is made from short-cut fibres to create a dense pile. The most common type of cut pile carpet is nylon, although polypropylene is also used.
In addition to the fibre type, many other factors determine the quality of a particular cut pile carpet. Some of these factors include:
- The size of the yarns used in the manufacturing process. The larger the yarns, the coarser and thicker the carpet will be. Coarse rugs tend to wear out more quickly, but they also have excellent durability.
- The density of the pile; refers to how tightly packed together each strand of yarn is within a carpet fibre. A higher density means more strands per square inch (or cm). This results in a softer feel and less traffic noise when walking on it.
However, high density can make it harder for your vacuum cleaner to pick up dirt particles because it tends to clog up debris more efficiently. If you want softness without worrying about clogging issues too much, choose a medium-density carpet instead – this should provide comfort and decent cleaning performance.
3. Patterned Carpet
Patterned carpet can be an excellent carpet for the living room, depending on your home aesthetics. It adds warmth, texture and colour to the room.
The chosen fibre and pile will make all the difference in how comfortable your carpet feels underfoot. A softer pile, such as wool, is more luxurious and gives you a smooth, cushioned feel underfoot. However, having children or pets could lead to extra wear and tear on your carpet.
A more durable fibre such as nylon or polypropylene can still be soft enough to be comfortable but will also stand up to wear and tear better than wool.
The actual carpet pattern is essential when choosing the right one for your home.
If you want something that looks expensive, then choose a pattern with lots of variety, like Persian or Turkish designs. If you prefer something simple, an abstract pattern like dots or waves may better suits your space.
You could also choose a carpet or rug with one colour and different pile heights to create the pattern, such as in the image below:
4. Textured Carpet
Textured carpet is a type of cut pile made by sewing pieces of yarn into a backing material. This swirling creates spirals which leads to a very level and smooth carpet.
Textured carpet comes in a wide range of styles and colours, from the traditional look to contemporary designs.
Many types of fibres are also used in textured carpets, including wool, viscose, polypropylene and nylon. The pile height can vary between 0.5 and 1 inch (1 to 2cm), although this doesn’t affect performance or appearance.
The main advantage of textured carpet is that the way it is made makes it very hard wearing and less likely to show dirt. Textured rugs tend to compliment modern decor styles.
Textured carpet can be cleaned using a vacuum or steam cleaner but should not be washed at home unless labelled as “washable”. If you have pets, you may need to use an enzymatic cleaner to remove pet stains because they contain enzymes that break down organic matter, such as urine and faeces, into smaller particles that can be absorbed by the carpet fibres (rather than just laying on top).
5. Berber Carpet
Berber carpet is a popular choice for living rooms because it’s durable, soft, and comes in various colours and patterns.
Berber carpet is made from wool, cotton, or synthetic fibres. The pile on the Berber carpet is short and nubby. The nubs are threaded through the backing layer to create a texture similar to woven wool carpet.
The short pile makes Berber carpet easy to clean and vacuum. If you have a Berber rug, you can use a rug pad under your Berber carpet to protect your flooring from damage caused by movement and foot traffic.
Berber carpets are available in many colours and patterns. If you want an ultra-soft feel, choose an all-wool Berber with more than 70 per cent wool content.
If you prefer something less expensive with less fuzziness, look for synthetic-blend Berbers that contain polyester or nylon fibres and wool.
- Abrasion resistance: Moderate (7/10)
- Durability: High (9/10)
- Pile height: Low (3/10)
- Cleaning difficulty: Easy (1/10)
These are our top five carpet choices for the living room. Once you’ve made your selection, be sure to explore our five recommended options for bedroom carpets.