Every style of carpet is made in a heavy, durable quality, so you need to decide what carpet flooring style best fits your home.
Some people live in very elegant homes while others live on a farm. While both need something that can take heavy wear, it’s unlikely they will both want the same look. Even though any high quality carpet can be used in a family room, let’s look at the 5 top carpet styles that are top choices.
Standard Textured Plush
The most common family room carpet is a standard textured plush. This usually matches the carpet in the entire house. Meaning nothing different was put in the family room.
A textured plush is a cut pile carpet flooring whose tips are kinked to reflect light differently. This effect creates a two-tone look which helps hide dirt and wear. These carpets look like an ordinary, nothing fancy carpet. The maintenance and wear on this type totally depends on the quality that is purchased since it comes in such variety. If you’re on a tight budget this is probably the least expensive options. This choice, however, can’t compare to the performance, style and low maintenance of some other choices.
Level Cut Loops
Level Cut Loops (LCL) are a great choice for family rooms. First, it is very common for family room carpet to be different than the rest of the house. This means you can buy something way better than the rest of the house if this is the room that everyone lives in.
An LCL is a very low pile, flat carpet that performs well and is easy to clean. If footprints bother you, certain styles of this carpet hide this very well.
LCLs are manufactured by combining cut piles with loop piles. Sometimes they are big bold patterns, but most of the time they are very small and subtle designs that you can barely make out. This is not a patterned carpet with different colors that you might see at a movie theater. These are all solid carpets usually made with nylon fiber. This is always a wonderful choice and comes in both elegant and casual looks.
Berber Carpets
Berber carpets are another great choice for the family room. This is a looped carpet flooring that comes in many variations. Sometimes it’s one-sized loops and other times it’s mixed with many different sizes.
Berber come in a solid loop with no pattern and loop with a pattern. The loops are either really big and tiny. Sometimes the berbers are a solid color and other times multi-toned. One of the biggest differences between a berber and a commercial looped carpet is that berbers are only made in lighter colors, whereas commercial carpets are almost always dark. Also, berber loops are about five times the size of the average commercial carpet loop. However, if you buy a berber with a larger loop beware that sometimes these get snagged by high heels or pets.
A berber is almost always considered a more casual look. You can expect great performance and easy maintenance if you buy one of high quality.
Cable Carpets
Cable carpets are occasionally used in family rooms as well. A cable is a carpet with tufts that are giant compared to regular carpets. They are not a short pile like most other family room choices. They are long, thick piles that you can sleep on if your water bed bursts. This style gives you a distinct look and is not a bad choice if the room is not used too often.
Cables usually come in a solid color, but sometimes can be found with a fleck or multi color. This choice is reserved for a homeowner who cares more about making a room look gorgeous. Cables are a nightmare to keep clean and show use faster than most other choices. If you want your family room to be a show piece, a cable carpet flooring will meet your needs. However, if it’s a room you actually live in, I’d skip this choice altogether due to damage from heavy use.
Commercial or Patterned carpets
Commercial or patterned carpets are sometimes chosen as family room flooring .These can have distinct, often bold, patterns, while others are hardly visible. If you first and only care is performance, this choice cannot be beat as it’s practically bullet and stain proof. I’d give you permission to change your transmission on it if you promised to have it professionally cleaned afterward. This is another super low profile choice that is big on performance. But, it’s not the most comfortable to lay on.
The style of life you lead should be the biggest factor in choosing the right family room carpet. If you don’t entertain much and the room is more for look, you can lay down any type of carpet. With a big family and pets that always hanging out in that room, that’s a different situation requiring an alternate flooring solution.
If you get a berber or LCL, it will be easy to clean and will perform well. This choice won’t be the most comfy to lay on since these are mostly hard, flat styles.
On the other hand, if you choose a cut pile, it will be more comfortable but more difficult to keep clean and not last as long.
The best way to look at a family room carpet purchase is to buy something that will last 5-7 years. After that, do it all over again. This mindset is most fun, and takes the stress out of the decision process.
Guest Blogger Bio: Lili Schatz is a blogger who has been working as a freelance writer for a long time and writes about topics related to Home Improvements, Maintenance, Decor, furniture. She possesses a great sense of style and loves to share her thoughts about fashion and latest trends.
