Carpet

Unlike most flooring surfaces, carpet gives a nice and comfy environment to relax, play, and work. Carpet provides actual thermal insulation and resistance. In colder climates or seasons, it retains warm air longer, an energy conservation benefit.

Fibre Types

Man Made Fibre

Carpets that have been made using synthetic, man-made fibres. While not necessarily traditional, synthetic carpeting has gained a lot of popularity over the years as the quality of fibres has improved. The two main types of man made carpets are: polypropylene and nylon.

Polypropylene is popular due to its combination of stain resistance, softness and value for money. Designed for the modern home, polypropylene is suitable for parents and pet owners alike. Its even bleach cleanable! Nylon is durable, resilient, easy to clean, holds colour well, & is the most sustainable of the synthetics.

Natural Fibre

Natural fibres in carpet come from one of five sources: wool, sisal, seagrass, jute, and coir.

Wool is a wonderful natural fibre. A natural insulator with bounce, comfortable, fire retardant & sustainable!

Sisal carpet is a natural carpet fibre extracted from Agave plant’s long spiny leaves. Sisal is a highly durable carpet often used in heavy traffic areas and higher end homes.

Seagrass is a plant that’s harvested from paddy fields that flood during part of the year. They’re durable but without the tufted coils of wool. Seagrass are woven carpets with a very distinct look. It’s prized more for its thatched and herringbone-style aesthetics.

Jute is made from subtropical plants, and it’s extraordinarily soft. It’s best for low-traffic areas.

Coir is derived from coconut shell husk. It is a rough fibre which is why it is often used as a walk-off mat at entrances to homes and buildings. Coir fibre has natural elasticity and can be woven into richly textured, hard wearing rugs and carpet.

Wool Blend

Wool blend carpets are most often a mix of 80% wool and 20% synthetic fibre but are available in varying blends. Wool and synthetic blends give the benefit of both synthetic and wool carpet – the durability of synthetic fibres and the natural, luxurious feel of wool.

Pile Types

There are many types of carpet options for you to add into your home.

Tufted

95% of all carpet produced today is tufted. A wide range of styles & textures can be created using various techniques, depending whether the looped yarn is cut into tufts or left as loops.

Loop Pile: Level Loop – Multi-Level Loop – Berber

Loop pile carpets can have a level loop or multi-level loop finish.

They are traditionally made with 100% wool, but can also be found as an 80% mix with nylon or polypropylene. A loop pile is extremely hardwearing and forgiving in heavy traffic areas. They are not the most appropriate if you have a cat though, as their claws can get stuck in the carpet.

Berber Carpet

Berber carpet is a tufted loop pile and named after the tribes in Africa and Asia who first devised the technique of threading yarn though the backing fabric to create small loops. These days, the loops are made from either wool, nylon, polypropylene or a blended mixture to produce either a level or multi-level finish. The lower the loop, the more hardwearing the carpet, and Berber carpet pile is extremely hardwearing. A multi-loop can hide stains more than a level loop, so is ideal for busy family rooms.

Cut Pile: Saxony – Twist – Velvet – Freize

There are a few different types of cut pile carpets, each of which has a slightly different finish. They range from the hardwearing frieze to the elegant Saxony, the popular twist to the luxurious velvet.

Saxony is a type of carpet pile which is formed of straight fibres which are even in length. Although it is a classic, elegant carpet, the downside is that the Saxony will show footprints and vacuum marks which makes them ideal for an occasional room. On the plus side, a Saxony carpet is durable and classic, so it will never go out of fashion.

Twist pile carpets are one of the most popular types and are extremely versatile.
They look great, but they are practical too – a perfect, durable choice for a family room. A twist pile carpet type will equally work well in high traffic areas such as hallways, living rooms and stairs.

Velvet pile carpet types are also known as ‘velour’ or ‘plush’, and will give you a luxury feel which is super comfortable underfoot. The surface pile is level, between 5mm and 10mm long, which is then sheared to give it a smooth finish. Velvet carpets are ideal for a room with light traffic such as a guest bedroom or formal lounge.

Frieze is a twist pile carpet which has a thick and curly pile, and is extremely hardwearing. Frieze carpets are great at hiding dirt, stains and seams, and they minimise footprints and hoovering marks. Frieze carpets are very soft to walk on because of their loose construction. They are great for insulation too, as it is a dense carpet which works for sound reduction as well as saving on your heating bills. They are sometimes more difficult to clean compared with other carpet pile types because their long fibres make it tricky to get to the stain.

Tip sheared is made when some loops are tufted higher than others. The result is a textured, patterned carpet which is forgiving for footprints and dirt as they are hidden in the pile. The shearing process partially cuts the high loop tufts, leaving the lower ones uncut, making a pattern where the cut tufts have a darker appearance than the lower ones. The different levels in this type of carpet can hide dirt and footprints.

Random sheared carpet pile is very similar to tip sheared carpet, except that the loops are sheared randomly. The result is a cut/uncut texture.

Woven

Woven carpet may be in a tiny minority of today’s production, but still produces some of the finest carpets. Woven carpet is made using a traditional loom method with a wool yarn being interlaced through backing material and then locking the tufts in place using a thin layer of latex. The result is an extremely high quality, hardwearing carpet, which is said to last three times longer than a tufted one. They can display intricate patterns and are extremely comfortable underfoot.

Axminster

The Axminster method involves inserting the pile of the carpet into the backing as it is woven. U-shaped tufts are created by cutting it to length, with a result which allows for intricate designs, creating patterns with a wide range of colours. Axminster carpets combine high performance with a luxury feel.

Wilton

The Wilton method differs from Axminster in that a single continuous fibre is woven all the way through the carpet. It can then be sheared to create a range of textured effects using cuts and loops to produce a high quality, hardwearing carpet.

Flat Weave

Flat weave carpets feature a flatter pile, being manufactured using the Wilton method but as a loop pile which is woven across a wider area. The effect is flatter and more textured. Flat weave carpets are perfect for heavy traffic areas in homes and offices, and their striking patterns make them ideal for stair runners.