Carpet never really went out of style as a flooring choice. It just became less outlandish! Demand diminished for a time because more high quality carpet options were needed. Now it is on the rise again as people find those options. Modern carpet trends favor two factors above all others: practicality and luxury. High end carpet has become far more accessible than ever before. Is carpet making a comeback? You could say that! Today’s carpet is much different and longer-lasting than in decades past.
Modern Carpet Trends
What is it about high end carpet that finds it being used in more and more homes? Carpet construction means that you can find ultra-soft carpet that lasts, is easy to clean, and retains its look.
Ultra-soft carpet once meant options that weren’t durable, that were hard to clean, and that faded quickly as surface threads wore and frayed. Thankfully, those kinds of cheap carpets are fast becoming extinct, in large part because high end carpet is so much more accessible to so many more people.
Advances in tufting might not seem like a big deal, but they have meant all the difference in making ultra-soft options that will offer the same softness and aesthetic years down the road as they do today. With a wider access to high end carpet has also come a wider variety of patterns and styles. Plush styles are being favored in spaces like bedrooms, offices, and living rooms.
Complex color patterns never left favor. They were simply adopted into area rugs on hardwood floors. Yet carpets are far more enduring and create a more complete aesthetic. Bold patterns find use of a wide variety of lasting colors, and can range from the geometric to specific cultural influences.
High contrast patterns are somewhat newer. As modern carpet trends go, this is favored by younger homeowners. These patterns to a superb job of capturing light and opening up a space. As the eye sees a space divided by contrasting colors in a recognizable pattern, it also highlights the other elements of that space. It’s a good way to make not just the carpet stand out, but the aesthetic of that entire room.
High End Carpet
Improvements in how carpets are designed and made mean that they last longer than they used to. There’s an exceptional focus on durability, stain resistance, wear resistance, and safety that was once out of reach of most carpet manufacturing.
That stain resistance can come naturally – as with the waxy lanolin in wool carpets – or through treatments of other materials. There’s a focus on wine and other drink spills, as well as on homes with pets. Fibers must perform to a certain standard when it comes to resisting absorption, and this standard far surpasses what you would’ve seen even a decade or two ago.
Wear resistance is a little bit different from durability. Durability is a rating of how long a carpet will last – this has gone up significantly for most carpet over the years. Wear resistance has more to do with those areas that see more traffic. This has to do with how well the carpet holds up under daily wear, and whether it will “spring” back to form rather than indent from a heavy object.
Because of improvements in carpet construction, this wear resistance is vastly improved. It’s much more in line with the durability of the overall carpet. Not only this, but because so much information is at our fingertips, ratings on foot traffic are easy to find for any type of carpet. This allows you to feel much more peace of mind knowing that your luxury carpet choice will last and resist wear and fading.
As you look at carpets, make sure you ask to see woven carpets. These feature less wastage and hold up with exceptional durability and wear resistance. Their performance is spectacular and they hold their aesthetic for a very long time.
Carpet Options
It’s been mentioned that this greater accessibility to high end carpet has drastically increased the range of luxury carpet options. To say this is only to scratch the surface. Designs now come with exceptional story and style. Design can be coordinated throughout an entire home.
You have to look at why other flooring choices soared for a time to understand why each held an appeal. Tile and stone became popular for a time because they resisted allergens and were easy to clean. They had a look that could highlight other elements in a room.
Hardwood became popular because it evokes nature and has a warmth. It plays with light well, and it’s durable.
Why is carpet returning to popularity? Because it can at long last fulfill all these qualifications. Carpet construction and hypoallergenic carpet mean that it can resist allergens, that it’s easier to clean and maintain than ever before. A wider range of design options mean that carpet plays with light better, holds its look years longer, and can evoke whatever you want it to. Carpet is even more environmentally responsible than it’s ever been before.
Flooring choices become popular because they serve what homeowners are looking for at that point in time. Carpet fell out of favor because it needed to advance and provide wider options for people to desire it again. Now is that time. It may as well be a whole other kind of flooring than carpet from years back.
The ability to customize looks and design, as well as greater transparency about increased durability and wear resistance have all returned carpet to the forefront of flooring options. It’s now one of the most versatile and creative options at your fingertips. Take a long look at the return of carpet and imagine what you can do with it.
The East Coast Flooring & Interiors team is here to answer all of your questions and help you create the look and feel you want. Contact us today.