Neutral Colored Carpeting - Boring or Brilliant?

Neutral colored carpeting gets a bad reputation as being dull and easy to dirty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether the carpet is gray, beige or off-white, the newest coatings make these tones as impervious to dirt as any other color. In addition, the ability of neutral tones to complement any décor makes them some of the most versatile carpeting colors around. Here are just three reasons why:

To set the overall tone – In this case, one man's “boring” can be another man's “brilliant.” If you are trying to establish a relaxing feeling in a family room or a home library, neutral tones are ideal. Start with a darker floor covering – either carpet or wood – and then cover the walls in a similar but lighter tone. Highlights on the ceiling will complete the look. The result is a room that is easy on the eyes and easy to enjoy a nap, a little conversation or some reading.

As a backdrop – Neutral tone carpeting can serve as an excellent backdrop for everything from a traditional Mexican rug through brightly colored Scandinavian furniture to intricate Oriental room dividers. Neutral colors are also quite appealing in spaces where a lot of artwork is displayed. In this case, the eye of the viewer is drawn to the focal point of the room – the art – instead of the rest of the décor.

When looking to sell – If you feel the need – or you real estate agent recommends – to upgrade the carpeting in your home before selling it, definitely go with a neutral color. Your taste may not match a potential buyer's and your investment will simply be a waste that will not be recouped. Even worse, it may sour the deal altogether costing you even more money.

For more information on the benefits of neutral colored carpeting and other flooring options in your home, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. We can be found online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or reached directly at 630-357-3331.

For that Cozy Feeling Underfoot, Plush Carpeting is the Answer

For that Cozy Feeling Underfoot, Plush Carpeting is the Answer

One of the main reasons that homeowners choose carpeting over other, “harder” types of floor coverings – like stone and wood – is to gain that soft and cozy feel under their feet. Believe it or not, though, some types of carpet are actually superior at creating that feel over others.

In particular, textured plush carpeting is one of the best at making your feet feel as comfortable as possible. It is a great choice for bedrooms, family rooms and or any other space in your home where relaxation is the goal. Here's why:

Comfort – Textured, plush carpeting has its pile cut to a smooth, relatively high, level height. The result is an elegant looking carpet that feels extremely “cushiony” underfoot. One small disadvantage to this increased height of the pile, however, is that plush carpet shows footprints and other indentations to a fairly large degree.

Durability – Plush carpet can be wholly manufactured from natural materials like wool or blends, to a variety of synthetic materials. Each has its advantages and drawbacks, but the manufacturing process ensures a dense pile with multiple twists. This results in a carpet with exceptionally high durability – with a useful life of a decade with minimal care.

Affordability – Due to its popularity, there is an enormous amount of plush carpet manufactured in the United States. This means it is usually the most inexpensive to initially install. Still, care should be taken to not install it in high traffic areas or you will be replacing it on a regular basis. Plush is best used in bedrooms, libraries and other relatively lightly used rooms.

Textured plush carpet is an excellent choice for many homeowners but there are some situations where it should not be used. For more guidance on this point and whether or not textured plush carpeting is the right flooring choice for your needs, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. Visit us online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or reach us directly at 630-357-3331.

Why You Should Consider Frieze Carpet for Your Home

Why You Should Consider Frieze Carpet for Your Home

Frieze is a style of carpet well suited to the demands of the modern home. It offers a host of benefits and only a few minor drawbacks. Here is a quick rundown on both.

Advantages

• Aesthetics – In the last decade, frieze carpet has rapidly replaced Berber as the carpet of choice in the trendiest homes. By far, it is the first choice of new home builders who are looking to impress their customers with formal yet fun floor covering.
• Durability – The fibers in frieze carpet are wound quite tightly. This fact not only gives frieze carpet its distinctive look but also makes it highly durable as well as dirt and stain resistant. Look for a high “twist” number when considering this factor.
• Insulating qualities – The denseness of the pile in a frieze carpet provides several benefits as well. Not only is noise dampened in general, but heat transfer is also reduced. This leads to a more comfortable living environment as well as lowered monthly utility costs.

Disadvantages

• Price – As with anything else in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to floor coverings. Without a doubt, frieze carpet is not the least expensive option – it is also far from the most expensive. If you consider the amount of useful years – 15 or more – that a frieze carpet will last, it becomes more of an investment in your home rather than a simple expense.
• Maintenance – Everything beautiful must be properly maintained and frieze carpet is no different. While a homeowner will not need to purchase any special chemicals to clean their carpet, they should be wary of what vacuum cleaner they use. Those rotating tubes – known as “beater bars” – on the front of a vacuum should be avoided as they will slowly destroy the weave of your frieze carpet.

For more detailed information on frieze or any other type of carpet, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. Visit us online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or reach us directly at 630-357-3331.

What to Look for in a Quality Carpet Installation

While it may not seem particularly difficult to do, it actually takes the right tools, the right knowledge, and a fair bit of experience to properly install wall-to-wall carpeting. Most homeowners understand this fact and choose to have it done professionally. Still, there are a few things to look for when getting your carpet installed.

Superior padding – Not only is the carpet itself important, the padding installed underneath is just as important. The best carpet padding is specifically designed to enhance the comfort of walking on the carpet as well as providing a moisture barrier to protect the carpet. Good quality padding also adds a degree of insulation against heat transfer and noise.

Proper stretching – If you have ever seen carpet being installed, you will have noted the tech using his knee and a specialized tool – known as a stretcher – to fine tune the installation of a carpet. This activity is something of an art and takes some experience – and physical effort – to do well. Expect to see your installers spending most of their time getting this aspect of the job done properly.

No visible seams – It is not always possible to cover an entire room with a single piece of carpet. Instead, pieces will have to be butted up against each other which creates a seam. Expert carpet installers can do this with ease and ensure that there is no “peaking” – when the carpet is pushed too tightly together – or “gapping” – where not enough carpet is used.

Debris removal – The job does not end once the new carpet is installed. The best installation companies will also cart away the debris at no additional charge. It is no small matter as a homeowner would otherwise have to store the old carpet in the garage or outside until their next scheduled “large trash” pick-up day.

For further information on the basics of carpet installation in particular or on other flooring topics in general, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. Visit us online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or reach us directly at 630-357-3331.

From Low to High - What You Can Expect to Pay for Berber Carpet

Berber carpet is one of the most ubiquitous flooring materials found in the United States. It graces almost every office space, and a large majority of residential homes. There are a number of Berber carpet types that range in price depending on what they are designed and manufactured to do. Here is a quick rundown on them:

The material

By far, the primary determinant of what a Berber carpet will cost is the material it is made from. On the low end of the cost scale is Berber carpet made from the highly durable synthetic fiber, olefin. It is used primarily in commercial applications because of its strength, stain and light resistance, colorfastness, and its ability to withstand both crushing and abrasion from heavy use.

Second on the cost scale is polyester. While not as resistant to crushing (pile flattening), it offers the best resistance to staining. These facts make it ideal for use in high traffic areas of residential homes.

Third on the list – and the most expensive synthetic fiber – is nylon. It is still quite resilient but also offers an enhanced “under foot” feel. It is used extensively in dens and bedrooms.

The most expensive materials used to manufacture Berber carpets are the natural fibers: wool and cotton. All hand woven Berbers (as well as some mass-produced ones), which uses one of these natural materials makes them quite expensive.

The construction

There are two main types of construction when it comes to Berber carpets – looped pile and cut pile. All carpets are manufactured the same way - loops are created and then pushed through the backing material. Some are left as is – looped carpets – and some are sheared across the top to create what is known as “cut pile” carpet. The latter is marginally more expensive because of this extra step, but has become the most popular style of carpet in the U.S.

For more specifics on Berber carpets and their costs, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. We can be found online at www.greatwesternflooring.com

or you can give us a call at 630-357-3331.

The Wide - and Wild! - World of Berber Carpet Styles

For centuries, handwoven Berber carpets have graced the halls and other rooms of the just and high-and-mighty. These days, things have changed and Berber carpeting is found in almost every home in America. There are many reasons for this development, but the most notable is the wide variety of Berber carpet styles. Here is a quick rundown on what is available.

Simple looped Berber – A very affordable flooring option that can be used in a variety of spaces, simple looped Berber should only be considered for low traffic areas like bedrooms and libraries. Always a durable product, it often deforms in high traffic areas like hallways and family rooms. Consider using wool Berber for these applications as it has the nicest “under foot” feel.

Pattern looped Berber – As the name implies, this Berber carpet has a pattern incorporated into the design. It is suitable for use in moderately tracked areas like family rooms and dens. The pattern is especially useful as it tends to hide stains until they can be removed properly. Nylon is the material of choice for this particular Berber.

Cut pile Berber – Easily the most durable of these types of carpets, cut pile Berber is useful anywhere in the house. The fact that the pile is cut means that the loops cannot be snagged by rowdy pets or rambunctious kids. It also retains its look much better as it does not deform as much as the looped style of Berber carpet.

Materials – Not specifically a style but a major consideration is what type of material you should get in your Berber carpet. Wool is the most comfortable and expensive. Nylon is in the middle in terms of both pricing and durability. Finally, olefin will last the longest and cost the least, but is only really usable in a commercial setting.

For further information on the wide variety of Berber carpet patterns and types available for installation in your home, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. We can be found online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or reached directly at 630-357-3331.

The Ins and Outs of Berber Carpet Construction

First created several thousand years ago, the first Berber carpets were handwoven affairs that took months or even years to complete. Over the ensuing millennia, the process has been streamlined to quite an impressive degree. Nowadays, the average Berber carpet can be completed in a matter of hours with a level of quality unknown in the ancient world. Here is how modern manufacturers do it:

The right materials – Traditional Berber carpets were woven exclusively from wool fibers while modern ones use a variety of other materials such as nylon and olefin. Nylon is easily the most comfortable underfoot as evidenced by its use in women's stockings, but olefin is renowned for its overall strength and colorfastness as well as its resistance to abrasion, staining, mildew and fading. In short, nylon Berber is usually used in residential settings while olefin based ones are more commonly found in commercial settings.

An exacting manufacturing process – Modern Berber carpets are mass produced on industrial sized machines that churn out thousands of feet of carpet per hour. Nevertheless, they are more accurately constructed than anything ever produced by the most meticulous human hand. The finished, loop pile product not only mimics the look of traditional hand woven knotted carpets but also surpasses it in terms of durability and longevity.

Coatings that last – A final tiebreaker in favor of modern Berber carpets – versus the traditional ones – is the array of coatings that are typically applied to them. Most notably, synthetic carpets are covered in a stain resistant coating that does not allow mud, oils or food stains to seep into the interior of the carpet pile. Instead, the adulterants pool on the surface of the carpet where they are easily removed if dealt with in an expeditious manner.

For additional information on the pros and cons of the modern incarnation of wool Berber carpet in particular or on other flooring options in general, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. You'll will find us online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or you can reach us directly at 630-357-3331.