Carpet selection

Like all decisions, the carpet took a while to decide. I couldn't make it at the Selection appointment as I had not researched the carpet beforehand and didn't feel comfortable deciding on the spot.

I went to Blest Carpet Court, Ringwood, before I went on holidays to get a general idea, and then again on the weekend to decide.

Things to consider:
- wool vs nylon (solution dyed)
- dark vs light.
- underlay

Wool - a natural substance, worse for allergies as it sheds more
Nylon - colour goes all the way through, less likely to fade, easy to clean (can even use bleach), will melt in fire

Dark - hides stains/dark hair better, but can make a room look smaller and be prone to lint.
Light - brightens a room, shows marks easier.

Underlay - makes a big difference as to how the carpet feels underfoot. The thicker it is, the softer the carpet feels and longer the carpet durability. It can be made of foam or rubber. Bridgestone, makers of tyres, also make underlay from black (thinnest) to gold to blue (thickest)

I decided to go with solution dyed nylon as there seemed to be more pros, and for the same quality of wool it was cheaper.

For DW1 I decided to go with Profound Beauty 82/8211 $165 per broadloom metre. I chose a dark colour as this house may be rented out. It also wasn't one colour all the way through, so hopefully won't show up lint as much. Lastly, it was cheaper.

To give me an idea of how it looked I brought along my floor tile and used the shop's Sydney Blue Gum floating floorboard. The pieces of paper are the paint colour samples Whisper White.

For DW2 I chose Manor House Candlelight $179 per broadloom metre. 32 ounce light colour. They had the same colour in the middle range Sycamore Lane Satin Canopy $210, 49 ounce but in the end I decided that as they have the same extra heavy duty residential use and are likely to last the same length of time to go with the cheaper carpet, and with good underlay should still be comfortable. The price includes gold underlay but because they have been dealing with my builder for a long time, they upgrade the underlay to blue for free - bonus!


Both carpets were under my $190 allowance so the extra money will be spent on lights - or other things I know will crop up on the way.

I just found this website AFTER I went through the carpet process!
http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/household/living-and-bedroom/flooring/carpet-buying-guide.aspx

NOTE: broadloom metre = 1 x 3.66 m - how carpet is sold.