The bedroom, particularly the master, is your personal haven. Part of what can make it cozy is a sumptuous carpet. But with so many types and styles, how do you choose? Scrunch your toes on these plush possibilities.
Benefits of Carpet in a Bedroom
Carpet and rugs help make a bedroom warm and inviting. Setting your bare feet on a comfy floor covering makes getting out of bed in the morning a bit easier. Carpet also helps absorb sound, keeping the room quiet and restful. Its color can blend or contrast with your furniture, drapes and bed covers to help carry out your chosen color scheme.
First Decision is Size
With wall-to-wall carpet, your choices are simply the type of pile and the color. With area rugs, add size decisions to the equation.
Choosing the best size for an area rug around your bed depends on both the size of the bed and bedroom and the placement of the rug. One option is to choose a rug large enough to run beneath the entire bed, the nightstands and any bench or chest at the foot of the bed. An alternative is to place only the lower two-thirds of the bed on the area rug, leaving the upper third and the nightstands on the bare floor. A third option is to place a carpet runner beside the bed on one or both sides from just in front of the nightstand to the foot of the bed. These long, narrow rugs should be 18- to 24-inches wide.
Generally, area rugs should not touch walls. When it comes to furniture, such as a dresser, the area rug should either run beneath the piece or stop two to three inches in front of it. Be sure to use a non-slip pad under an area rug to keep it in place and to avoid creating a slipping hazard. Size these pads two inches smaller than the rug on all sides.
Style Choices in Carpet
When choosing wall-to-wall carpet, pick wool or nylon fibers for durability. The density of fiber per square inch also affects the carpet’s life span. The more fibers per square inch, the tougher the carpet.
The type of pile affects softness, durability, and the carpet’s appearance. Cut pile can be plush or textured. With loop pile, the fibers are uncut and feel denser. Loop pile can be patterned, as can carpets made from a combination of cut and loop pile of varying heights.
The thickness and density of the padding beneath carpet is important. Padding in high-traffic areas should be 7/16-inch thick with a density of at least 6 to 8 pounds per cubic foot. Lighter-traffic areas require a thinner, 3/8-inch thick pad with a density of 5 pounds per cubic foot.
Styles in Area Rugs
With bedding and walls that are a neutral color and pattern, a rug gives you the chance to go bold with a vivid color and distinctive floral, geometric or other design. The reverse is also true: Bold bedding and draperies call for a quieter rug.
Although a rectangular rug works best under a bed and nightstands, a nearby sitting area or other arrangement might work best with a circular rug. Try “thinking outside the box” when it comes to an area rug in these parts of the bedroom.
Consider using carpet squares in children’s rooms. When the inevitable spills and stains happen, individual squares can be easily changed rather than having to replace an area rug or the room’s wall-to-wall carpet.
Related – How to Create a Tranquil Bedroom
