If you are building or renovating a home you will be aware that your choice of flooring can influence the look and feel of a room. A popular choice of floor covering is carpeting.

Carpet can have a large and varied influence because it comes in many different styles, textures and colours – often making it quite a daunting selection decision.

Cavalier Bremworth and Norman Ellison Carpets are New Zealand carpet companies that try to make finding the right carpet for your home and lifestyle as easy as possible. The more informed you are about your preferred choice of carpet, the better. The first step in choosing a carpet is to consider what fibre you would like to have – the choice is generally between wool and solution-dyed nylon.

If your main concern is warmth and comfort, wool is your best option. It is naturally beautiful, durable, family-friendly and very easy to clean (often contrary to popular belief). The scaly structure of wool acts as a natural stain resister and will repel most liquid spills. Stains can be easily removed if you get to them quickly.

Wool can also help naturally regulate the humidity of an interior – absorbing moisture when the air is damp and releasing it when the air is dry. This can help prevent mould growth and improve the indoor air quality of your home, particularly beneficial for family members with allergies or breathing difficulties.

Cavalier Bremworth has an extensive range of wool carpets, available in a range of different styles, providing you with luxury that you can live on. For consideration, Lattice, Armure and Charmeuse are great options to start with.

If your home has large windows/doors and is prone to a lot of sunlight, you may be concerned about fading. In this instance a solution-dyed nylon (SDN) carpet would be a practical consideration. SDN carpets are very durable and are a great family-friendly option, most having very good stain and fade resistant warranties. Cavalier Bremworth has an extensive range of heavyweight synthetic options available, further complimented by the additional Norman Ellison synthetic line-up.

For consideration take a look at Norman Ellison’s three newest SDN’s - Cabrillo II, Commodore and Florissant II, for affordable style that is sure to suit your home decor.

The second step in carpet choice is choosing the right style and texture for your home – either cut pile or loop pile. Cut pile carpets are usually luxurious underfoot and can range from hardtwist (set like a perm to hold the twist) to plush pile (straight fibres). It is important to note that all cut pile carpets will develop shading over time which can give a light and dark patchwork effect, particularly prevalent on plush pile, displaying similar shading to velvet or suede. Shading does not affect the durability of the carpet.

Loop piles can offer a classic or casual look and are very easy care. Because of the texture they do not show footprints and can minimise visible debris, great for busy families or high trafficked areas.

Finally it is all about colour, remembering that dark carpets will make a room feel small and cosy, whereas lighter carpets will make a room feel spacious.  It is good practice to always take a sample home and examine in different lighting, ensuring it will achieve the look you are going for.

To make things easier you can use Cavalier Bremworth’s super easy 3D Floor Designer Tool athttp://floordesigner.cavbrem.co.nz/, allowing you to mix and match your desired carpet against a Resene paint colour of your choice.

For more detailed information on available products, how to choose carpet, and carpet care please visit http://www.cavbrem.co.nz/ or http://www.normanellison.co.nz/.