Types of Carpet Texture – What’s the Difference?
Most residential carpet lasts anywhere from 10 to 15 years, assuming it’s cared for properly. The good news is that you’ve never had so many options when it comes to shopping for residential carpet — you can choose from a huge variety of colors, materials, stain resistance treatments, and textures — and that’s not to mention the padding that goes underneath!
If you’re like most people, and you’re only buying carpet once a decade, you might not know what you’re looking for. But we do! With over 40 years of experience selling residential carpet, we’re confident that we can find the carpet that’s right for you and your family. Just to give you a quick sense of what you’re looking for before you come in, here’s a primer on textures.
Plush Pile
Soft and Luxurious
If your priority is comfort above all else, then plush pile is the carpet for you. Plush pile carpet is a form of cut-pile carpet, which means the individual strands of the yarn are facing upwards, giving it a smooth, velvety appearance. For a formal setting or a room where comfort under bare feet is important (like a bedroom), plush pile is perfect.
The downside of plush pile carpet is that its exposed yarns make it slightly less durable than level-loop carpets, and it will show footprints and vacuum marks more than a level-loop carpet. We recommend using plush pile in low-traffic areas like bedrooms.
Textured Plush
Durability Meets Comfort
While plush pile has yarns that are all the same length, textured plush has yarns that are cut to different lengths and laid at a variety of angles. This gives some depth to the carpet’s surface, making it a more striking addition to your decor.
Textured plush carpets tend to be more durable than plush pile carpets, and they can be found in some exciting patterns that lend your personal flair to any room. We recommend textured plush for kids rooms, playrooms, or living rooms — where softness matters, but durability matters too.
Frieze
Good for High-Traffic Areas
Frieze (pronounced “freeze” or “frizz-ay”) is made of short, tightly-twisted fibers that give the carpet the dense appearance of a perm. They come in a wide variety of colors, including flecked neutral colors, which helps them hide dirt and debris and stay looking fresh in between vacuumings.
Frieze is much more durable than other cut-pile carpets and won’t wear unevenly under a lot of foot traffic, so it’s perfect for highly trafficked areas like hallways and staircases. You could even wear shoes on it (though we don’t recommend that).
Level Loop
For High-Traffic Areas
Level loop carpets are made from closed loops, rather than cut strands. Since the ends of the yarns aren’t exposed, loop pile carpets are much more durable and easier to clean, but they’re not quite as soft and cushy. If you’re installing carpet in a room that gets a lot of traffic, like staircases, hallways, playrooms, and offices, level loop is an excellent choice.
Berber Loop
The Best of All Worlds
We’re big fans of Berber carpet at Sloane’s. Berber is a type of level loop carpet, which means it shares the dense feel and ease of cleaning that comes with closed loops rather than exposed yarns.
Rather than rows of uniform loops, Berber is made of overlapping loops of varying lengths, all tufted together and overlapping to create a more interesting texture and pattern than a traditional level loop carpet. Berber is extremely resistant to wear and staining, as its dense surface keeps dirt and liquid from soaking in.
Berber is perfect for high-traffic areas and busy rooms, but it’s not ideal for homes with cats — its dense loops can catch their claws and injure them.
Textured Patterns
Flooring With Style
If you want to add a splash of flair and excitement to your floors, consider a carpet with a pattern built into the texture. Textured patterns combine loops and cut piles in flowers, stripes, and geometric shapes, giving your carpet a subtle but striking uniqueness.
Natural Fibers
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
If sustainability and environmental friendliness are a top priority for your home’s carpeting, consider a natural fiber carpet. These come in materials like wool, seagrass, jute, or sisal (pronounced “sigh-suhl”), which are non-toxic, biodegradable, sustainable, and less allergenic than most other materials.
Natural fibers come in a variety of textures and patterns, but they’re usually not as soft as synthetic fibers. Sisal is a very durable material, but it’s not very comfortable on bare skin.
Natural fibers also absorb liquids, which means that they’ll soak up stains more than any synthetic fiber and be very difficult to clean. If you have kids or pets in the house — or are prone to spills yourself — you should look into other options.