I'm about to buy carpets for the first time ever, and floundering a bit. I'm in a two-bedroom flat (ex-council block, built around 1961, concrete floors as far as I'm aware - I think, based on having viewed other flats before buying this one, that there might be those basic cheap brown lino-like tiles underneath if you took the carpet up). It used to be a rental, so it has terrible carpets and thin underlay. After 15 years living in rented flats I want something nice, and I am definitely sick of a) cheap stuff and b) beige and neutral colours, but I don't want to make an expensive mistake. I have three proper rooms, plus a hallway. (I'll also need lino for the loo, bathroom and kitchen in due course, but that feels more straightforward.) I wandered into CarpetRight and squealed in a girly manner over "iSense Surprise" which is sparkly! I swear I'm not thirteen years old, but I'm really tempted to get it in all three rooms (living room, bedroom, home office)... Leaving aside whether you personally would be seen dead in a house with sparkly carpets, am I making a rookie error? I suppose what I mean is, is it a gimmick that mostly means I'd be overpaying for the underlying product and I'll be upset in a year's time when it's gone all horrible? Or is it fine and just a matter of personal taste? I live alone, no kids, no pets, don't do much entertaining, no clog-dancing hobbies etc, and I take my shoes off when I come into the flat. If it's OK in principle, is there anything similar but better that I should be seeking out to compare? Or should I just go for boring, and get big interesting rugs? Although that seems to defeat the point of new carpets as well as adding a layer of cost. (CarpetRight don't do home sales visits to my address, so I am not currently in their snare although I suppose if I wanted to use them I could do.) Potential other issues that I'd love advice on: 1. Met some interesting and friendly pedestrian moths over the summer, not loads but I think wool carpets are out of the running. This carpet is polyamide. Is it "safe" from an infestation? 2. Presumably I'll need to shave the bottom of the doors since new carpets/underlay are thicker than old, but the hinges are built into the door frame (metal door frames!) so removal might be harder than normal - you would have to take the door off the hinges rather than the hinges off the frame - any way to avoid this, or is it not really a big deal? 3. There is some furniture that's too big/heavy for me to shift on my own, and it's going to have to be moved from room to room (assuming each room needs to be empty to fit the carpets) as there's no secure outside space - do fitters do this? 4. Who gets rid of the old carpet (moth-eggs and all)? If the answer to that is "you do, Snakey" then I am going to have furniture moving problems... but also, do I take up the gripper rods and stuff, or do they get re-used? Sorry for massive long post. I have done a few searches before posting and am about to settle down to read through some threads (which might answer some of my numbered questions), but I can't find anything that's been said about this particular carpet. Thanks for reading!
I wouldn’t have a soft carpet in the office. I wouldn’t suggest going carpet right either. You got any decent local carpet shops about.
Find an independent, you will get better advice, service and usually fitting. That carpet will flatten down in no time at all and look tired, I personally wouldn't have it (glitter or no). To answer your other questions; 1. Moths only attack natural fibres so any man made would be safe from them. 2. That would depend on the fitter. I have a door boss that lets me cut them without removing the door so it wouldn't bother me. 3. Some fitters would move furniture, some won't. Best to ask. For large units we hire a removal company that handles it all as they are insured to move it. 4. Again would depend on the fitter. I wouldn't, but I would recommend a local waste disposal company that would. Good luck.
A decent firm will take up and remove the old carpet, move the furniture and trim the doors and will also be cheaper than carpetright. I’m not sure about that particular carpet but a good synthetic with good underlay will last if it’s not heavily trafficked Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I assume that's carpetshites name for one of the i love collection, personally i found it disappointing when fitted, for something that feels so soft to touch, even fitted on cloud 9cumulus, it didn't feel as soft as i expected. As for going to carpetright......nooooooooooooo!
Thanks for all the responses - interesting, also, to discover I can apparently rate posts as e.g. "dumb" if I like! You must have some great conversations on here! OK so a general "probably not" vote for the sparkle... in that case, since I'd picked that on sight without doing any research, I'm back to the start and need to look properly. I see that carpets all seem to have other names depending on which shop you go to so it's not going to be quite as simple as I thought (i.e. pick a price range, pick a colour, and you're all set). I don't care if I get them fitted before Christmas or anything, so I have time. Maybe I'm over-thinking and should just get something mid-range and plain, and jazz it up with rugs. Is there a standard recommendation - a brand/style I can't go wrong with? (Remembering I need to be anti-moth.) Shops/fitters, then... I'm in central London (Bayswater), there used to be places on Westbourne Grove but they've either shut down or look a little out of my price range. Looking online it looks like Kensington Flooring Company are the closest "proper" shop (others on Harrow Road and Edgware Road don't have websites so presumably one-man bands - not to say that's a bad thing for quality or service, but perhaps would have a smaller range?). Anyone heard anything good or bad about them? Simon - I had no idea there was such a thing as a "door boss" - what an amazing world we live in!
Have a look at Trim & Tuck I think they cover your area and Salih is one of the best around. You can’t got wrong with Victoria carpets in my opinion and their Easycare ranges are all moth proof.
Thanks, I'll check out both Victoria carpets and Trim and Tuck for the sales/fitting. In the meantime, the samples arrived for the glittery one and - a shock discovery to nobody except me, no doubt - it's not anywhere near as sparkly in my flat under natural light or the sort of lighting I use in the evening as it was under the 1,000w bright white direct lighting in the shop. You can only really even see the glitter at all in the dark-coloured one. So I don't feel as bad about going for something else.
