Why does my living room carpet look worn in a line down the middle?

That is the traffic lane between the door and the seating. Everyone walks the same route, so the pile lies over there while the corners stay upright. A denser pile hides it for far longer.

Is saxony a bad idea in a family living room?

Not bad, just high maintenance. Saxony shows every footprint and vacuum mark, which suits a formal room but rarely suits a room with children and a dog in it.

Will a carpet fade in a sunny living room?

Surface dyed carpet will, particularly in the strip nearest the window. Solution dyed fibre and wool both hold colour much better, so ask which one you are looking at if the room faces south.

How do I stop sofa legs leaving dents?

Move the furniture a few centimetres twice a year and the pile recovers. Cup shaped floor protectors under heavy legs spread the load and make a noticeable difference on deeper piles.

Plain or patterned for a living room?

A flecked or heather effect is the practical middle ground. It hides everyday marks the way a pattern does, without the pattern matching cost or the risk of tiring of it.

What should I put in the room we actually live in?

You need something that looks good and survives daily evening use.

A living room needs a middle path: comfortable enough to sit on the floor, tough enough for the route between the door and the sofa. A dense twist pile in a mid range polyamide or a wool blend does that job better than either a bargain polypropylene or a deep saxony.

Written for: Households choosing for the busiest room they sit down in.

The traffic lane nobody plans for

Living rooms do not wear evenly. There is a lane from the doorway to the sofa and another to wherever the television sits, and those lanes take almost all the footfall while the corners stay pristine. That is why a carpet can look perfect around the edges and tired down the middle after a few years.

A denser pile hides that lane for longer, because there is simply more fibre standing up in the way. It is the single most useful thing to check when comparing two living room carpets.

Twist, saxony and what each does under a sofa

A twist pile is cut and heat set so each tuft holds its shape. It hides footprints, hides the traffic lane, and recovers well from furniture. It is the default living room choice for good reason.

A saxony has a longer, more luxurious cut pile and shows every footprint and vacuum stripe. Some people love that look and it is genuinely beautiful in a formal sitting room. In a family living room it will not stay looking like the sample for long.

Sunlight, which is the quiet enemy

A south facing living room fades carpet, particularly in a strip along the window. Solution dyed fibre, where the pigment is inside the fibre rather than on the surface, resists this far better than surface dyed carpet, and wool holds colour well too.

It is worth asking specifically whether a range is solution dyed if the room gets strong afternoon sun. It is one of the few upgrades that visibly pays off in year five.

Living with real life on it

Spills, dropped food, an open fire, a Christmas tree, a dog on the sofa. A living room is not a showroom and it never will be, so choose the carpet that recovers well rather than the one that looks best untouched.

Dense twist pile in a mid to heavy domestic weight
Solution dyed fibre if the room gets strong sun
A flecked or heather colour rather than a flat plain, which hides everyday marks
A 9mm to 11mm underlay at a decent density so the pile recovers

One honest caution about very light plain colours

A pale plain carpet in the room where everybody eats their dinner in front of the television is a hard life. It can be done, and stain resistant solution dyed ranges make it far more possible than it once was, but go in knowing you are choosing more maintenance.

Browse the living room weights on the warehouse floor

Thousands of rolls in at any time and the range changes weekly, so it is worth seeing what has landed before you settle on a specification.

See what is in stock 01622 828445

Have a look at these

Common questions

Why does my living room carpet look worn in a line down the middle?: That is the traffic lane between the door and the seating. Everyone walks the same route, so the pile lies over there while the corners stay upright. A denser pile hides it for far longer.
Is saxony a bad idea in a family living room?: Not bad, just high maintenance. Saxony shows every footprint and vacuum mark, which suits a formal room but rarely suits a room with children and a dog in it.
Will a carpet fade in a sunny living room?: Surface dyed carpet will, particularly in the strip nearest the window. Solution dyed fibre and wool both hold colour much better, so ask which one you are looking at if the room faces south.
How do I stop sofa legs leaving dents?: Move the furniture a few centimetres twice a year and the pile recovers. Cup shaped floor protectors under heavy legs spread the load and make a noticeable difference on deeper piles.
Plain or patterned for a living room?: A flecked or heather effect is the practical middle ground. It hides everyday marks the way a pattern does, without the pattern matching cost or the risk of tiring of it.