Carpet Trends 2024 – Elevating your space into a tranquil haven

Floor-based noises, such as footsteps, children running through the home or someone dropping an object can become irritating if there are too many hard surfaces. The only way to lessen these sounds is by including soft flooring. This can include carpet and rugs but the combination of carpet with a premium underlay is the most effective method. Carpet literally absorbs the reverberations, working to make the home a comfortable environment.

Think about a time in a restaurant where the noise level felt uncomfortable and it was likely they had far too many hard, reflective surfaces. In addition to flooring, curtains, furniture upholstered in fabric, wall-hangings, specific ceiling panels and insulation will also help reduce sound transference, but carpet is the best option specifically for floor sounds.

The thicker the carpet pile, the more effective it will be in absorbing the sounds. This is measured by the Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC). Most carpets that would be installed in a residential setting have a rating of around .35 and if installed with premium underlay the NRC rating is expected to double. In comparison, a timber floor’s NRC rating is approximately .09.

The nature of the carpet pile means that it captures the sound waves and absorbs them, rather than reflect them back into the room like tiles, stone and other hard surfaces can do. The individual fibres trap the air pockets and don’t allow them to vibrate (pretty cool, huh!). Wool carpet is very good at doing this because of their varying fibre lengths and widths however any carpet fibre with an underlay will be better than hard flooring. To find the best sound insulation carpet for your home and budget ask any of the friendly Flooring Xtra stores to point you in the right direction.

The impacts of a quieter home are measurable. The home is more enjoyable to live in and less stressful. Multiple activities can happen at once, such as working from home while someone else is going about their day also at home. Or, children playing, studying, sleeping or watching TV while parents cook, relax or entertain. It becomes particularly important in apartments and units, or where someone lives above or below. Minimising noise transference between residences makes for a happy and neighbourly living situation.

A good carpet underlay will work wonders to absorb that noise even further, softening the impact of footsteps and chairs scraping, for example. Flooring Xtra offers sound-insulating carpet underlay, such as Dunlop EnviroTred which will help minimise sound transference. It will also increase the lifespan of your carpet and make it more comfortable to walk across and live on by providing that additional layer of cushioning softness

If you live in a rental, love hard flooring or are unable to replace hard flooring with carpet to absorb noise, a rug can be helpful. While it will not be as effective as a full room of carpet and underlay, it will help. Try to select a rug with a thick pile. While loose weave and flat weave rugs are beautiful, if you’re trying to reduce reverberation these will not work as well as a plush rug. Throw rugs, cushions and curtains are other great ways to absorb some of the noise and they also go a long way to make a home feel relaxed, comfortable, and textured too!

What type of carpet is soft?

Nothing beats the feeling of soft carpet underfoot as well as relaxing and playing on the soft and comfortable surface. While all carpet is soft to a degree, some might feel softer than others. Plush and cut (twist) piles are particularly soft styles and some man-made (synthetic) fibres are luxurious to the touch.

How to clean wool rugs

Rugs need care just like carpet. Vacuum frequently and clean up any spills and marks promptly. You can read our Rug Care Guide for more information.

How to stop rugs from moving on wooden floors

Rugs are beautiful additions to any room but not secured they can become a slip or trip hazard. There are a few ways to deal with this. You can either anchor the rug to the floor with furniture to restrict movement or use a non-slip pad between the floor and the rug.