Teach me everything you know about carpet please

[TrophyCat]

My hallway and living room needs a new carpet - but there is so much choice and I'm clueless

I need a carpet that will be hardwearing, easy to keep clean(ish) and that will hopefully last for years and years and years. So I go for synthetic, wool, a mixture? Help!

From my limited knowledge...

I'd go with office carpet and good underlay. Plastic carpet offer the best value, and is pretty good for avoiding stains and easy to wash. It's hard-wearing, which is what you need in a high footprint area.

Office carpet is good, cos it's made to last, but a little hard, by using a decent underlay, you soften it, and it'll feel like expensive carpet without the cost.

I wouldn’t get office carpet for a home

Get best underlay you can. Go into shop and take samples home and look at it in different parts of room at different times of day.

No carpet, it’s gross.

Get a good underlay. A twist carpet will wear better than other types in the long term. I've always had wool carpets but had a moth problem so now have synthetic and it's just as good.

Whatever you get for your hallway, you need to accept that it won't look good for years and years, so go for a slightly cheaper one knowing you'll replace it when it's well past it's best.
Don't go for a single colour, it needs a slight fleck to help disguise marks. I have a carpet that can be bleached in a neutral grey/green card lour. Go to an independent carpet shop for the best advice, then you might go to a big retailer once you've decided which one to go for. (We got ours from John Lewis, good on price, and excellent fitting service)

I’ve had office carpet. It’s just not soft at all no matter what you attempt. Don’t do it!