AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011 - (Page 137)

Magic carpets T They give a room a cosy, luxurious feel, are snug and comfy to sit and walk on, and can look super stylish… he endless design possibilities, colours and show-stopping styles have led to a carpet revolution in recent months. Carpet is cool again – and there’s no bigger fan than Sarah Beeny herself. ‘I’ve always thought carpets are a smart move. A good-quality fitted one with a decent underlay provides fantastic insulation against cold air from the ground,’ she says. A new carpet can change a room’s whole appearance, and colour and texture have a big part to play. The same basic rules apply to the shade of carpet you choose as they do for soft furnishings: a light carpet opens up a room, while a dark one makes it look smaller, but won’t show up dirt. | floor focus| The hisTory The origins of carpet can be traced back to 6,000 BC when goats and sheep were sheared and their hair was spun and actually woven for floor coverings. It wasn’t until the 18th century, though, that carpet manufacturing got going, putting the small town of Kidderminster in Worcestershire on the map as the country’s carpet capital. Like much manufacturing in this country, however, it hasn’t been modernised and a lot of the carpet we now buy is from Belgium or Holland. They have had more recent investment in their machinery and can mass-produce carpet to sell it at a fraction of the cost. Then, a few years ago, carpet use ground to a halt and suddenly it became a no-go area. Floorboards, designed to be covered up, were laid bare, sanded back to their original softwood glory and put on display. For years, carpet got bad press. It was held up as a cause of both germs and health problems and every upstanding home limited their use of it as much as possible. Now, though, it’s making a firm and glorious comeback. The look obviously depends on how the carpet is made. Woven, such as > Twist, velvet, loop or patterned? With so many different textures and styles available, your head will be spinning. Here are your choices… Twist piles have a coarse finish. Velvet piles have a really smooth, luxurious appearance, such as suede. On a like-for-like basis, there is no difference in performance between a twist and a velvet pile. The only difference is purely aesthetic. ● Loop piles replicate the appearance of natural flooring such as sisal and coir. Remember that cats and any other creature with long claws and loop piles do not mix! They typically come in natural and neutral shades. ● ● the long and short of it ● Saxony has a pronounced sensuous feel with a deep pile. Very popular in bedrooms, these flatten, so they are not practical in high-traffic areas. ● A patterned carpet usually has a smooth velvet surface and is very hardwearing as well as striking. ● The more luxurious the surface, the greater care it will need. Shorter pile generally wears better than long, but doesn’t feel so good underfoot. It all comes down to personal taste, future plans and room usage. December 2011 | 137

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011

EDITOR’S LETTER
HELLO FROM SARAH
NEWS
MAKE IT A DATE
FESTIVE FOCUS
HOME COMFORTS
LIGHT FANTASTIC
PASTE IT UP
SARAH'S WORLD
VILLAGE REVAMP
TO LET OR NOT TO LET?
KEYS TO THE DOOR
QUEEN OF THE CASTLE
HOT PROPERTY
GREAT SCOTS
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
LODGE LIFE
VICTORIAN SPLENDOUR
FINISHING TOUCH
BEST OF THE BRIGHTS
STORE IN STYLE
BOUDOIR BEAUTIFUL
SHAKE IT UP!
FINE DINER
WHAT’S COOKING?
TOPS TOTTY
SPLASHING STUFF
NIGHT ON THE TILES
GADGETS GALORE
OPEN UP
TOTALLY FLOORED
MAT FINISH
COSY CARPETS
HOT STUFF
THE TEMPERATURE’S RISING
RADIATE THIS
FLAMING GREAT
BURN BABY BURN
DREAM HOME
GOING LARGE
SLIDING AWAY
KEEP IT IN
DRAUGHT EXCLUSIVE
DON’T BLAME THE TOOLS
GOING SOFT
ECO EXCELLENCE
WASTE NOT
BRIGHT SPARK
SUN SCREEN
STREET VIEW
BLOOMING BRILLIANT
GARDEN INVADER
GLITTERING BUYS
COMING SOON
SARAH SAYS
MANSION MARVEL
LAST WORD
STOCKISTS
PERFECT PROPERTIES

AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011

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