Carpet bagging a distinctly different look

From the ground up

Carpet floor and wall coverings have the most impact on any room yet people still tend to choose their floor covering last. Often the walls are painted and then the furniture goes in and then you face the problem of trying to get a carpet or rug to match the rest of the room. You need to consider every part of your interior before you start to decorate.

Personality counts

We deal with two types of customer: one will want their rug to be a really big part of their room and will have designed it as an integral part of the space. They are generally open to ideas about the design and will just specify the colours they like. Others have done up their whole house, bought all the furniture and find that just having a wooden floor makes the room look too cold but they can't find anything to match. In that case we design the rug to pull everything else in the room together.

Devils in the detail

You need to be really careful when choosing a patterned carpet - which are popular because they don't show dirt as much. You need to consider all of the elements in the room as it will be difficult to find accessories, such as curtain and couches, to match a very detailed carpet. Patterned carpets are popular because they don't show up dirt as much. You need to be really careful when choosing such a carpet, considering all of the element in a room, as it will be difficult to find accessories, such as curtains and couches, to match a very detailed carpet.

Centre stage

You need to decide whether your rug is going to be a focal point or if it will be an integral part of the room and so be more subtle. This allows you to work out what size and colours you need. Really dark colours will show dust and fluff while really light ones will show stains so you're better off choosing a mid-range colour. such as terracotta or a dusty green. The Natural Interior at The Mill in Dublin 8 (tel: ) has a fantastic range of colours.

Avoid fashion victims

Always opt for your favourite colour rather than one that's in fashion as it will look outdated in a few years time. If you choose a colour that you like and can live with it will enable you to update the rest of your room a few years down the road by changing the walls and accessories without changing the carpet too.

Keep it natural

Wool is easy to clean because it contains a natural oil that helps stop stains from sinking into the fibre. Because carpets have been around for such a long time there are more cleaning products and techniques to deal with them.

Slip sliding away

When you're buying a rug do ask about slippage. We're always having to help people on this one - their rugs slide around and it drives them mad. We use a product that is cut to fit the rug and sits beneath it to stop it slipping.

Focus on the whole

Wall-to-wall carpeting can be invisible; sitting beneath a couch and armchair it becomes an integral part of the room. A rug on the other hand, can be read as a piece of furniture. It will often be the focal point and makes such a statement and impact that you will probably need less furniture. in the room. A rug with two couches and an armchair comprises four elements that pull each other together. With a wall-to-wall carpet there tends to be no focus, so people are tempted to overfill. the room.

Gentle texturing

If you want the softness of a carpet but the look of flooring such as sea grass or sisal seek out textured100 per cent wool carpets. made by companies such as Navan.

Let the traffic decide

You can buy all-nylon or all-wool carpets but the predominant ones are the 80/20 carpets - comprising 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. Nylon carpets does have more durability (and are cheaper to make) although people don't expect their carpets them to last as long now. People used to choose carpets that would last for around 20 years but, in line with general interiors trends, they now change them every five to seven years. Carpets with a 80/20 mix suit high traffic areas such as halls and on stairs.

Because these carpets have a low pile you wouldn't really notice a big difference between an 80/20 one and a 100 per cent wool carpet. From a health point of view, a 100 per cent wool carpet is dramatically less dusty than a 80/20 one. Pure wool is better for asthma sufferers.

Tie it all together

When decorating, don't choose colours on a room-by-room basis but consider your home as a whole. Colours in one room should complement those in an adjacent one.

This gives continuity to the whole house and makes it look bigger. This applies to walls as well as flooring - people often spend a fortune on painting their home and then complain that one room doesn╣t look right against another. The house becomes a series of blocks rather than a coherent whole.

Protection underfoot

Scotch Guarding definitely reduces staining and there are companies that will come to your house and do it. We use Fibre Seal (01-280 2799)which also has a follow-up maintenance programme and will remove stains.