Your guide to carpet styles

When you shop for your new carpet installation, you’ll be overwhelmed by the endless rolls and samples, all from different mills.  You’ll hear words like Berber, frieze, and loop, along with phrases like fiber, pile, plush, and construction. They’ll all make your head swim since they affect appearance, durability, and longevity.  Massud & Sons Floor Covering, your carpet store in Central Falls, focuses on style in this blog but don’t hesitate to call us if you still have questions.

Some styles are better for specific installations than others

When you’ve found something, you love it's only natural to want it throughout the house. Still, you know that every room and area has a different set of priorities and challenges, making some rugs better for specific installations than others.  For example, the bedroom's focus is to step on something warm and soft; a plush, high pile rug like the shag fits that bill but isn’t great for stairs where the priority is safety and easy cleanability.

The ABCs of carpet styles

Pile refers to the fiber's height; it can be long, twisted, short, and looped. Cut pile refers to when the fibers appear evenly and in a somewhat upright position. It can have either a soft, plush, velvet-like texture or be embedded with a pattern. Examples are Saxony Straight and Saxony Texture. The threads can also be cut into a high pile like the shag or high but twisted so tightly they curl, like the frieze. The two are sometimes mixed up, but the shag features long, straight fibers while the frieze is long and curly.

Loop, sometimes also called Berber style, consists of uncut fibers looped through the backing.  They're often (but not always) made from olefin fiber, which makes them very resistant to stain. The cut and loop; is as it sounds, with varying fibers creating patterns.

We’re here in Central Falls for all your carpet questions

Massud & Sons Floor Covering is a 50-year-old family-owned company that was voted "Best Place to Buy Floor Covering" eight years in a row by The Times Readers choice award. To learn more about carpet or any other products, visit our showroom in Central Falls, RI, serving Smithfield, Seekonk, Providence, and Pawtucket.  Be sure to ask about your free carpet estimate.