New carpet designs offer reprieve from lockdown troubles

Carpet makers have responded to people feeling troubled by the pandemic restrictions by creating bright designs and patterns that evoke optimism and delight.

The Hotel Designs LIVE event in February 2021 explored new design trends that will affect how hotels will look in 2021 and beyond. For some time, it is expected that social distancing rules will be in place, but this does not mean that spaces need to look sombre. The themes of many carpet designs at the event invoked playfulness, fantasy and surrealism

The new designs had district geometric patterns, but some featured liquid-style designs. Colours featured were bright, contrasting shades.

Talking to Hotel Designs, carpet designer Andrew Cenita explained his design philosophy:

“My objective was to create a visually-intriguing collection that elicits a sense of elation and happiness, offering an aspirational escape from the current state of the world.”

Cenita’s carpets will soon be seen in high-end hospitality venues, The carpet designs exhibited at Hotel Designs LIVE may not be available for residential consumers, but when hotels and hospitality venues reopen, many of them will have been refurbished during the lockdown closure. Guests may be inspired by the bright, bold interior design trends in hotels, bars and restaurants, and decide that they want their new carpets in Chester, Wrexham and North Wales homes to be bright and cheerful too.

Many people are experiencing a new optimism and are looking forward to the ending of coronavirus restrictions. Bright colours and bold patterns fit the desire to escape from the negativity of lockdown.

Carpet colour experts predict trends for 2022

A team of experts from Avient has made predictions on carpet colour trends for 2022, which it has published under the project ColorForward 2022.

Every year, the colours selected by the team reflect social changes. The new colour choices are heavily influenced by how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives. As countries move towards the easing of lockdown, consumers want bright and cheerful colours, with yellow forecast to be a favourite.

The lockdown has also made people be more self-sustaining and interested in sustainable products. This is represented by green, the colour of nature. Brown shades also reflect the natural environment and agriculture.

Health services have received a lot of attention during the pandemic. Pink has been selected to represent the soft, caring nature of medical professions. Turquoise is the colour of entrepreneurship, and it has been chosen to symbolise the way that doctors are increasingly involved in commercial medicine, which focuses on disease prevention.

There has also been a shift in the work-life balance, with many people expected to continue to spend at least part of their working life remotely working from home after the pandemic is over. Dark blue has been selected to symbolise the trust that companies must have with their remote workers. Yellow, the colour of creativity, is required by people who are reinventing how and where they work.

When choosing carpets for your Chester, Wrexham or North Wales home or workplace, your colour choices may not be influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but projects such as ColorForward 2022 can help inspire and inform colour choices and overall trends.

How to choose a chair mat for your home office

Many people are working from home due to the coronavirus lockdown. An office chair on wheels makes it easy to get into a comfortable working position at a desk or table, but it can damage carpets. The solution is to place a protective mat under the chair.

According to Tom Scalisi, writing for the home advice website bobvila.com, the most practical under chair mats are made from polycarbonate plastic. These have bottom studs of different sizes suitable for the carpet pile height. The studs help keep the mat in place without moving around. Mats for high pile carpets have longer studs than those for shorter piles. Mats without studs are suitable for hard surfaces, including wood, vinyl and tile.

Polycarbonate plastic mats are very durable, transparent and remain flat when the chair is moved. For extra hygiene, a mat with antimicrobial protection can be selected.

The mat needs to be large enough for the chair, and at least 36 inches by 48 inches for a standard-sized desk. Some mats have an extended lip that fits underneath the desk to protect the carpet from the front wheel of the chair.

Choose a mat between three to five millimetres thick, as this provides enough strength to withstand the wheel pressure. Thin mats tend to bunch up or sink under the weight of the wheels.

For workers who work in rooms with carpets in the Chester and North Wales areas, it makes sense to have protective mats under office chairs.

What make artificial grass ideal for gardens in spring?

With spring just around the corner, you may be shrugging off the winter months and stepping back into your garden. While you’ve been staying warm inside, you may find that your outdoor areas require some care. Your hedges need a trim, flowerbeds are due for a weeding, and worst of all, your lawn is in a terrible state. Overgrown in some places while patchy and waterlogged with mud in others, it’s also scattered with various debris from the wintry winds, from loose leaves to broken branches.

You’d be forgiven for wanting to head straight back indoors, but with the warmer weather on the way, action needs to be taken if you want to enjoy the coming spring. If you must tackle the lawn, a wise idea is to make sure you’ll only have to do it once by choosing a new one made from artificial grass. In the following sections, we’ll explore why this synthetic option can be an excellent choice to get your garden in shipshape for spring.

Lower maintenance

One of the key advantages of an artificial lawn is that they are exceptionally easy to care for and never need cutting. All the flotsam and jetsam you find on your lawn after stormy weather can be easily brushed off, rather than painstakingly picked up before you can even get your lawn mower out. You won’t need special solutions like weedkiller or plant food to keep your grass looking great either, as synthetic solutions stay evergreen all year round. If weeds do poke up through your lawn, you can just pull them up easily or trim them back to be unobtrusive if you prefer.

Perfect for pets and little ones

Let’s face it, an English springtime won’t arrive without April showers. When your kids are playing with the family dog out in the garden, artificial grass can keep your chores indoors to a minimum as well. Perfectly safe for pets and kids alike to play on, you won’t have any muddy pools to deal with that find their way inside on feet – this means no more mopping up muddy foot and pawprints after playtime. You’ll also find your laundry pile isn’t quite so large either, as artificial grass won’t stain clothes like the natural kind.

Avoiding allergies

The UK’s grass allergy season typically begins in the spring month of May, but with a man-made lawn solution, you can appreciate a zero-pollen count in your garden. Statistics suggest that grass pollen is the greatest source of seasonal allergies and impacts around 90 percent of those who suffer from hay fever.

To sum up, artificial grass is an easy-care option that can reduce your workload both outdoors and indoors, while also ensuring you keep allergy free when enjoying your garden. Always green whatever the weather and designed to make sure your outdoor areas will stay neat and tidy, there’s no doubt that putting an artificial option in place will ensure that when spring rolls around next year, you’ll be much better prepared.

How long can carpet tiles last for?

A flexible and affordable option with many advantages, carpet tiles are used by homeowners and enterprises alike as a sought-after flooring solution. Whether you opt for wall-to-wall carpeting or more modular options like tiles, purchasing floor coverings for the rooms you use represents a significant investment.

With this in mind, it’s little wonder that many property owners are interested in exactly how long the solution they choose will endure. In the following passages, we’ll explore how long carpet tiles can be expected to last, what factors will affect this and how you can get more years of use out of your flooring choice.

Built to last but easy to replace

High-quality carpet tiles are an incredibly hardwearing option for flooring, and they have been known to last anywhere between 10 and 20 years when properly cared for. Understandably, the amount of traffic they see will also be a factor that can vary this term considerably. However, by being easy to maintain and even stain-resistant in some cases, carpet tiles can be a wise choice for areas that see considerable footfall.

Among the most beneficial features of carpet tiles is how easy they are to replace if they become damaged or discoloured. When purchasing your stock of carpet tiling, it’s always a smart move to pick up some extra tiles so that you’re well prepared for accidents. If a tile becomes too worn, or is stained beyond repair, simply swap it out with a fresh tile.

Due to their modular nature, tiles are extremely simple to store, so if you buy some extras, you’ll have no trouble tucking them away for emergencies.

Simple maintenance

As mentioned, the length of service you’ll receive from your carpet tiles can depend on how you look after them. The good news is that tiles are supremely simple to maintain, and for the most part, only require regular vacuuming, just like ordinary carpets. If a spill occurs, tiles can be easily removed for cleaning, exchanged for a new tile or moved out of site and situated beneath furniture instead.

You may be able to get even more life out of your carpet tiles if you periodically deep clean your flooring, although the manufacturer’s instructions should always be consulted first, and detergent-free products should be used for cleaning.

Avoiding excessive wear

Finally, you’ll find carpet tiles located near doorways and other entrances will likely become more worn than others. Combat this by adding entry mats or walk-off tiles in these locations to protect your carpet tiles from the worst of the dirt dragged inside on people’s shoes.

A hardwearing and adaptable option

Exceptionally simple to install, highly dependable and easy to care for, there’s no doubt that carpet tiles can provide an ideal flooring option that you can enjoy years of use from. Unlike other floor choices, such as wall-to-wall carpeting, if the worst should come to pass and irreparable damage is done, you can also benefit from being able to replace a single tile or two, rather than the whole floor, saving yourself considerable expense.