Should carpet be lighter or darker than your walls?
/The choice of carpeting and wall colouring within a room can have a significant effect on what it feels like, as well as what it looks like. The decisions that you make can help the room in question appear either more spacious than it actually is, or smaller than the real size.
However, the question of whether the carpet colour should be lighter or darker than that of the walls is one that many homeowners are unsure of the answer to. It is this issue that we will be going into in detail in this blog.
Should you choose a lighter or darker carpet?
Selecting the correct colour of carpets for rooms in your home is a major decision, because you will be living with them from day to day. The same is true of the wall colouring. Therefore, the two must provide a good blend of hues that do not clash. As it pertains to whether a carpet should be lighter in shade or darker, there is no absolute right or wrong answer. It will depend on the effect that you are striving for.
Let’s look at the effects of both.
Darker carpet than walls
If you pick carpeting that is darker in shade than the walls, it will create the illusion that the room is more spacious and sizeable than it is in reality. That can make it the best choice if you have a room that is not quite as large as you would like and you want to mitigate that to create a feeling of lots of space.
Lighter carpet than walls
On the other hand, choosing a carpet that is a lighter colour than that of the walls can make a room seem smaller in size than it actually is. You might think that no one would ever want that, but that is where you would be wrong.
This illusion of reduced size can actually make a room feel cosier and more comfortable for those using it. Therefore, if a room in your house is a size that seems a little too large and cold, darker walls and a lighter carpet will counteract that and add a sense of warmth.
That is a basic guide to the effects that are produced by the two different choices, but there is, of course, more to consider than just this.
The level of footfall
Some rooms within a house have people walking through them far more frequently than others. For example, the living room and hallways will be walked on regularly in shoes or boots, whereas this is less likely to occur in the bedrooms. That is an important consideration when deciding on a lighter or darker carpet than the walls.
Lighter carpets will be far more liable to show dirt that has been brought in via shoes or boots. That will make the job of keeping them clean a lot more arduous than it would be if you had a darker carpet that concealed these marks.
That is a big reason why a lot of homeowners choose to have carpets in their living rooms and hallways that are darker than the walls. On the other hand, some people prioritise the greater warmth and comfort created by a lighter carpet and dark walls.
In smaller rooms where the floors are less likely to be walked on in boots or shoes – for example bedrooms – light carpets and dark walls are still usually favoured for their warmth. The fact that they have fewer people walking on them renders it an easier choice to make.
Are there any rules for this issue?
There are no rules that are set in stone regarding either carpet or wall colouring, but there are some guidelines that people generally prefer to follow. The most important of those is the idea that there should always be two shades of difference between the colour of the carpet and the walls.
That can mean two shades lighter or darker; the key thing is the level of contrast. The reason for this is that it makes the room more visually dynamic and interesting, avoiding an overly bland feel where the walls and floor merge into each other. As well as being comfortable to inhabit, you will want the floors and the walls of your home to create a pleasing effect on the eye.
It is also wise to remember that if you have a patterned carpet, then the walls should be a single colour. Equally, if you have chosen patterned wallpaper, it will be better to pick a single-coloured carpet. That is to prevent the patterns from clashing with each other and producing a busy, headache-inducing effect for those who are in the room.
Getting advice from flooring pros with a five-star customer reputation will help you make the best carpet selections.