Tarkett launches new sustainable floor covering range

Tarkett is a flooring manufacturer that strives to create sustainable and environmentally friendly flooring options. Their new product, Safetred Serenity, is a slip-resistant safety floor that not only provides safety but also style. It can be used in a variety of environments while still being eco-friendly.

The collection comes in twelve different shades, each inspired by the natural landscapes of the UK and Ireland. The colours are chosen to create a sense of peace and calmness and are reminiscent of natural features such as beaches, oceans, mountains, and cliffs. The designs aim to embody the beauty of nature in a way that is organic and authentic. Safetred Serenity flooring is easy to install and requires no adhesive.

The Safetred Serenity collection is suitable for both commercial and residential use. It is made and fully recyclable in the UK, reducing transportation emissions. The flooring is made from 50% recycled materials and uses a closed loop water system that re-circulates industrial water. The Safetred Serenity flooring system is free from harmful phthalates and biocides, making it safe for all people to use.

Tarkett's Safetred Serenity is a hard-working floor covering that offers impeccable sustainability credentials and designer good looks, making it a perfect fit for any environment that prioritizes both style and safety.

There are numerous contemporary flooring options which are very popular with both residential and business properties. Visit a local stockist of Tarkett luxury vinyl tile in North Wales or Chester to see their full range of sustainable floor coverings.

How to prepare your home for a new carpet installation

Getting a new carpet fitted is a pleasing moment for any homeowner. The furnishings that we have in our homes say something important about us as people, but also help to create the atmosphere and feel that we want for each room. You can have your carpet fitted by professionals with years of experience within the flooring trade, but even then, there is some preparatory work that you will need to do ahead of the installation.

This is designed to ensure that fitting it is a smooth process and that the best results are achieved. Read on to learn how to prepare your home for a new carpet.

Look at the paperwork

Most people get their carpeting fitted by the same flooring company that they bought the carpet from, and that means you should have paperwork related to the purchase and installation. This should tell you when they are coming to fit it, how long it is likely to take and whether they will handle any furniture moving. Reading it ahead of time will give you an idea of what tasks you need to handle yourself.

The paperwork should also list any more specific fitting needs. For example, in some cases the floor moulding has to be removed for the carpet to be fitted properly. Therefore, it is worth studying it ahead of time.

Get rid of the old carpet

Having your brand new carpet installed will be a much quicker and easier process if you get rid of the old one before time. However, before lifting the carpet up, you should remember to give it a thorough going over with a vacuum cleaner. That is because all carpets that have been laid for any length of time pick up a lot of dust and dirt and you want to clear away as much of it as possible before actually taking the carpet up.

Let some air in

Opening the doors and windows in the room where the carpet is to be fitted is another important step. Firstly, it will help to clear any remaining dust and dirt that is stirred up when you lift your old carpet. Secondly, it will help the professionals who are fitting your new one, because a good flow of air in and out of the room always helps when laying a carpet.

Clear the room

In some cases, the people who are fitting the carpet will deal with moving heavier items of furniture within the room, but that is not always the case. It is best to make sure of the situation before the fitting day arrives in case you need to hire someone to help get larger items of furniture in and out of the room. Every area that will be carpeted needs to be clear of any furniture and you will certainly be responsible for moving lighter pieces like vases or lamps. It is also important to make sure that all electrical appliances have been both disconnected and taken out of the room before the workmen arrive to fit your new carpet.

Lift the underlay

Every carpet has an underlay that is put down as part of the fitting process. You may be thinking that you can just leave the existing one in place when taking up your old carpet, but that will probably not be the case. The chances are that it will be rather worn and in a generally poor state of repair, making it barely worth trying to save a small sum by leaving it. It will make more sense to get a new one installed as part of the carpet fitting.

The underlay is generally either stapled or glued into place around the edge. A scraper and adhesive remover will work best if it has been stuck down, whereas a screwdriver and pliers will be better if it is stapled into place. After the glue or staples are removed, just cut it up and lift it from the edges.

Create a path

It can be helpful and timesaving to work out what routes the workers who be installing your new carpet will take in and out of the room and around it. They are going to need to move from their truck to the room where it is being fitted and back again and will be wearing shoes that could be covered in mud.

You can avoid that leading to dirt on the floor by putting down anything from newspaper to pieces of cardboard or drop cloths on the main routes. It is also a good idea to remove any pieces of furniture that are in your hallway and that might slow the workers down or make things difficult when they are carrying items that are weighty.

Follow these steps to ensure a quick and smooth carpet installation process.

Carpet expert tips on keeping carpet clean

An expert in carpets has revealed her top tips for keeping these important home items clean. Johanna Constantinou, a communications director for a carpet retailer, suggests starting with a doormat to decrease the amount of dirt brought into the home by up to 60%. Regularly shake the doormat to remove any accumulated dirt, but avoid using rubber-backed mats on hard floors as they can leave stains.

Don't wait until a carpet looks dirty before cleaning it, as some carpets can hide ingrained dirt. How often you should clean a carpet depends on how frequently the room is used. Most carpets need to be vacuumed at least once a week, but fluffier and softer carpets may require cleaning twice a week or more. Even if a room is not frequently used, dust can still settle on the carpet, so a quick regular clean is still necessary.

For loop pile carpets, use only the suction head of the vacuum, but for more common cut pile carpets, the beater brush head is recommended. Stains should be removed promptly with specialist cleaning solutions.

Keeping carpets clean not only makes a home more hygienic, but may also extend the life of the carpets. North Wales homes and businesses choose carpets for the warmth and cosiness they bring to rooms. They may need a little extra maintenance than hard surface floors, but a good-quality natural fibre carpet adds luxury to any room and should last a long time even in busy households.

Ten carpet colour trends for 2023

Carpet and interior design experts have identified ten top carpet colour trends for 2023:

1. Yellow: Recommended by carpet expert Punam Chada to create a sunny space and elevate the feel and look of a room.

2. Natural Shades: Carpet sales manager Andrew Gicquel suggests that natural colours bring a sense of nature into a room, creating a calming effect and a feeling of warmth and safety.

3. Pink: According to flooring buyer Jemma Dayman, light pink carpets make a room appear larger with extra height, though they can show stains more easily compared to darker shades.

4. Teal: This deep and dramatic colour lifts a dark room or adds a design statement to lighter rooms. Despite its drama, teal also makes a room feel calm and cool.

5. Grey: This colour complements most interior colour schemes. A wide grey check pattern carpet can add drama to the décor.

6. Red: This is particularly suitable for hallways to make a dramatic red-carpet entrance. Red is vibrant and makes a floor statement.

7. White: White textured carpets look great in both traditional and contemporary room designs.

8. Aubergine: For a warm and cosy carpet, choose Aubergine. It is a rich and inviting colour which is ideal for a home office or small snug spaces.

9. Stripes: If you’re undecided about the carpet colour, go for a multi-coloured striped carpet.

10. Cream: Warm, inviting and easy on the eye, a quality cream carpet provides a luxurious feel.

To see carpets in these colour trends, visit a local carpet retailer in North Wales or Chester.

What is the best flooring colour to go with grey walls?

Although it is sometimes dismissed as a dull colour, grey is actually a surprisingly popular choice for the walls of both homes and businesses. In fact its status as a ‘neutral’ shade is a big part of the reason why so many people choose to have plain grey walls. That neutrality means that it is able to blend with furnishings of different colours within a room, making it a highly adaptable choice.

One of the parts of a room that has to work well alongside the walls is the floor. That means you need to choose a type and shade of flooring that will not clash with your grey walls, so what are the best floor colours to pick for that?

Warm or cool grey?

You may have heard about warm and cool colours. The terms refer to the place a shade has within the colour spectrum made up of primary and secondary hues. The colours classed as ‘warm’ are brown, red, orange and yellow, while neutral shades like white or grey can also be warm if they have hints of any of those four hues in them.

The ‘cool’ colours are blue, green and purple and, again, neutral shades with a hint of any of these are also classed as cool. As a neutral colour, grey can be either warm or cool and whether you select a warm shade of grey or a cool one will have an impact on what floor colour works best. It is possible to mix up warm and cool colours, but most people prefer to stick with one or the other.

Floor colours that work well with warm grey walls

Light brown

Brown is a warm colour and light brown floors are most likely to be made out of treated or natural hardwood. They are an excellent complement to warmer grey wall tones and will give a room a country, rustic sort of feel that many find appealing. Furthermore, if the room in question is quite small, light brown flooring will help to create a sense of space.

It also shows fewer scratch marks than a dark brown wood floor – which is great if you have pets.

Dark brown

If you do not have pets and have selected light, airy grey walls with hints of yellow, a dark brown floor will provide an ideal contrast. It will balance out the wall colour and create feelings of security and safety. Another plus point of dark brown wood is that it absorbs the sun better than light wood, so there is less risk of it fading over time.

Avoid dark brown if you have darker grey walls though, as that will make the room feel like it is closing in on you.

Black

A floor made out of a warm-toned black marble will work particularly well alongside light but warm grey walls. Again, it will provide valuable contrast and add to the character and depth of the room. It is best chosen if the room is fairly large though, as dark-coloured floors have the visual effect of making rooms seem smaller. That can be cosy in a big room, but claustrophobic in a little one.

Floor colours work well with with cool grey walls

Blue

A blue floor made out of either carpeting or another material like vinyl tile will be a great choice if you have cool grey walls. Make the blue a deeper shade than the grey, because the floor colour should always be darker than that of the walls. This helps to add a sense of space to the room and makes it feel more prominent than the opposite.

If you are opting for either blue carpet or tiling, you could choose patterning, but be careful to avoid a clash between the walls and the floors. A pattern that blends the blue with white or grey will be an ideal choice.

Grey?

Yes, it is absolutely possible to combine grey walls with a grey floor! Just make sure that the tone of grey you pick for the floor surface is a cool one with a hint of blue or green in it to match up with the walls. Make it a slightly darker shade too, so that the walls and floor are separated visually and avoid a feeling of blurring and blandness to the eye.

Again, carpets or vinyl tiles will work well if you want to have a grey floor alongside the walls, and both can potentially add some texture through patterning, or through the pile if it is a carpet.

There is no one set colour that you have to pick for your floor if you have grey walls. The best colour will depend on whether they are warm or cool grey, but always choose a floor colour that is darker.