Ideal Home picks Karndean as best kitchen flooring

Ideal Home has announced its 2025 Kitchen Awards winners for kitchen designs and products, which were selected by a panel of home design experts.

The Art Select Collection by Karndean Designflooring was chosen as the best kitchen flooring in 2025. The judges explained the appeal of this flooring range:

"These wood and stone designs look ultra-realistic. We love the terrazzo-style design, which adds subtle interest underfoot."

The 2025 Ideal Home Kitchen awards covered all aspects of kitchen design, appliances and cookware. The judges are Ideal Home editors with expertise in kitchen design. Their Kitchen of the Year award went to B&Q's Tydeman Fitted Kitchen. The judges said that its Blackberry colour was opulent, adding warmth and depth to the kitchen.

Other award winners include Ca' Pitera kitchen tiles, Culliford work tops, Wodar taps, Wren kitchens, Samsung A1 Family Hub Refrigerator, KitchenAID Fully Automatic Espresso Machine K8 and Staub cookware.

The Karndean Art Select Collection is designed to withstand high footfall, without looking worn after several years' use. This flooring range is inspired by nature to look like natural wood and stone. The Art Select Collection is suitable for both residential and commercial properties. Its easy to clean and water-resistant qualities make this flooring ideal for kitchens or utility rooms, but it also looks stunning in living rooms.

To see the Karndean range contact a flooring retailer in the North Wales and Chester region. Ask to borrow samples to see how Karndean flooring looks in your home or business property.

Tarkett launches circular recycling for Powerbond carpets

Tarkett, a global manufacturer of flooring, has developed a circular recycling formula for its Powerbond hybrid carpet.

The company will transform returned Powerbond carpets into bio-based raw materials for Tarkett Sports items in the future. This innovation has been developed through Tarkett's collaboration with Mycocycle, a biotech company that uses mycelia systems to help break construction waste.

Tarkett's ReStart take-back and recycling program, which has collected over 124,000 tons of flooring across 29 countries, will now be able to recycle the Powerbond carpets. This aligns with Tarkett's commitment to sustainability and circular economy, as stated in its Tarkett Human-Conscious Design approach.

Tarkett Sports specialises in flooring and artificial grass for sports arenas and facilities. Eddy Schmitt, president and CEO of Tarkett Sports, said:

"This research initiative allows us to turn reclaimed materials of one of our companies into high-performance products for another one. It's a powerful example of how we can scale circularity through shared expertise and a united commitment to doing what's right."

Tarkett is a leader in the development of sustainable flooring and commits to lowering its company's carbon emissions. Tarkett's Powerbond carpets were first created in 1967. They combine comfort with durability and also provide a moisture barrier from wall to wall. The carpets are certified to be asthma- and allergy-friendly and contribute to improved air quality indoors. Powerbond carpets are seen as the ideal floor covering for care homes, offices, classrooms and residential properties.

Tarkett carpets are available from a local carpet retailer in the Chester and North Wales region.

Cannes Festival red carpet upcycled

Many stars, including Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, and Hale Berry, have walked the red carpet at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

At the end of each day of the festival, a new carpet was installed. After the festival ended on May 24th, 2025, 1.5 tonnes of used red carpet were donated to La Reserve des Arts, a non-profit organisation that works with the cultural sector to promote a circular economy. The organisation recovers materials used by the cultural sector and upcycles them for reuse.

The Cannes carpets were taken to a La Reserve des Arts warehouse in Marseille, where they are to be sorted and cleaned ready for re-use. As each carpet was used for only a day, they are in good condition, apart from small holes caused by stiletto heels and minor scuffs.

The coordinator of La Reserve des Arts Jeanne Re said:

"By reconditioning them, we're helping to reduce the environmental impact of the event – something the festival is aware of.”

The Cannes Film Festival over the past few years has made efforts to improve the carbon footprint of the event by reducing waste.

When installing new carpets in residential or commercial properties in the UK, many carpet recycling initiatives collect old worn carpets. Many worn carpets are not like the Cannes red carpet suitable for reuse, but materials can be extracted from them for use in new products. When buying a carpet from a flooring company in Chester and North Wales, be sure ask about what happens to the old carpets they replace.

Which is best for carpet cleaning, steam cleaner or carpet cleaner?

Carpets should be regularly vacuumed, but a deep clean is necessary for removing ingrained dirt. This can be done by a carpet cleaner or a steam cleaner, but which is best? Cleaning experts say that there are pros and cons for each type of cleaner.

Cleaning professional Polya Petrova explains that steam cleaners use high-temperature steam that loosens dirt without requiring detergent. Carpet cleaners spray a cleaning solution mixture that penetrates well into the carpet pile. After using either cleaner, a vacuum should be used to remove loose dirt.

Steam cleaners work well on carpet tiles and short pile carpets, but are not as effective on deep pile carpets. Floorcare expert at Ideal Home Lauren Bradbury says carpet cleaners are better than steam cleaners because they push the cleaning solution deep into the pile.

"Steam cleaning is excellent for sanitising and surface-level dirt – especially on hard floors like tile, vinyl, or laminate – but it doesn’t penetrate carpet fibres as effectively."

Steam cleaners are easier to use as they are typically lighter, quicker to get ready and need no detergents. Carpet cleaners are bulkier and more complex to use, requiring pre-treatment, filling tanks and drying time. However, manufacturers are developing carpet cleaners that are lighter and easier to use. 

If a carpet is heavily stained and worn, is probably time for a new one. Contact a local carpet retailer in Chester or North Wales and ask to see their range of stain-resistant carpets.

The benefits of carpet samples before buying

With such a wide range of styles available, it is vital to choose carpets that are perfect for your home.

You wouldn’t want to invest in a brand-new carpet, and, a couple of weeks later, get a nagging feeling that it just doesn’t look right. Maybe the carpet in your bedroom would have better suited the lounge. Perhaps you decide you don’t like the colours, which somehow looked different in the shop.

That’s why, if you are visiting a carpet retailer, North Wales, it’s so important to take a good range of samples home with you. Take time choosing the carpet that is really going to look great in your living space, a carpet you can live with, a carpet that truly enhances your home. It will be time well spent.

How does it look?

Use samples to test how the colours and patterns will look in the lighting conditions of your home. Colours can look a lot different under the lights of a carpet store. You should also think about how the colours and patterns fit with your furnishings, wallpaper and other decor.

Evaluate the quality

Stair carpets need to be strong and durable, whereas bedroom carpets may need to be softer underfoot. Check the quality of the sample: the texture, pile height and durability, taking into account where in your home you plan to lay it.

Compare and contrast

Take a good range of samples home with you. Compare them, get a sense of the range of available choices, then choose the options that best meet your requirements.

How does it feel?

A bedroom carpet which you are likely to walk on barefoot may need a softer feel than an entrance hall or staircase, where durability is key. Feel the samples and get a sense of how well the textures are suited to the different areas in your home.

A really great carpet design can spark lots of ideas for making your room look really special. For example, a stylish new bedroom carpet may influence your choice of curtains or bedding.

Is it practical?

You need to be sure that the carpet you choose is going to work well in the place you install it. If you know your toddler is going to keep spilling juice on it, you may want to check how easy it will be to keep it clean, or if it's strong enough to have outdoor shoes tramping over it, day in day out.

So, if you want to refresh your home with new carpets and are planning to visit a carpet retailer in Wrexham, make sure you take home with you a good range of samples and make that perfect choice that will transform your home.