Whether wall-to-wall or cut and bound, carpet is enjoying a residential renaissance. one way to narrow down your choice is to consider the newest carpet color Trends for 2024.
Really? Carpet?
A few decades ago, home buyers could expect almost every house on the market to feature carpet in a range of colors. Family rooms – we used to call them “dens” or “rec rooms”– bedrooms and living rooms, all were made more cozy and comfortable thanks to soft flooring. Leap forward to the 2020’s and after a bit of a dry spell, colorful carpet is making a comeback.
There are many reasons to choose carpet. Whether you love its sound-insulating qualities, its warmth underfoot, or its budget-friendly price point, carpet is coming to a room near you. So, if you’ve considered cost, maintenance, comfort and livability, it’s time to consider the best carpet colors for your style and lifestyle.
Should Carpet Color Trends Drive Your Purchase?
When it comes to interior design and décor, the latest look can prove a short-sighted trend over time. That holds true for color palettes as well. And while carpet offers more bang for the buck than many other flooring options, it is still too big of an investment to replace every time the design pendulum swings. Your best bet is to start with lifestyle considerations and let practicality weigh evenly with aesthetics as you narrow down your preferences.
Light and Bright Carpet Looks
Some carpet colors never go out of fashion. In 2024, light neutrals remain top-of-trend. Whether white, beige, ivory or light greys, lighter carpets bring simple elegance and classic versatility to any room. As with cabinet hardware and light fixtures, the cooler greys are giving way to warmer hues like tans, beiges and linens. One reason those light hues are popular is that they can serve as a backdrop for layered area rugs and they can complement antiques as beautifully as they do contemporary furnishings. Neutral carpets also contribute to a minimalist decorating approach and can make a room look bigger, brighter and newly refreshed.
Light carpet provides the perfect complement to more saturate walls and upholstery. It also helps rooms seem larger and brighter. Light neutral carpet colors are a great match for small rooms, rooms with lower ceilings or limited natural light. However, the lighter the carpet color, the more it will show soil, spots, and spills and can be challenging to live with. The saturation of the neutral is key. There is a huge difference in livability between a show-everything “cream” color and a more forgiving taupe or “oatmeal.”
To get the advantages of light carpet, consider layering a light area rug over a slightly darker neutral wall-to-wall installation. Another great strategy for living with light neutrals is planning ahead to invest in maintenance for your carpets. Professional carpet care keeps your flooring looking new longer and every carpet benefits from the occasional deep cleaning.
Carpet Colors, Beyond the Pale
Pale Pastels and “soft colors” can serve as neutral carpet options too. Thanks to some 70’s vibes in the market, we’re seeing muted or “soft” versions of primary colors that are sophisticated but still versatile. Think “harvest gold” and “avocado green.” These colors overlap the earth-tone range that is also currently on-trend.
Nostalgia is also driving a return to 1980’s palettes like baby blue, mist pink, mint green and lavender. These pastels are particularly suited to rooms that prioritize relaxation and calm, like bedrooms and nurseries. Use pastel hues to keep rooms bright and add a little extra pizazz. But keep in mind that the moment you opt for any color, you are impacting marketability.
Ask yourself if you are likely to move out of this house in less than five years and want to get the best possible asking price. If yes, consider a neutral wall-to-wall carpet and overlayer that with bound carpets or area rugs that showcase your favorite pastels. You can also use those pastels on walls, ceilings and furnishings. Spend smart and you can still feature your favorite shades.
Bold and Bodacious
Swinging one-hundred eighty design degrees, we’re seeing a return of bold, vibrant hues in the most popular carpet colors. Dark carpets can be a great way to ground lighter upholstery and wall colors. They work well in large, brightly lit spaces to create a feeling of coziness or sophistication. Strong carpet colors are well-suited to libraries, media rooms, family spaces or formal settings. Dark carpets also downplay everyday soil. That said, they still need regular maintenance to look (and smell) their best. If your space enjoys lots of natural light as well as a variety of artificial sources from task lighting, ambient light, and accent lighting, you are likely to be comfortable with a more saturate carpet color.
The maximalist trend is all about “more is more.” One example is the color-blocking approach that is taking multiple surfaces by storm. Color-blocking the use of color to accent a feature wall or other focal point. The most sought-after saturates include, on the one hand, bold greens and blues and on the other, earthy warms like terracotta, umber and saffron
As with pastels, choose what you love but make sure you’ll have time to live with it. If you are considering selling your home within 5 years, you might want to reserve that saturate hue for upholstery you can take with you when you move, or walls that buyers can easily re-paint (a minimal expense) to suit their preferences. If you’ve watched any “House Hunter” episodes , you know that home shoppers often cannot see beyond a seller’s color preferences. Don’t loose that multiple-offer opportunity – plan your color choices for short-term enjoyment and long-term ROI.
Earthy and Earth Friendly
We’ve been seeing lots of natural fiber flooring choices, especially grass-based surfaces, in recent years. Sisal, jute and coir are still going strong, though they are vulnerable to liquid spills and pet spots. But the natural palettes – especially beiges, tans and browns – and nature-inspired textures are going strong. This is true even in synthetic carpet collections.
Carpet made of 100% wool is another earth-friendly option. When colored with natural dyes, wool carpets have great longevity and a life cycle with minimal environmental impact. In fact, natural stylings overlap with another current carpet buying trend, shopping based on sustainability.
Shape Shifting, Where Color Meets Pattern
Yes, patterned carpet is making a real comeback. When a homeowner wants a dramatic look, a patterned carpet is an eye-popping option. Patterns are a way to introduce color to your carpet choice without having to plunge into saturate solids. A patterned wall-to-wall installation can bring life to a ho-hum bedroom and vintage charm to any space. It can also make a great cut-and-bound area rug which can be layered over low-pile wall-to-wall carpet or hard-surface flooring.
Color accents many 2024 preferences, including linear, geometric, and curvilinear designs. Designers say that pattern in a carpet can impart a feeling of “movement and depth” to an interior space. Among the top carpet patterns, stripes are a perennial favorite for their strong graphic punch. Moreover, stripes can made a room look larger or taller, depending on a horizontal or vertical orientation.
Patterns can be chosen to complement specific design stylings. So large florals may work best in cottage-y bedrooms or formal living rooms, whereas herringbone or geometrics may complement minimalist, open-concept spaces and casual family rooms. Above all, when considering a wall-to-wall product, be mindful that more neutral patterns will feel fresh longer and will carry universal appeal if your home goes on the market.
A Final Word About Carpet Shopping
Maybe you’re just starting the carpet shopping process. If that’s your story, make sure to research the best carpet type for your home. But if you feel pretty confident of the pile-type, carpet material options, lifestyle needs and maintenance requirements, carpet colors can help narrow down that final purchase decision. In the end, it is important to remember that the up-front purchase price of carpet and installation is only part of your investment.
Regular carpet maintenance insures your flooring performs well and looks new longer. Vacuuming on a semi-weekly basis helps remove soil which can damage your carpet. For best outcomes, address spots and spills as they happen.
Keep in mind too, most carpet manufacturers will also require that a buyer have their carpet professionally cleaned every 12-18 months. Professional cleanings maintain the product’s warranty. Thankfully, all carpet comes protected by their factories. After a few deep cleanings, though, that applied protection is largely removed. Most carpet experts will encourage you to have a professional company come out and re-protect your carpeted floors every two cleanings. By reapplying protection to your floors, you will get your money’s worth over time.
What’s the 2024 Carpet Color Takeaway?
Here are the top ten tips to keep in mind when choosing carpet and carpet colors for your home.
- Carpet is making a comeback and can be a good investment
- Keep practical concerns top of mind when considering carpet colors – ask if the color will be difficult to “live with.”
- Light neutrals like pale grey, white, ivory and beige are versatile and make a room look brighter and larger.
- Pastel and soft colored carpets bring vintage style to any room. Light blues, greens, yellows and lavenders are calming. Soft earth tones are sophisticated in family rooms.
- Saturate carpet colors like bold blues, greens and terracottas are taking the carpet spectrum by storm. These hues bring drama and hide everyday dirt but the look can grow old more quickly than neutral color schemes.
- Remember, neutral carpet adapts to all design schemes and give your home higher resale value.
- If you love soft or saturate colors, consider introducing them in portable furnishings like area rugs and upholstery or in wall paint that can be changed when you tire of the look.
- Earth friendly carpet is worth consideration, both in terms of quality and sustainability. Wool is the best investment and has a huge range of color, even natural dyes. Sisal and grass rugs remain on trend.
- Pattern brings new color schemes to carpet. Match linear and geometric patterns to casual and contemporary spaces and use floral, abstract, or curvilinear patterns to rooms for more pizazz or personality.
- Wall to wall carpet is an up-front investment that will last longer and look better with regular care and periodic professional cleanings. Manufacturer warranties require carpets to be cleaned by the pros every 12-18 months.
Last Thoughts:
Need a little more support in the carpet-selection process? Let us guide you through the process of narrowing down the best carpet for your home. For more great information about 2024 carpet trends, we invite you to enjoy this deep dive out of the United Kingdom from “Clever Carpets & Flooring.”