Personal Service with Global Buying Power

When it comes to selecting a floor covering for our home or office, we are spoiled for choice. So much so that deciding on what floor type to choose can be a confusing experience involving much deliberation over the different options suitability, practicality, colour, texture and price.

The floor covering business is a highly competitive Industry driven by technological developments and designer trends with flooring providers now able to offer an extensive choice of flooring solutions.

Newcastle Carpet One in Adamstown Heights is the local flooring expert - it’s what they do, and as a member of the global Carpet One co-operative, they are part of one of the world’s largest retail floor covering group which means that they have huge buying power.

All of their stores (and there are over 1,700 of them worldwide), are individually owned, with each store offering a large range of carpet, timber, vinyl and laminate. Newcastle Carpet One also offers window furnishings such as curtains, blinds and shutters.

“The flooring products market is a mature and highly competitive market broadly categorized into four types that include soft coverings (carpet, carpet tiles and rugs), resilient flooring (vinyl, rubber, cork, linoleum), non-resilient flooring (slate, tile, solid wood and engineered wood) and seamless flooring (polished concrete and resin),” explained Carpet One Managing Director, Terry Johnston.

“Owing to growing demand from home developments and home renovators, the market for flooring products has seen significant growth over the past few years which can also be attributed to changing consumer lifestyles,” said Terry.

“Also, with escalating home prices and buyers motivated by quality finishes, people also realise that having good quality flooring improves the overall value of their home.”

“When it comes to innovation and trends in the flooring world, what we are seeing is typically soft furnishings in bedrooms, rumpus and at least one living space and resilient flooring in all other areas. We are also seeing a deviation to more cost-effective and even eco-friendly flooring,”

Terry says that installing ‘green floors’ has become increasingly popular. “As a result, we offer a number of products that promote sustainability such as bamboo and cork floating floors, wool, wool blends or corn sugar blended products. In the absence of sustainable choices, we select products from environmentally aware suppliers.”

“We also stock an extensive range of luxury vinyl tiles and planks which are the greenest types of flooring on the market and a category that has seen significant technological advances and improvements in quality over the years.”

But luxury vinyl is far from the only flooring product that’s drawing consumer attention.

Carpet is becoming more environmentally friendly, and a few manufacturers are creating fibre combinations that take softness to a whole new level.

“When it comes to carpet, the eco-friendly choices already exist in the form of wool, wool-bamboo blends, or the popular ECO+ range that uses 37% corn sugar in manufacturing the yarn,” said Terry. “In addition to our choice of Dunlop Underlay, which is made from 90% recycled material and is 100% recyclable, we offer the most environmentally sensitive carpets available.”

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Choosing the Best Flooring for your Home

Renovating your home and picking a type of flooring can be challenging but the process can come down to a simple equation: match performance and durability to the space and get the aesthetics right!

Different types of flooring each have their merits, but certain types are better for certain situations. For example, if you live alone and want to create a luxury feel to your home versus being in a relationship and having small children and pets will decide the appropriate type of flooring for that situation.

Hard flooring is the easiest to clean; therefore, if you have a family where spills and accidents happen regularly on your floors, you might want to consider a hard floor option. Timber, tiles, vinyl and laminate are all appropriate choices.

If the occupants are all adults, then you have far more options available to you. Hard flooring is a good choice here too, but you also have the added benefit of being able to choose more delicate materials and lighter colours.

You also need to consider the UV resistance of any flooring you place in front of any large windows that expose the interior surfaces to harsh sunlight. While wool is a lovely fibre for carpets, a Solution Dyed Nylon (or SDN) will likely withstand UV exposure better in the long term. Tiles are generally colour stable, with laminates and vinyl planks being less so but more resilient than natural materials such as timber.

When choosing flooring for your kitchen, you will want a product that is easy to clean and maintain, generally, hard flooring like tile, stone and timber are good choices. Some softer floorings such as vinyl can also work well in kitchens.

When it comes to the bedroom, carpet is king. It looks and feels soft and luxurious, comes in numerous shades and colours, is aesthetically pleasing and provides excellent sound and temperature insulation. Timber is the next most popular choice, and it does look great and is easy to care for. The rough treatment dealt out in a kid’s playroom begs for hard-wearing flooring, and preferably cheap enough to withstand the creative consequences of crayon and paint.

The style of your home will also dictate the style of flooring. A beach house may suit a Scandi or Hamptons look while a country house might favour a bohemian or French country look. City apartments could be modern, industrial or classic.

But remember, the best place to start is to speak with a professional. This will ensure you don’t make costly mistakes that can turn to big regrets in the future. Visit the Newcastle Carpet One website for more information at www.carpetone.com.au/adamstown-heights