Carpets are floor coverings that typically come in two-layer, an upper layer of soft pile attached to a lower backing. They serve purposes like beautification, comfort as well as insulation from cold floors. Their existence goes back at least to the 5th century BCE in ancient Armenia where it was made with natural fibres and colours.

What was earlier known as the carpet is now known as rugs and is smaller than the size of the room where it’s laid. It also doesn’t need to be stuck or tacked onto the flooring. Rugs also come in intricate hand-woven designs that leave you breathless with their intricacy.

Today, carpets are used to refer to wall-to-wall floor coverings and are tacked onto the entire floor of the home, except the bathrooms and kitchen. This is also probably why carpets usually come in neutral tones- so they can fit in with the room’s furnishings. While colours have been limited to shades of beige and cool greys till recently, the trends are changing and you now have neutral-coloured shades that throw in a splash of colour too.

Cool, restful shades of greens and blues are a great way of complimenting your furniture and walls and offer great visual interest. Colour trends don’t stop there either, as you now have offerings that include more texture and patterns including flecks that help to mask spots and spills. Colours sprinkled against neutral shades add interest and dimension to any room and are definitely in this season. Woven patterns of flowers, leaves and trellises are also in and make great fashion statements.

The texture of the carpet is also changing and is a great way of camouflaging marks. A combination of textures and colours provide a distinctive styling and appeal with multi-coloured loops, cut-loops, plushy longer loops and low-loops.

High-traffic areas including the staircase and central hallways need to be dressed with strong, durable carpets preferably made with level loop pile in sisal or coir in moderately dark shades. Patterned carpets in the hallway are also a great way of making a fashion statement about your style. You can play with brighter coloured carpets in smaller areas like the kid’s playroom where you want to relax on the floor.

Everything said and done, the warmth, comfort and simplicity offered by carpets guarantee its reigning popularity. And if you can’t afford the woollen carpets, you can always go for the synthetic ones that are equally beautiful, durable, but affordable. They are also easier to maintain!