COLUMN: Gail Mayhugh

DEAR GAIL: We plan to recarpet our family room and need some information about the different types of carpet available. It has been years since we last purchased carpet and any information that you could share would help us in the process. -- Susan.

DEAR SUSAN: Many things about carpet have not changed over the years. There are still the same styles, basic fibers and construction.

You need to consider durability, fiber, style and pile density.

Let's first look at fibers. Most carpets are made out of one of the following: nylon, polyester, olefin or wool.

Nylon provides outstanding durability, performance and resilience, or its ability to spring back. Nylon is also reasonably priced.

Polyester carpets are sometimes softer to the touch, but are not as resilient as nylon. A polyester carpet would work better in formal living and dining rooms than in a high-traffic family room.

Olefin, which is normally found in loop-pile carpets, is great as far as stain resistance. But, I have found that it doesn't wear well in high-traffic areas and will pack down quicker than the other fibers.

Wool, of course, is the most expensive and a beautiful natural fiber. It's not a family room selection.

Finally, there is a new fiber called Tactesse that has the most amazing feel. Once you've touched a carpet made from it you'll never want anything else. It is a durable fiber, but beware because it is more expensive than the others.

Next, a quick lesson on carpet styles and textures.

A textured carpet helps hide footprints; its tufts are curled or twisted.

A frieze also works in high-traffic areas. It differs from a texture in that its tufts are more highly twisted and they curl on top.

A loop carpet can be a level loop or a multilevel loop. Most loop carpets will form a pattern and look beautiful in a formal living room.

Pattern-cut pile carpets have both loops and cut piles that form a pattern. They have great wearability to them. A cut-pile Berber is a good casual-style carpet that has both small and large cut-pile tufts. This style carpet is best recognized by its small flecks of color mixed in with the neutral background.

A Saxony is normally found in more formal settings as it loves to show every footprint and mark. It is a dense level-cut pile carpet.

Finally, a cut-loop carpet also can be described as a sculptured pattern carpet. It has high-cut tufts and lower loops.

The next thing to consider is the pile density. You can find it on the back of the carpet sample.

A better way to look at a carpet's density is with two tests. First, push your fingers into the carpet and see how easy it is to press them to the backing.

Next, take the sample and with the front of the carpet facing you, bend it into a "U." Check how much of the backing you see. The less backing you see, the denser the carpet and better it will wear.

Another thing to consider is color. Lighter colors will, of course, show more dirt, but darker carpets will show more lint. The colors of cut Berbers are great for high-traffic, well-used areas.

One final note: Bring the carpet samples home and see how they look in your light, both day and night. If the sample is small, ask the carpet store to order a larger memo sample. They are normally available at no charge, but even for a nominal fee it is worth the cost versus the mistake that you can make.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 8170 S. Eastern Ave., Box 4-275, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.

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