How to Choose the Right Carpet Colors for Your Home

There are many carpet options available on the market today. These products vary in color, pile type, material, cost, and more. When it comes to how to pick carpet colors for your home, it’s important to consider all of these factors. However, arguably the most important decision you will likely have to make before purchasing your new carpet flooring is what color carpet to choose. If you’re not quite sure where to start with your carpet color choice, you’re in the right place. We’re breaking down some tips on how to find the perfect carpet colors for your home!

Carpet Trends

One thing you can consider when you’re looking for the perfect carpet color for your home is today’s trends. Check out what’s currently fresh and hot, and whether that fits with your interior design style or not. Trendy carpets can range from brighter colors to deeper moody tones, fresh patterns, and unique carpet styles and features.

What is the Best Color for My Home?

When it comes to choosing a carpet color for your home, it’s important to see how the colors look in your unique space. Carpet colors can be directly influenced by the amount of natural light in your home as well as the size of your room. We recommend ordering different colored carpet samples before committing to an entire carpet. Our sample box makes this easy for you —simply click here to order six different flooring samples that suit your taste.

Carpet Colors

Neutral Colors

While trends come and go, neutral colors tend to stick around. They do have a timeless feel, and can be long-lasting through changing interior design trends. Grays, beiges, browns, and even shades of blue can be considered neutral carpet colors, so if you’re hoping to choose a carpet color that will adapt to nearly any trend or style, a neutral carpet color is a great choice.

Dark Colors

Dark colors can instantly elevate a room and create a feeling of luxury and warmth while simultaneously hiding dirt and stains in high traffic areas. Consider dark colored carpets in blues, purples, maroons and blacks when you’re shopping for a floor in your entryway, hallway or entertainment space.

Light Colors

Light colors, on the other hand, work to open up your space and can make a room feel bigger thanks to their ability to refract natural light. Oftentimes, light colors are used to brighten up small spaces like nurseries, bedrooms and living rooms. Choose whites, beiges, creams, or even light shades of green or pink if you’re looking for a fresh, clean vibe. But, be careful if you are looking to install a light colored carpet in a high-traffic area as dirt is harder to hide —look for products that are stainproof and easy to clean in case of a mess.

Gray Carpet

 

While gray carpet is considered a neutral carpet color, it can also be quite the showstopper. Dark gray carpet colors and tones lend themselves to more dramatic, and even moodier designs, and help to hide spills and stains. On the other hand, light gray carpet colors brighten a room and make it adaptable to tons of design styles. And, while light and dark gray colors may seem like the only two options when it comes to gray carpet, you may be surprised to learn that there are even some warm shades of gray carpet that feel more like a “greige” than a beige or a gray specifically. These warm gray carpet colors are ideal for spaces with a warmer wall color and design style.

Tan and Beige Carpet 

For many years, tan and beige carpet colors have been the carpet of choice for homes everywhere. That’s because these carpet colors fit all kinds of design styles and offer a timeless appeal. Rather than going for that pop of color or trend, opting for a tan, beige or brown carpet will ensure that you are investing in a carpet that will stay relevant through changing design trends. Brown carpets are making a comeback this year, as we see a return to natural earth-tones in home design. Brown carpeting is also perfect for hiding any pet hair or dirt tracked in from outdoors. Just because you have a neutral colored carpet, doesn’t mean that your space has to feel stale —find patterns or textured carpets in brown, beige or tan to set your floor apart!

Blue Carpet 

If you’re looking to add a dash of color without overwhelming your home with saturated hues, blue carpet is the perfect way to go! Classic and timeless, shades of blue carpet can add a subtle hint of color to your space whether through a stark blue textured cut-pile in the bedroom or a patterned light blue carpet in the family room.

Black Carpet 

You simply can’t forget black as part of the neutral carpet color options, especially for those modern and contemporary homes! Not only does black carpet make a statement, but it also provides an excellent option for homes with high traffic and activity that want to hide stains and spills. Available in a range of shades from dark to light, black carpet is a great choice for many homes!

Are You Upgrading or Starting Fresh?

First and foremost, if you’re moving into a new build home or remodeling from scratch, you might have a few more options are avenues to start with than those who are looking to upgrade carpet and keep existing furniture and wall colors. While there are still plenty of carpet colors, designs, styles, and patterns out there for almost any home design, starting fresh gives you a blank slate to work with. However, it can often be tough to know just where to start when it comes to carpet, wall colors, furniture, and linens and décor, so where do you start?

If you have not yet chosen any part of your interior design, we recommend choosing an overall color palette and a furniture swatch or piece of furniture, and then choosing flooring, then paint. It is much easier to paint walls or change furniture than it is to replace flooring, so keep this in mind when thinking about your best carpet color options.

Think About Your Lifestyle

Do you have kids or pets, or do you live a quiet lifestyle by the beach? While you may not think your lifestyle will play a huge part in your carpet color choice, you may be surprised. Carpet features like stain-resistance and easy cleanup have come a long way, but it’s much easier to simply pick a carpet that works with your lifestyle, rather than constantly worrying about having clean carpet.

Colors like white, light beige, and any light neutral are more difficult to keep clean when it comes to food spills and messes, pet accidents, and mud and debris. However, they work well for quieter households and rooms like dens, living spaces, and bedrooms, and can be kept just as clean, depending on the durability. If your house is full of young kids, it’s best to opt for a darker neutral, or one that has flecks of a few different colors, or even a carpet with a pattern.

Other colors like deep gray, shades of blue and green, and carpets that have multiple colors throughout are also ideal for homes with busy lifestyles or active families. When choosing the best carpet color, this is a great tip to keep in mind.

Remove Color Options You Don’t Like

This might seem like a simple tip, but it’s one of the most important. If there are carpet colors you simply do not like, don’t even think about them! Remove them from the available options at the beginning so you don’t have to think about them in the future. It’s better to be honest with yourself than waste time considering colors that you likely won’t be happy with in the long run.

Consider Your Wall Colors

Navy, cool gray, warm gray, white, light pink, whatever your wall color is, make sure you think about it when choosing a carpet color, unless you’re willing to change it. One thing that often gets overlooked when choosing a carpet color is the undertone of wall colors. Sure, you might have gray walls, but are they a warm gray or a cool gray tone? It’s better to pair warm tones with warm tones and cool tones with cool tones, rather than ending up with your home feeling like something is just a bit off.

If you can, take a paint swatch of your wall color with you when you’re looking at carpet colors. This will help you get a better idea of whether or not the carpet will match your wall colors and your household. If you’re willing to change you wall color, bring a few swatches with you and see which direction you’re leaning. You’ll be able to narrow down a few wall colors, and probably a few carpet colors too.

Solid Color vs Pattern Carpet

Now, some might be wondering: Should I choose solid or pattern carpet for my home? Explore the are pros and cons of both.

Solid Color Carpet

While no one can deny the bold statement that a pattern makes in your design, if you already have a lot of patterned pieces in the room from furniture to wallpaper to artwork, then stick to a solid color carpet. You don’t want to overwhelm the space with competing visual elements, so if you have a smaller space, a solid colored carpet is probably the best way to go. A solid carpet can beautifully tie your space together by using one shade to ground the other elements and colors in your room.

Pattern Carpet

Patterned carpets are a great way to alter perspectives in your home by adding the illusion of extra depth to your space. For instance, by adding horizontal stripes to a narrow room, you make the room appear wider. If you decide to add a pattern carpet to your space, here are some rules of thumb to follow:

• Use one standout pattern per space
• Avoid busy patterns with bright colors
• If you have textured walls/furniture, choose a carpet with a subtle pattern
• Avoid using two dense patters in the same space

Patterned carpets come in a wide array of choices from chevron to stripes to floral to animal print and more. Don’t be afraid to have a bit of fun with your patterns and test your aesthetic by mixing and matching.

Order Some Samples and Live with Them

Okay, so you think you’ve found the best carpet color – now what? Our suggestion actually isn’t to dive in headfirst and purchase, but instead to order some flooring samples and live with them for a while. Just like trying out paint samples on your wall, it’s important to see the carpet colors in your space in different lights and rooms. You’ll get a better feel of how much you like them after you’re able to look at them over and over for a few days.

If you’re interested in finding the perfect carpet color for your home and want to get started, check out our extensive collection of carpet. Think you’re ready to order flooring samples? Check out how you can do that here, and view all of the different ways to evaluate your carpet samples in our blog post How to Use Flooring Samples to Pick New Floors.