17 May 2024

Update your home on a budget

 

I think we are all feeling the squeeze at the moment. It can be  frustrating looking around your home, wanting to update and refresh and worrying about the cost. Whilst there are more cost effective ways to replace your flooring or carpets, the cost can still be overwhelming. Here’s our top tips on how to make an impact without blowing your budget.

Accessories

Often overlooked and underrated; flooring accessories are both integral and effective. Upgrading to a high quality door trim, is a great way make a budget friendly carpet look more exclusive. It is unlikely you will need more than a couple of door trims per room, which means you can upgrade without breaking the bank. A standard trim, is either silver or gold. There is a multitude of colours and finishes available; from Antique Bronze to Pewter. A feature door trim can really add a touch of class to your room.

 

Underlay

A good quality underlay, is a great choice for saving the pennies. There are plenty of hard wearing budget friendly carpets on the market. Adding a high quality underlay, will help to enhance the feeling underfoot.

Higher quality underlays also typically have higher thermal properties; helping to save money with those energy bills!

 

 

Rugs

If a new carpet or flooring is still way over budget, a rug can be a great way to add a touch of colour and texture to your home. No installation required and less carpet or flooring to buy. There are more and more carpet manufactures offering different widths of carpet, meaning you only need to order the amount you want. This can help to avoid any unnecessary waste and help to reduce the cost.

Type of carpet/ flooring on a budget

There are styles and designs of carpet and flooring, that naturally lend themselves to a classical look. The cost of a product is down to a number of different aspects. Brand, wear layer/ thickness, material, and colour palette can all effect the cost.

It is possible to find more budget friendly products that still look like they cost more. To achieve this we recommend looking for the following…

Carpet – Polypropene, is a budget friendly material and great choice for a busy home. Bleach cleanable and available in a variety of colours and designs. Sticking to a single colour rather than flecked, will add a touch of class. And choosing a dense, short, cut pile will ensure the carpet looks new for longer.

Loop pile carpets are now available in wool and man made fibres. This style of carpet has become increasingly popular recently. The fibres are looped into a variety of different patterns and designs. A great choice for adding character. Man made fibre products will be much more budget friendly. Due to the looped fibres, this style of carpet will keep it’s appearance for longer.

Flooring – Laminate is the most cost effective flooring. There are plenty of budget friendly products on the market. However, some of the lower priced products can look less attractive. There are design details to look for, that will help to improve the overall finish. Bevelled edges or V Grooves, are typically connected to more expensive products. This applies to laminate and LVT.

Final Top Tip

Lift samples up to the light. Look at the surface of the flooring. A flooring with a lightly textured surface, will not only look more effective but will also deflect light. This can be very useful in high traffic areas. The more matt in appearance, the less likely to show up every day dirt and debris.