I never thought I’d choose a man-made carpet over wool – but my busy family home changed my mind

Interior designer Natalie Jahangiry is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on decorating a home to suit a busy family life while sticking to your aesthetic values, too. See the rest of her articles here.

If you'd asked me a few years ago what type of carpet I'd choose for our home, I'd have answered 'wool' without even thinking about it.

I have always loved the texture and warmth that wool carpets bring to a space. Yes… they're more of an investment, but with bigger purchases like flooring it’s sometimes better to save and wait (I know, that’s hard to hear isn’t it?!) to get the right choice, rather than rush and end up having to replace it in the future. I never really imagined I'd be persuaded otherwise.

However, renovating a busy family home (with a 6 and 4 year old) has a funny way of making you rethink your priorities. Once you've lived through muddy footprints, split drinks, little hands covered in paint heading straight for the walls (eeek) and two cats treating the stairs like their own personal racetrack, practicality suddenly becomes just as important as the look! And I've been happy to discover that in recent years there have been some fantastic alternatives released to the market that give you the same cosy, considered feel, while being much kinder on the budget, all without feeling like you've compromised on style.

The funny thing is, I'm always encouraging our clients to make practical choices that suit the way they live, rather than getting too caught up in having the 'perfect' finish. I learnt this lesson in our kitchen reno, make it pretty but also practical… so, this time I decided it was about time I took my own advice.

When it came to replacing the carpets in our bedroom, landing and hallway, I found myself looking into materials that worked harder for what we needed. That’s when I found the Firefly carpet from Tapi and, if I'm honest, it completely changed my perception of what modern man-made carpets can be.

I never thought I'd choose a man-made carpet

The very chirpy Tapi floorologist (aka flooring expert) from our local branch came to visit our home and brought samples along with him. The first thing that surprised me about the range of man-made options available were how natural they looked. I think many of us still see synthetic carpets as shiny, hard and overly uniform, but that really isn't the case anymore.

I really liked the look of the Firefly carpet, so I went for this in the beige chevron option. It has a lovely textured loop pile that feels really soft on bare toes, while still feeling sturdy enough to withstand the mayhem in our household. It's made from 100% polypropylene, which makes it incredibly easy to look after (absolute winner!), and because it's designed for everyday family life, I don't find myself worrying every time the children linger on the stairs with a ‘quick snack’ or one of the cats decides to scratch around on the landing after breakfast.

This has probably been the biggest shift in my thinking, I used to believe choosing something practical carpet wise meant compromising on the look and feel, but this proved the opposite. The carpet feels warm and luxurious, yet it also gives me confidence that it can cope with the reality of family life. It’s only been down for a few weeks and has already been put to the test and passed with flying colours… believe me, it’s realllly been tested to the limits!!

Carpets that are fully man-made or a blend is something we've actually started recommending to our clients too, particularly for busy family homes and higher traffic areas. So many people assume they need to choose between a beautiful carpet and one that's practical, but thankfully that's no longer the case.

If you have children, pets or simply don't want to spend your time worrying about every single tiny mark, choosing a durable, stain resistant and easy-clean carpet that still has plenty of texture and softness makes so much sense.

The design decisions we often overlook

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One thing I've learnt, both renovating our own home and working as an interior designer, is that carpet is often one of the most overlooked design decisions. We spend so many weeks agonising over other details like paint colours, lighting, tiles, furniture and accessories, yet the floor is one of the largest surfaces in a room and has such a huge impact on how the finished space feels.

Simply replacing our tired old carpet (which we hadn’t done since moving in!) instantly made our bedroom, landing and hallway feel so much fresher, brighter and more polished… and that’s before I'd even started adding all the finishing touches and styling the space.

Just like paint colours, carpet will look different in different lights, so if you're choosing a new carpet I'd always recommend ordering samples and looking at them in different positions throughout the day.

Think about who uses the room, how much traffic it gets and whether you want something that's going to be low maintenance in the long term. It's easy to be swayed by colour alone, but texture, durability and how the carpet feels underfoot are just as important.

Details that pulled everything together

We also decided to update the staircase at the same time, finishing it with a runner and black stair rods from Tapi. I have always been obsessed with stair rods, they are one of those details that elevates any hallway space without feeling overly fussy. I also really love how it plays into the character of our Victorian home, they work wonderfully to bring it all together.

Fresh carpet has completely transformed these spaces. The hallway and landing now have that lovely "just renovated" feeling, the bedroom feels warmer and ties in beautifully with the rest of the redesign I have been working on. These spaces finally feel finished.

Would I still choose a wool carpet everywhere? Probably not. This project has reminded me that firstly I should always take the advice I give my clients and secondly, it's always worth keeping an open mind when you're making these decisions.

The options you least expect often end up surprising you the most, and for a busy family home, finding something that's both beautiful and practical really is the best of both worlds.