These installations are quite different from commercials where the main concern is durability.
Therefore, when you walk into a store you will see many more flooring varieties for residential than commercial.
When it’s a facility like a hotel, restaurant or hospital, there can be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of footsteps in one small area. When it's residential, the flooring won't experience close to that amount of traffic, even in the busiest area like the stairway. The best thing is to speak with your retailer to explain exactly how you plan to use it.
While the flooring doesn’t need to be a perfect match, you do need to keep coordination and balance in mind, especially for those transitional spaces like hallways.
Many roles
It’s important to keep in mind that different areas in the house have different priorities. For instance, you’ll almost always go into a commercial facility and see a low pile carpet; that’s because the fibers are shorter and more tightly woven, making it easier to clean and more durable.
You’ll see low pile carpets on home stairways where people and pets run up and down all day. There also needs to be a solid foundation for footing, which a low pile carpet will provide.
But you’ll probably also see a high pile rug (long, loose fibers) like a shag or frieze where the foot traffic is light and there are few concerns about slip and falls.
Some rooms can even have different priorities, depending on how they're used. For instance, is the living room only used for entertaining guests, or is it the center of family activity where there would be much more wear and tear on the flooring?
What about the range of product choice?
Carpeting can have hundreds of colors and styles to suit every home, décor, and budget.
It’s slightly different for commercial, however, there are fewer rug colors and styles from which to choose.
The choice of material itself is limited: many restaurants are simply selecting only luxury vinyl because of its high-end style and chameleon appearance and, while laminate also provides that appearance, it does not provide the same complete waterproof capabilities of vinyl, which restaurants need.
For more information, come into the Young interiors showroom in Myrtle Beach or Longs, SC. Be sure to ask about our estimate.