Picking out flooring can feel daunting — there are SO MANY options. Here are a few tips for creating a great lobby space — specifically with CARPET.
Carpet is great for a lot of reasons —
one of them being ACOUSTICS. It can dramatically help with absorbing noise and reducing echo in a space. Even if it’s not a cushy high level loop, just having all that square footage of a soft surface can help reduce noise.
Carpet is much more slip resistant than hard surface flooring. It’s a good idea to not only have carpet at all major entryways but to up your carpet game by using walk off carpet tiles at these locations. These are the stiffer, more bristle-y carpet tiles that help get water and dirt off of your shoes as you enter a space. You have probably walked on it thousands of times and never really noticed it. You should tailor the dimensions to your space, but adding about 8-10’ of walk off carpet at entries can help get you a few steps of yuck removal as attenders enter. Walk off carpet is used in lieu of other flooring (it gets installed directly to the floor or walk off system — not on top of your other carpet.)
Carpet tiles can also be very easy to repair by YOURSELF. Most carpet tiles are installed with either a direct glue down or a “lock dot” sticker type system. The glue used is strong enough to hold the tile, but remains sticky and pliable enough that even years later you can pull up an individual carpet tile to replace. I know no one has ever had coffee spilled on their carpet… or a red sheet cake pulverized into their carpet at a youth event… but let’s just say that “if you did” you could replace damaged carpet tiles relatively easily :-) It is recommended that you add 10-15% to your carpet order to have replacement stock for repairs later.
There are soooo many PATTERNS and styles to choose from that can give you a lot of different looks. A lobby is a HIGH TRAFFIC area so we’ll be looking for patterns that help support that. Here are some things to look for when choosing a carpet tile pattern.
Are you serving food and beverages in this space? If so, spill some coffee on that carpet tile and see how it takes it. Pour a coke on it. Grind a bagel into it. Try it out before your attenders do :-) The busier the pattern in the carpet, the more it will help hide stains. This includes a color differentiation within the yarn colors AND the larger pattern created by how those colors are represented. Typically, you want something with at least 3 different yarn colors (when you look close up) and something that creates patterns to help break up the visual. DO NOT confuse pattern with “wacky” or “gaudy” —- I’m just saying that it should have a few different shades of gray or brown to help break it up. (See below for a pattern example.
Darker colors will help hide stains and cover wear and tear better. I still recommend having a style with a lot of patterning to help hide things no matter your colors.
When selecting patterns, do NOT just look at one piece of carpet tile. Use the tile to represent the colors but look at product photography as well as small mockups with MULTIPLE tiles to give you a greater sense of how that pattern would repeat over a larger space. Most patterns take several tiles to understand how it will look over a larger space.
Are you trying to break up a very LARGE lobby? Consider having multiple styles or pairing the carpet with other flooring materials to create different zones. For a subtle effect, I like to find a color that is offered in several different patterns / variations.
Here’s a good example: this carpet tile from Shaw Contract comes as a part of a collection. Each style in the collection has the SAME colors in it so that you can pair them to break up a space and each carpet will complement the other styles well.
You could use the Aware Tile in color Ink as a main field carpet tile
And you could create some accent areas in the Conscious Tile color Ink that pair really nicely!
sometimes it can be difficult to determine which collections go together from looking online. I highly recommend using your designer, dealer, and manufacturer reps to understand which lines pair well with one another.
Good Pattern Example
Pattern doesn’t have to be wacky or oddly colorful. This carpet tile from Patcraft is a great example of using a few shades of gray to create an organic pattern that can really help with wear and tear as well as make spills less noticeable.
Try to avoid
Carpet that has no pattern going on. A carpet like this has a few gray tones, but no pattern. Stains and wear and tear will show up quicker and easier.
Saving a few dollars with a basic carpet like this will only lead to greater maintenance and replacement costs soon.
Where do you get carpet tile? Why can’t I just order it all online? Carpet is still sold through dealerships run by installers. You will want to find a local dealer (hopefully they have a great showroom for you to look at!) Their staff can help you assess the needs for your project, measure the space, and order the appropriate quantities. They will also help you with selecting transitions and the base that will go around the perimeter to cover the transition from wall to flooring. Your installer will be able to test your site for moisture conditions and select the best glues or installation system for your project. If any floor prep is needed for the project, they will also have the materials and know-how to get the floor ready. You aren’t able to just order the carpet on your own… but you don’t want to! You want that expertise from the installer to get the best finished product and you want the warranty on their labor to help with any issues in the future. Dealers also have direct relationships with manufacturer reps. They can order you samples for your project and get answers to any technical product questions you may have.
You may have noticed that I am referring to carpet TILE a lot but not to giant rolls of carpet. Rolled goods or “broadloom” carpet is not manufactured as much today as it once was. Most commercial projects use carpet tile because it’s so much easier to repair and replace later. Instead of hiring professionals to replace 12’ of broadloom carpet in a room, you and your car keys can just pop off a stained carpet tile and replace with a new one. Although it is not in use as much for large open rooms, broadloom is GREAT for stairs and platforms where you want the carpet to waterfall over the edge and cover the side.
As you prepare to place an order, talk with your installer about ordering extra to have for repairs. This can also be called “attic stock.” It is often recommended that you add 10-15% to your carpet order to have replacement stock for repairs. It’s good to order this at the SAME TIME as placing your larger order so that you can
take advantage of better pricing with the greater quantity
have the carpet be a part of the same “run” or dye lot as the rest of the other carpet. Often if it is a part of a different run at the mill, it can have very slight shade differences.
have the replacement on hand in case the pattern is discontinued. You never know when a pattern will be discontinued. Once it’s gone, it is very expensive to get the company to reproduce that carpet — and often comes with high minimum orders.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR LOBBY CARPET
Here are just a few manufacturers of great lobby carpet options — but your dealer will have many more!
Best of luck with your lobby refresh!