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When carpeting the whole house from top to bottom what do you need to know?

There are various types of carpets that you would use and in different areas of the house. Consumers usually want the best budget when it comes to carpeting and want value for their money. They go for the lower costing carpets for the bedroom as there is less traffic but invest a bit more in the quality fo the carpet for the stairs and living areas where there is more traffic.

In the bedroom you might see want a carpet which is less costly as there is less wear and tear. Yes, the carpet has to be of good quality such as 80% wool is usually recommended. But if you want to keep the cost down, you can opt for a normal carpet. When it comes to the stairs and living room I would recommend a good quality carpet. The carpet could be the best quality which you can stretch to 80% wool and 20% any other fibre such as polypropylene or nylon which strengthens the wool.

The 80% wool gives a unique feel which may not be derived from another carpet. 100% polypropylene and part nylon carpets are also available; they are cost effective and hard wearing. They give stain protection and can be cleaned using bleach which cannot be done on wool.

In the living room, there is more traffic. It is important to have a good quality carpet that can be stretched to at least 50 ounce. It is also essential to look at each room and say what you require in terms of traffic and comfort, and then you should decide the ratio on wool.

You might even want to coordinate the same colour throughout the house. This can be achieved in a very economical way by laying a good quality carpets in the living room and stairs whereas a less expensive carpet in the bedroom. This will help keep the costs down with getting the same quality carpet across all the rooms with your choice of colour and weight. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

Could you tell us a bit about the types of carpets, its weave, mixture of wool and anything else?

The lower cost carpets would not be made of wool but polypropylene. They are hard wearing carpets that have a particular backing. It could have a felt backing, which can be laid down straight onto the floor without any under lay, reducing the cosr of the carpet and materials. Fitting these carpets tend to be hard as they are made of artificial materials like polypropylene that have properties such as being stain-free or the ability to bleach clean them. This can be particularly helpful if the carpet is used for wear and tear and hence you do pay a price for that but in exchange you lose the feel of luxury in carpets.

These carpets tend to be hard pressed. You don’t need any underlay which makes them feel hard on the foot. You do not derive the same luxury that you do with a carpet with maybe jute packing, which is definitely better quality. Hence moving up into those types of carpets, they are made of 80% wool and 20% polypropylene or nylon for the better quality carpets.

They would have a backing that would often be made from some action backing which is like a plastic backing. It is like crosshatching on the back of the carpet, whereas jute is a natural material derived from a type of grass. The best form of backing is hashing backing, which is like old sackcloth.

But with all these forms of carpets it is important to have an underlay backing. It is generally expensive way to get a better quality. It is important to have a under laid as it gives the carpets a real bounce that is felt under new carpets and better quality carpets. With the underlay the carpet will have a long life time value and a better wear and tear.

The better quality carpets such as Axminster carpets, come in shape carpets which as used in the bedroom and are the real luxurious carpets. It is important to be careful when you these forms of carpets because they usually get easily stained and flattened.

Axminster carpets have a lot of intricate patterns because of the type of weave they have used and they are of great quality and are luxurious along with being suitable for every area of the house. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

Could you give a few guidelines on how to look after your carpet?

The key thing to look after your carpet is daily care. Ideally you need to be vacuuming the carpets daily, but that may not be practical. Most people would be vacuuming two to three times a week and that is absolutely fine. But if the carpet gets stains or spills on it, it is essential to clean it off promptly. Use a soft cloth on the carpet in a circular motion working from outside of the stain into the centre and it is important to blot and not rub. For tough stains, you could use mild detergent which you use to wash your clothes.

Some carpets may be cleaned with bleach. These are usuall synthetic carpets made with polypropylene. Bleach can be used to remove bad stains, but it is important to be careful and ask the retailer before you do anything to ensure the carpet remains in mint condition. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

Could you let us know something about the basic difference between pattern and plain carpets?

Most carpets are usually plain carpets as they are in high demand and are cost effective. If the customer wants patterned, they have two choices. On the lower cost the carpets would be made from artificial materials like polypropylene. The patterns in this would be printed as opposed to being woven.

The Axminster carpets are a type of carpet which is woven and the carpets come with intricate patterns. The carpet would have a base colour and different colours to weave the pattern with. In this case the pattern and colour would not wear off whereas on the printed carpets, fading would occur a lot more quickly. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

What would you recommend when a consumer is purchasing a coffee table?

It depends on the customers’ tastes and what they are looking for. In my experience, a modern glass topped coffee table has not been very popular over the last few years. That is more towards the modern kind of apartments or modern homes.

Treacy’s Carpets and Furniture is located in a rural area where people prefer traditional furniture, sort of wooden, solid oak coffee table is very popular with every generation. A lot of people like glass coffee tables, but in my experience the solid wooden coffee table is more popular.

There are lot variants in coffee tables as well. Just because something is wooden and traditional does not mean that it is not contemporary. The traditional oak coffee table is still present in many modern homes as it is in traditional houses. A combination of all the pieces is what gives a room character and it reflects the owners taste and style.

Settees in a living room are important furniture that brings character to a room. People need to have sitting space in the living room and they have a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a furniture piece to be seated. They have a choice if they want to choose between leather and fabric or they want a recliner.

The consumer will purchase the furniture based on various factors such as personal tastes, choice of fabric, something patterned to name a few. Leather has always been a practical choice of purchase. For instance, if you have young kids are home, it is inevitable that they may drop yogurt or something else on the furniture while playing around.

If it is fabric, you may have difficulty cleaning it, but if it is leather, it will be easily wiped off. You don’t need to spend huge amounts of money on leather suites as they can cost a lot of money due to the high-end quality. The choice most of the times depends on the colour and the most popular colours for leather are black, brown, burgundy and ivory.

The specialized leather colours are more expensive and luxurious; they are green, blue, red and tan. The leather furniture is much easier to maintain and clean whereas if yogurt is spilt on a fabric it seeps into the fibre which makes it difficult to clean and a lot of money is spend to get it cleaned, hence people prefer leather fabric.

But the preferences keep changing. One week leather would be the most popular fabric and the next week the buyer would choose another form of fabric which is popular. Customers often commenting that a couple of years ago this was popular but not anymore, and my response is always that one fabric is popular this week but something else may just be in the limelight next week. At the end of the day it is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

Treacy’s Carpets and Furniture Ireland’s leading retailer of home and office furniture, carpets, floorings, sofas, tables, mattresses, beds at the lowest price, located in Bennettsbridge, Kilkenny and we are here with the manager, Francis Denny.

Where did this all begin?

Treacy’s Carpets and Furniture started in Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny, a quarter of a century ago. Michael Treacy, from the Bennetsbridge hurling family started the business from his garage. He started working with samples of carpets and was well known in the business at the time. He had a lot of contacts and was able to build a name for himself selling carpets. As the business started growing, he expanded into furniture.

It was his own land and he built the premises on his own land and initially imported the furniture. The containers of furniture were imported from Holland. Lots of people in the early 80s would bring in containers of furniture from Holland as it was popular and economical.

Michael had a lot of contacts in that area, so he used to buy the containers of furniture but he didn’t have this premises at that time. He hired the local hall for a weekend to contain the furniture. He publicized that the furniture was displayed there and by Sunday evening all the furniture was sold and the last few pieces were moved up and the business started in that way.

How did you grow to where you are today?

Michael was really a very good judge of furniture and design. He was very familiar with the furniture business and used his judgement to buy the products he liked. His choice was what most people would like. He started bringing in more premium brands like Rossmore and Strawbridge Furniture. Initially Rossmore furniture would have come in expecting to find a small business which they wouldn’t be interested in. But when they came it and saw the place they figured that Michael knew his stuff.

So they took him seriously as he had a good taste and understanding of furniture. Michael knew what the public wanted which he based on his knowledge and taste.

How have you seen it change over the years?

I have been a part of the company for only 3 years. Michael asked me to be a part of the business because he needed to hand on the business. We tried to manage and keep the same type of furniture and deals with the suppliers that Michael did. We tried to bring in new suppliers from time to time. I suppose the biggest change that might have occurred over the last couple of years was the introduction of timber flooring. Hence it gained popularity and made big sales.

What size is a king sized bed and a queen sized bed?

There are a number of different sizes when it comes to beds. A single bed is three foot whereas a double bed is four foot six inches wide. A queen size bed is five foot wide and six foot three long and a king size bed is six foot wide and six foot six inches long. It is not always advisable to use a queen size or king size bed as it is not for everyone, especially kids. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

What advice do you give customers who come in looking for a budget sofa?

When it comes to budget they are keeping the costs as low as possible. Due to the budget being low, the options will be limited as the sofas would be available in one or two colours. When purchasing the consumer should be careful in terms of a leather budget as the leather could be made from PVC and could be vintage. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

While buying beds and duvets, consumers usually have the question in regards to the size of the bed linen that goes with it?

Two important parts of your bed is the fitted sheets and the duvet. A single bed is three foot a small double four feet, a standard double is 4’6” and a king size bed is usually five foot. The super king size bed is six foot and requires a larger duvet size. I would always recommend a king size duvet to accompany with your 4’6” bed. The duvet should be a bit bigger than the bed to provide ample space and comfort. It is important to remember that you get what you pay for.