Choosing the Best Carpet for Your Home Office

Thanks to today’s technology, home offices are more common than ever. Even for those who don’t work from home, it has become popular to have an area in the home dedicated to the computer and a separate workspace.

Often, the style of carpet installed in other areas of the home is not always suitable for the home office. So what is the best type of carpet for the home office?

Low Pile

A carpet with a low profile is ideal for office environments. A short pile provides easier movement for an office chair on wheels and better accommodation for heavy office furniture and equipment.

Looped berber styles can be ideal for home offices, as they are generally lower profile than residential cut-pile carpets. If you are considering a berber, I would consider a level loop (where all the loops are the same size) as opposed to a style with varying loop heights, which can increase the potential for snagging.

If you prefer something with a more cozy, residential look, you may want to consider a cut and loop. Most cut and loop styles feature short cut fibers paired with small, tight loops. Often, the placement of the loops forms a pattern in the carpet.

Consider Commercial

Commercial carpets are designed specifically for use in office environments. While they are obviously geared towards offices that will receive high volumes of traffic, they can still be great choices for home offices, as they have many features that contribute to high performance.

Commercial carpets are typically either very short cut-pile carpets or low-profile level loop styles. Either style would work for a home office. Most people feel that the cut-pile commercial carpets look more residential and less ‘industrial’ than level loop styles, and so they can be a good fit for a home office. Typically, though, the cut-pile commercial carpets are a bit more expensive than the looped styles.

Anti-Zippering

Many looped commercial carpets feature protection against “zippering” – when a pull in one loop causes subsequent loops in the same row to also pull loose. Zippering occurs because the carpet was essentially stitched in a straight line, so when one loop is pulled, it pulls the next loop in line. To prevent zippering, many commercial carpets are, in effect, stitched in a zig-zag pattern, so that there is no neighboring loop along the same line.

Obviously, home offices are not subjected to the high amounts of traffic that commercial spaces are, so there is less need for zippering protection in the carpet. However, it is never a bad feature to have, so you may want to consider it if you are choosing a commercial carpet for your home office.

Anti-Static

Unless you run highly sophisticated and complex technology and machinery in your home office, you likely do not require a carpet with enhanced anti-static properties. The anti-static treatment found in most carpets should suffice. Heavy-grade commercial carpets, designed for institutional settings such as healthcare and laboratories, offer increased static protection.

If you find that you frequently experience problems with static, try increasing the humidity level in your home, which should help reduce the build-up of static electricity.

Final Tips

No matter what style of carpet you choose for your home office, be sure to place a protective mat under your chair, to prevent damage from the chair rolling across the surface of the carpet (which can lead to excessive wear and potential snags). Also, consider choosing a color that complements the décor of the rest of your home, for continuity.