When it comes to decorating your beach house, you’ll have to think about your flooring. People will track in sand, drip water, and spill drinks or ice creams. Pets might roll in something unmentionable on the beach and decide to roll on your floors.
At first glance, it might appear that a carpet-free choice is the way to go, but what if you like the comfort and luxurious feel of a carpet? Luckily, there are carpets which will suit a beach house. You can choose between natural or synthetic fibers that will keep a coastal theme in your décor and are easy to clean.
The best carpet for a beach house will be durable and easy to clean, like nylon. Hard-wearing natural fibers, like jute or seagrass, are good options for a coastal house. Polypropylene is a synthetic fiber that mimics natural fiber and is an economical choice.
Now let’s dive in and look at some great options for your beach house carpet needs, but first, what to consider.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Carpet for Your Beach House
A beach house carpet will need to be stain-resistant and able to withstand fading from the sun. You’ll want a carpet material that is easy to clean and hides any hard-to-remove stains or marks. Depending on your budget, you’ll need to decide between more expensive natural material carpeting options and cheaper synthetic alternatives.
One of the things to consider is the shade of your carpet. Natural, sandy colors will be good choices to go with most coastal décor, but darker browns may be more effective for hiding spills or dirt.
The way a room is going to be used will also steer your decision. A mixed-use room that has a lot of people walking through it will need a more durable carpet. You will probably want a hard-wearing and cheaper option for living room carpets, while beach house bedrooms could use a softer, more comfortable carpet. The latter might be harder to keep clean, but it won’t matter as much.
If you’re scouting for a new beach house carpet, I have some suggestions.
What Type Of Carpet Is Best For A Beach House
When updating your beach house décor, you’ll want to consider:
- The style you’re going for
- Your color scheme
- How much you’re willing to spend
- Natural or synthetic fiber
- How much time do you want to dedicate to cleaning
- The kind of use the room will get
You know your own family best. If you have a beach house filled with dogs and kids, you’ll have very different carpeting needs for the couple who spend most of their time reading and sunbathing. Whoever you are, and whatever your lifestyle, you’ll have one thing in common: you want to spend as little of your vacation time possible on cleaning carpets.
What Color Carpet Is Best For A Beach House
Beach house décor tends towards the light, natural look, in keeping with the environment. When choosing a carpet for a beach house, most people try to keep this theme. Many of the natural carpeting options come in light, sandy colors. Materials like jute, sisal, and seagrass are common choices in coastal décor, and they usually suit the style.
Don’t let yourself be contained to only using these earthy colors. You can use your carpet as a statement piece and opt for sea-themed colors like blues and greens, even bright shades like oranges and corals. Brighter colors show dirt more simply because people are more likely to look at them, so consider this when choosing shades.
Beach House Color Rugs and Patterns
Loose, patterned rugs are a great way to cover areas of carpet that see a lot of foot traffic. If you choose a patterned cotton rug to protect a high-traffic area in your living room, you can easily throw that rug in the wash when it gets too dirty. The pattern will also help hide dirt and stains.
In general, neutral colors like taupe, sand, earthy browns, and greens will hide more dirt. Avoid very dark colors as they will show up light dirt like sand or pale dog fur.
What Is The Easiest Beach House Carpet To Clean
When it comes to maintaining and keeping your carpet clean, you’ll find that some materials are better choices. Synthetic fibers like nylon are usually the most hard-wearing and the easiest to clean. Regardless of material, experts recommended that all carpets get an annual deep clean. Due to the nature of the fibers, nylon carpets look great after a steam clean and last longer than polypropylene or polyester carpets.
If people are going to be using sunscreens and oils, it’s probably best to avoid polyester carpets. While they’re great at repelling water, it’s harder to clean oil-based stains from a polyester carpet.
If you prefer natural fiber carpets, be aware that while wool may be easier to clean than jute or seagrass, it is not stain-resistant. Pets like dogs and cats may be attracted to the scent of natural fibers and scratch or mark them.
They hide dirt quite well and are easily vacuumed, but be aware that stains may be harder to remove, especially in sisal. Spills should be quickly blotted and dried. Cornstarch is very useful for blotting up spills in natural fibers.
The light, earthy colors of sisal, jute, and seagrass are great for hiding dirt, and regular vacuuming helps keep your natural carpets in the best condition.
Due to the nature of these materials, the dirt and sand will rest on top of the jute carpet weave, making them very easy carpets to vacuum. However, spills and stains on natural fiber rugs are harder to clean, and water may leave marks.
What Is the Most Durable Kind Of Carpet
For synthetic carpets that look like traditional wool carpets, my choice would be nylon. Nylon is long-lasting, plush, easy to clean, and very durable, and comes in lovely natural shades like golden and brushed ivory that will complement your beach house look.
If you prefer the look of jute or seagrass, polypropylene carpets mimic the look of coarse, natural woven material. They are economical, hard-wearing, and easy to clean. Polypropylene carpets come in shades from pale golds to light grays and darker slates. Polypropylene is a resilient choice that makes them great for carpeting indoor areas or outdoor rugs.
Natural carpets are an attractive choice in coastal décor, and they are fairly durable. Nothing quite beats the feeling of walking barefoot across a seagrass rug.
Sisal is very durable and coarse. While it’s a harder material than jute and perhaps less comfortable, I’d choose sisal over jute for high-traffic areas. Save the soft comfort of jute for small areas that get less footfall.
Seagrass is a great option as it is softer in feel than sisal but tends to be more hard-wearing. Seagrass is a water-resistant fiber that’s also environmentally friendly and inexpensive. These factors make seagrass one of the top choices for natural fiber carpets and rugs in a beach house.
Conclusion
Your choice in coastal decor carpets is wider than you might have realized. Depending on your beach house style, you can choose from natural fibers or synthetic, and traditional pile or woven materials. Knowing your family’s needs and behavior will go a long way in helping you choose the right type of carpet for your beach house.
Pets and kids tend to be messier, so go for an easy-to-clean carpet like a nylon or a polypropylene natural-look carpet. Patterns will hide spills and stains, and natural shades will look cleaner for longer.
My rule of thumb will be to use cheaper, more durable materials like nylon, polypropylene, or seagrass for high-traffic areas like living rooms and front halls. Save the more expensive, softer carpets like wool or jute for medium to low foot traffic areas.
References
- https://www.flooringamerica.com/flooring/carpet/guide
- https://www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/natural-fiber-rug-guide/
- https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/types-of-carpet/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90fd2f5a2b
