# Need a little help with carpet color....



## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

I am in the final stages, for now , of my home theater build. All the surfaces are painted and the last thing I need to install are 6" wide stained oak boards on the walls... The boards are going to be installed similar to block paneling and I plan on inserting frames and wall treatments in the open spaces.. One board is installed as baseboard now. I am going to install a vertical piece about every 32 inches and will install another piece around the room, similar to crown molding... I will also have a board that will divide each " bay" at about 42" from the floor with sound panels below and then a panel with batting on the upper half..











I need to order carpet soon and I haven't the foggiest idea on what would be a good color 











HELP


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

Hi: I'm also doing home theater construction, and if you have no spousal issues, matte black is the way to go to reduce reflections back to the screen, which should help with contrast. If you can't or have other issues with this color, you could go with a dark gray or other dark color. You would also want the thickest padding underneath. Hope this was helpful and best of luck!


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

Due to my clever scheme the Wife does not have much say in the matter 

As you can see, by my ceiling color, I will will go to almost any length to have a great picture! A black carpet would certainly give me a better picture but I am afraid it is out of the question, also due to my "clever scheme"

A unforeseen consequence of my "clever scheme" is that I am now responsible for the cleaning of the theater and I'm afraid a black carpet would be brown by the time I got around to cleaning it  

Dark grey or brown might be a better choice.... Just can't decide....


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

I would go with black carpet...forget the schemes...:rofl:


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## moparz10 (Sep 21, 2010)

i think a charcoal grey would flow with the grey wall and black ceiling,would also compliment the red wall
but thats what i would go with.:dontknow:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

A grey and black patterned carpet would be very suitable..


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## Greenster (Mar 2, 2013)

Anything Dark Should work. It is amazing how much light gets reflected in a theater room.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, a grey carpet with black would be ideal for looks as well as practicality.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

moparz10 said:


> i think a charcoal grey would flow with the grey wall and black ceiling,would also compliment the red wall
> but thats what i would go with.:dontknow:


Sorry bad picture.. The front wall and ceiling is actually black ....


I am going to look at samples Monday, I like the idea of a gray and black patterned carpet  I made a deal with our local carpet company, trained them a website for flooring in my theater, so I need to see what carpet fits into our deal.

I understand about wanting a thick carpet pad but I am also worried about the furniture leaving "dents" in the carpet... I have seen that in homes with a really thick pad... What is the best thickness for a pad?


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## bamabum (Dec 7, 2012)

I second the pattern grey/black. It really hides the dirt. The pattern also breaks up the monotonous see of carpet between the front row and screen. 

I chose a similar scheme and I love it.










You can save a lot if you just have a local guy and install and order the carpet directly. I was quoted 20$/yd higher locally for the same shaw carpet I bought direct. I chose a very high end carpet and it was less than buying cheap carpet from a local guy.

Most of the major brands come from Dalton Ga and you can easily get samples from distributors there. I can send you a phone number if you PM me.

Here is the site where you can get a look at options. There are more color options when you select one. There are many more options online than in a showroom because the dealer has to pay large $ to carry all the different samples. For this reason you don't see as many pattern samples in the showroom. They just stick to basic colors and naps. I went with the Tuftex cascade pattern in Black/grey.

http://shawfloors.com/carpet/pattern/grays

I used a very thick padding but went with the higher end foam (still cheap buying direct) I really enjoy it and wouldn't choose anything else in the future. I have not encountered any memory dents to date. I see the memory dents more in another room where I used the typical padding.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

bamabum said:


> I second the pattern grey/black. It really hides the dirt. The pattern also breaks up the monotonous see of carpet between the front row and screen.
> 
> I chose a similar scheme and I love it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the Shaw links, I think I saw something that may be a contender 

As for buying direct... This is already a done deal, I traded them out a website for flooring in my theater. They have already installed the flooring in the restroom and front office area and were just waiting on me to come up with the color and type of carpet for the theater room... Now that I am pretty sure on the type of wall covering and installed the base I can let them know on the carpet and they will order it... 

This is taken from the office looking into the bathroom on the left and theater on the right. The floor is a vinyl plank floor that snaps together, uses no glue and has a commercial 10 year warranty. Looks good too


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Dark grey or black. My room (wall, ceiling and carpet) is all a midnight blue wife just calls it "the Blue room"


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

Been very busy so I have just gotten back to this problem...

I went to the Carpet Store and looked at samples... Seems all the carpets that have patterns are very thin commercial type of carpets.. They are installed with no pad and the ones I examined would be a poor choice for it's sound properties.. 

Does anyone know of a brand of carpet that has patterns and is designed to be installed with a pad?


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

I'm confused you seemed to say previously that you made a deal for a carpet install already...and i thought you said you were ordering your carpet direct....


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## bamabum (Dec 7, 2012)

The shaw brand has many non commercial that have padding. Check that link. Most carpet show rooms won't carry samples for the high end. I can send you a pm for a distributer that will send samples. 

The show rooms only expect pattern in commercial that is glued down.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

phillihp23 said:


> I'm confused you seemed to say previously that you made a deal for a carpet install already...and i thought you said you were ordering your carpet direct....


Sorry for the confusion... Yes I have already made a deal. In exchange for a website my flooring is being furnished and installed. They are supplying the carpet, I just have to tell them what kind


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

bamabum said:


> The shaw brand has many non commercial that have padding. Check that link. Most carpet show rooms won't carry samples for the high end. I can send you a pm for a distributer that will send samples.
> 
> The show rooms only expect pattern in commercial that is glued down.


I went to the link and spent a few hours clicking through all the different carpets... I did find a few that looked like they were much thicker, hard to tell from their small pictures.... One nice thing about Shaw is they will send you 4 free samples. I have picked out a few with different weights so I can get an idea of what the weight really means.. 

My dealer did say that he was going to a flooring show this weekend and all his suppliers would be there, He is going to ask for help as all his sample books have only glue down samples... 

I am ready for carpet! I unboxed my new projector this afternoon and it looks great :clap:


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

Found one I like! Link 

Shaw sent 3 of the 4 samples I ordered and this one was a very dark brown color with a nice pattern. The room shown in the above link is a little off, the sample on the top right is much closer.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

swatkins said:


> Found one I like! Link
> 
> Shaw sent 3 of the 4 samples I ordered and this one was a very dark brown color with a nice pattern. The room shown in the above link is a little off, the sample on the top right is much closer.


I like that one - excellent choice!


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

This is a surprise.... 

I will probably not be getting the carpet I want after all... 

It seems that Shaw Carpets is playing games with it's dealers.... Smaller Dealers get shut out of the game because of deals they make with larger Dealers.. 

My Dealer is a smaller dealer. She has not even seen the Shaw Carpet rep in over three years and when she calls him her questions get one word answers.. While Shaw is sending her competition, who can sell any carpet they make, out on fishing trips!

I can get that carpet IF I buy from one of the "Exclusive Dealers" BOTH of which have a terrible reputation. I would rather paint the floor than buy flooring from either one of them! 

Last I looked this was America, Shame on Shaw Flooring for killing competition!

Looks like the search goes on


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

After about a 2 week delay I have received word my carpet will be installed tomorrow afternoon! ( Now there will probably be an EPIC SNOW STORM that delays the install for months  ) 

I searched thousands of carpet samples looking for something that I liked as well as the Shaw carpet and I found nothing even close. My dealer pulled in a favor from another dealer and had them order the carpet I liked and his crews will install it. 

After all this trouble I hope it looks as good as I think it will


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Happy for you Swatkins. I can't believe what a mess the carpet industry is. It seems they have a backwords business model. A successful business model is, what do you want, we can do it. Instead the carpet industry is more like, this is what we do, good luck. Seriously how hard can it be to just sell someone the carpet they want!
I had some of the same issues you had but was not lucky enough to find a way in the back door. 

My end result was a 12x12 stitched carpet in the design I desired for a 14x16 room. NOT the way I wanted it to be but the way it is.
Maybe in the future when I have more time and patience I will try and get it the way I want it, wall to wall carpet.
the other issue I had was that I didn't want to staple it or glue it due to my nice hard floors and possible future use of the room in a sale. I have enough furniture, chairs and table in the back that it wouldn't be bunching up.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

Unfortunately its not only the carpet industry  The big box stores also play a part in mess we have today.. Do you know why they can offer the "best price" guarantee ? They have rigged the system so you can't buy the same items at others stores! Buy a Delta faucet at Home Depot then go to Lowe's. You can't find that exact faucet at Lowe's because all the Delta Faucets they sell are exclusive to Lowe's. Same with HD, all their Delta faucets are exclusive to HD! They also do the same with carpets and tile.. I have a contractors account at one of the major tile manufactures and they also sell exclusive patterns to both of the Box stores..they refuse to sell me any of the tiles that are sold to box stores.. 

Carpet was not installed today,, Rescheduled for tomorrow ...


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

After a long process I am extremely pleased with the outcome of my carpet search.. I know the rooms acoustics were really terrible without carpet but I still can not get over how much improvement adding that thick carpet made!


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## Mike0206 (Jul 14, 2013)

Very Nice! I like the pattern a lot.


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## Greenster (Mar 2, 2013)

I really like the carpet you chose. It really goes with a theater.


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## SolEaton (Feb 10, 2014)

Dark colors are good option for theater room. We have black ceiling tiles, with white walls and grey carpet in our theater room.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

If you look closely at the bottom picture you will see a white area on the left side of the wall. That is reflected light from the screen. With no carpet you could see that same reflected light on the floor.

With this carpet ALL reflection is gone. When I noticed this I examined the carpet closely and found that the fibers that make the pattern are just a tad higher than the darker brown color and that is making a "light trap". That light trap is eliminating the reflected light, as viewed from my seating area.. A HUGE plus that I had not counted on as my last theatre carpeting had reflected a small amount of light... 

The difference was so great that I now see reflected light off the top of the sub! Never even noticed that before  NOW I have to find some black velvet for the top of the sub and center....

Will the problems EVER end!


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## bamabum (Dec 7, 2012)

The carpet looks great! Much better than a plain color. The pattern will hide dirt and stains very nicely.

I see you vacuumed and left the great color marks from when the fiber is pointing a certain direction. Its time to start becoming anl retentive and vacuum all the fiber one direction.


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## swatkins (Nov 26, 2013)

bamabum said:


> I see you vacuumed and left the great color marks from when the fiber is pointing a certain direction. Its time to start becoming anl retentive and vacuum all the fiber one direction.


SEE !!!!! ANOTHER Problem! :yikes:


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Wow - it really looks awesome! Great to hear it produced noticeable light and audio changes too...


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## richardmorris (Aug 20, 2014)

We ave brown Wool Carpet in our living room.. It gives the nice look to any room and don't get dirty very soon.. Because of the dark color it won't look so dirty..


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