Berber carpet styles became popular in America in the early 1980’s and has grown in popularity ever since!
Homeowners today have many choices and options with Berber styles, colors and quality levels.
Here are some important facts about all popular carpet styles to help you choose the best carpet style for your home.
Carpet Professor’s
Top 10 Best Carpet Styles
2023
1. PLUSH
The Plush style of carpet is usually one solid color and has a smooth, even pile height. During manufacturing, the tufts are sheared to make the pile perfectly level which can make foot prints and vacuum marks easy to see. Plush is still the most popular carpet style used in residential homes and apartments today.
You can find practically any color imaginable with this style. When made of nylon this Plush styles resist stains and clean easily. A quality Plush style carpet can last a lifetime if properly maintained.
Learn more About Carpet Fibers
2. TEXTURED PLUSH
The textured plush carpet style has varying tuft height, thus reducing footprint and vacuum marks. It comes in many colors and is about the same cost as an even pile height plush style.
Learn about Carpet Specifications
3. High / Low (Sculptured)
The sculptured carpet style has cut and looped tufts creating a sculptured manicured appearance. Generally this style has a higher cut-pile yard and a lower looped pile to enhance the sculptured design. It’s a very elegant look.
This style is usually made using two or more colors which helps it hide dirt. Is also shows less vacuum marks and footprints. The color usually varies in shade from light to dark and is very rich in appearance.
4. SHAG and FRIEZE (my favorite)
The Frieze style of carpet has very tightly twisted tufts and wears very well. The tufts are not straight up like a plush style, rather they are crooked, or wiggly in appearance.
I think Frieze makes any room look fantastic. It is often used in heavy traffic areas and provides reduced footprint and vacuum marks. Typically more expensive than plush styles, if made of nylon, Frieze would be a durable and elegant selection for any home with moderate to heavy foot traffic.
“Some people pronounce this style Freeze, but I was taught it was pronounced Friz-zay. However you pronounce it, Frieze is a wonderful style of carpet and a great choice for any home.”
Shag
Shag carpet styles have long wiggly tufts and a taller pile height than a Frieze, making this a fun and still popular carpet style since its debut in the late 60’s. It feels great to wiggle your toes deep into the soft shaggy carpet pile. Lots of wild and crazy colors to choose from makes this the perfect carpet style for your bedrooms!
Take my Free Carpet Foot-Traffic Test to see what grade of carpet you need to buy.
5. SAXONY
Saxony is a cut-pile carpet style with a dense erect tuft configuration, it has well-defined individual tuft tips. This means it is easy to see each tuft tip on the surface of the carpet, giving it a rougher and bolder appearance.
Similar to a textured plush style.
6. Cut and Loop
Cut and Loop carpet styles use a combination of cut and looped tufts to create a multitude of elegant and practical patterns and textures.
This second picture shows 9 different patterns to give you a small idea about how many different patterns and styles are available. A very elegant and durable carpet style.
7. BERBER (Looped)
The Berber style has become quite popular in recent years because of its elegant appearance. The tufts are looped and aligned in rows for a clean uniform look.
When choosing this carpet be sure to select one with smaller loops to get the best wear, like the one shown above. Large looped Berbers tend to collapse quickly and look worn-out sooner.
The Berber shown is a low quality carpet made of Olefin (polypropylene). You can tell this because the loops are large and look like they are leaning over.
Low quality Berbers are made of Olefin and typically have larger loops.
Higher quality looped Berbers are made of Nylon, have smaller loops and are much more durable.
I don’t recommend Looped Berber styles in apartments or homes with small children or pets because the loops can snag and run easily and is difficult and expensive to repair.
Looped Berber styles can easily snag and run causing damage.
Learn more about How to Choose Berber Carpet Wisely
8. CUT-PILE “California Berber”
This style of Berber is not a looped Berber like most of you have seen, in fact it is more like a Frieze. It does not have any loops because the loops have been cut which is why they call it a “Cut” Berber. It usually has a multicolored appearance or a speckled egg look.
Buying a Cut Berber made of Nylon is the best way to go if you want your carpet to last long time. Usually the main color is off white with earth tones. Some have flecks of colors like deep blues, bright reds and vibrant greens. A Cut-Pile style is an excellent choice for most homes and it hides footprints and vacuum marks well.
Learn more about Carpet Fibers
COMMERCIAL STYLES
9. Commercial Level Loop
Click to enlarge picture
Commercial carpets are generally used in offices and commercial applications where there is very heavy traffic.
There are two types I want to mention. Commercial Level loop has small loops and Commercial Cut Pile is a short napped plush type of carpet.
Both styles are usually made from Polypropylene also known as Olefin. Nylon is usually a more costly option.
Commercial carpets are designed to tolerate heavy traffic. Even when made from Olefin, looped styles tend to wear like iron. Why? because the loops are very small and tightly packed together. The low pile height and high density is what makes commercial grade carpet last such a long time and tolerate heavy foot-traffic.
On the other side of the coin, larger looped Berbers that are not very dense tend to mat down in a hurry and look worn-out much faster than those styles with smaller loops and higher pile density.
10. Commercial Cut-Pile
Click to enlarge picture
Here’s a picture of commercial grade “cut-pile” carpet.
Notice how the border carpet (in brown) is smooth compared to the level-loop styles shown next to it. You can also choose a “Cut & Loop Style” to get the best features of both styles.
Commercial grade carpets can be installed over padding or glued directly to the floor without a pad. Gluing in down without a pad will yield the best results if you are looking for a carpet that will last a long time and take a beating.
Carpet Professor’s Preferred Carpet Dealers
It’s getting harder everyday to find an honest and reputable carpet dealer! That’s why I have been putting together my own special hand-picked list. My recommended Carpet Stores are locally owned, give free estimates, offer fair prices, have knowledgeable staff, provide honest measuring and hire qualified installers. See who I recommend near you!
