What qualities should carpet meet in homes with children and pets?

If you are a large family or have a pet, the concept of your interior style should suit everyone. Don't forget the most vulnerable groups - these are children, other immunocompromised members and pets. How to improve their movement, play or just a short relaxation? We've hidden a few clues in choosing the right carpet.

Children and animals - do you need to give up carpets immediately?

Wrong, but more and more households are putting it into practice anyway. They believe the rumours that with small children, dog and cat paws, the durability and resilience of the carpet is significantly compromised. It's true that under such circumstances, carpets are more susceptible to dirt, stains and hair, but our homes need this wonderful home furnishing textile.

Not a step without carpets

By this we have implied that no matter how many of you there are in one home, carpets should be functionally spaced from the entryway to the last room. No restrictions, because it's the carpets that absorb dust, help to keep you warm and comfortable, act as soundproofing and, what's more, make the space between the four walls cosy.

For children and pets, we recommend choosing handmade, easy-care carpets. The models from the Lorena Canals collection meet these requirements and enrich them with additional functional features. They are characterised by the fact that they draw exclusively on natural sources - they are made up of 100% cotton and only natural dyes are used to decorate them.

Contact with skin (and fur in animals), face or mouth mitigates the risk of irritation. This is very crucial - children love to walk on their knees, animals carry everything in their mouths and they get to know new things by touching and licking first.

Caution, it is not right to exclude carpets from the home just because of the specific hair slippage from animals. Although fur has a negative effect on our health, you can also pay for it in other ways - by choosing a carpet made of very fine and also so-called dead fibres. Over time, these fall out and swirl around in the environment. They irritate the mucous membranes of children and allergy sufferers alike.

The designers react to the specificity of the hair and the different instincts as follows

• They prefer low-pile carpets. This does not trap hair and other dirt as intensely, but these are then easier to wash off and suck into vacuum cleaners. Such carpets further carry the qualities of eco-friendly machine washable carpets. The long, dense pile traps them in and is a haven for viruses and bacteria.
• Even with the highest functional qualities, we cannot prevent the inhalation of agitated dirt from carpets - that's why safety and health measures in the production processes are becoming increasingly stringent. This results in anti-allergenic carpets for newborn, baby and even animal care.
• In practice, simple models without heavy decoration (distracting or very amusing for the pet), in darker shades and with straight edges - without fringes and other ornaments - have proved their worth in such homes.

Not only other instincts, but also body structure, gait and loads for the rug
A great help when choosing a rug is sorting them by cut and loop arrangement. Designers highlight the qualities of frissé cutting. It is a curly effect and a very durable action. As a long term "hiding place" for dirt we don't recommend it, but for minimizing marks it is perfect.

Loads of "walking on all fours" are not handled very well by pure loop design carpets. If they are the same size and width loops, they can easily cause snags (feet, paws), disfigure the carpet, but especially the risk of falling. The recommended model is a combination of cut hair and durable loops. They also have great shape memory. The use of such carpets is gradually becoming standard!