When it comes to selecting the ideal carpet for your school or commercial space, one area that often requires careful consideration is the stairs. Staircases are high-traffic areas that endure significant wear and tear, so choosing a carpet that combines durability, style, and safety is crucial. In this blog post, we will explore various factors to consider when selecting the best carpet for stairs.

Durability

Since stairs are frequently used, it’s essential to choose a carpet that can withstand heavy foot traffic and resist wear and tear. Consider opting for a carpet with fibre-bonded properties, as they have exceptional resilience and are easy to maintain. Our Fibre-bonded Supacord range has anti-ravel and fray properties, and has been trusted in schools for over 50 years. Browse our bestselling Supacord range: Supacord Collection Heckmondwike.

Safety

Safety should be the primary concern when selecting a carpet for stairs in commercial settings. To prevent slips, trips, and falls, prioritise carpets with excellent traction properties. Look for carpets that have a low pile height, preferably between ¼ to ½ inch, as they provide a stable surface for walking. You can also choose carpets with a textured or patterned surface as they can enhance grip and reduce the risk of slipping.

Easy Maintenance 

Stairs are prone to spills, dirt, and stains, making it essential to choose a carpet that is easy to clean and maintain. Consider a carpet colour or pattern that can effectively camouflage any potential stains or wear marks to minimise their visibility. All of our commercial carpets are easy to maintain, but we recommend a deep clean of your stairs every week to keep your carpets looking fresh. To learn more about how to clean your commercial carpet, read our blog: How to clean your commercial carpet.

Aesthetics 

While functionality and durability are essential, the appearance of your staircase carpet should be noticed by students and employees. Choose a colour, pattern, or texture that complements your overall branding and reflects your school or business. Neutral tones or darker shades tend to be more forgiving in terms of hiding dirt and stains but don’t hesitate to explore bolder options if they align with the rest of your look and feel.

All of our commercial carpets come in a multitude of colourways, making them ideal for matching logo or brand colours. Discover our full product range by visiting our homepage: Heckmondwike.

We hope that our blog has helped to give you food for thought on the key things to consider when choosing a commercial carpet. If you’d like to arrange a bespoke consultation with our sales team to discuss your next project, you can get in touch with us by clicking here: Heckmondwike – Contact Us.

Heckmondwike FB is one of the UK’s leading commercial carpet manufacturers with 50 years’ experience in the education sector. To learn more, or request a free carpet sample, please contact 01924 406 161 or email sales@heckmondwike-fb.co.uk.   

When analysing student performance, classroom design is not often considered an important contributory factor. However, attentively designed classrooms can improve students’ well-being, focus and communication skills.

In fact, a study by researchers at the University of Salford found that learning environments could impact pupils’ performance by 25%.

How classroom design can impact student learning 

Colour 

Different colours affect the way we see and process information. Filling a classroom with colours that promote learning, communication and confidence is a great way to boost student wellbeing and help children concentrate.

Bright colours such as red and yellow can inspire energy and creativity, but can be easily overstimulating for children who have attention issues or are neurodivergent.

Therefore, a great strategy is to use bright colours to direct attention to specific areas of interest in the classroom. Then, you can pair them with more calming, muted colours like dark blues and greens to create a learning environment that is both relaxing and inspiring.

All of our fibre bonded carpets come in an impressive range of colours. The education industry’s long standing favourite Supacord range comes in 42 colours from bright Emerald to earthy Pebble.

Understanding how patterns and textures can work to provide different effects is a key part of sensory development for young children. Smooth, shiny textures can be interesting, but for flooring, a softer surface will be more comfortable.

Patterns can provide pockets of inspiration, especially in hallways and transition spaces. Different types or colours of carpet can be used to make creative patterns that can also function as break out areas or queuing prompts. Our Array and Broadrib ranges can be combined to do just that, like in this corridor space from St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School:

Acoustics 

The noise level in a classroom can significantly impact how well children can learn.

A study from the Centre for Educational Neuroscience found that children under 8 years old with low selective attention skills struggled to concentrate in a classroom environment with loud levels of background noise.

Furthermore, high levels of classroom noise can be frustrating as well as distracting for both students and teachers, and lead to less engagement and proactive teamwork.

Flooring is a cost-effective way to make a space as quiet as possible. Fibre-bonded carpet can absorb airborne noise by up to 30%, improving classroom acoustics.

Our bestselling Supacord range reduces background noise by up to 22dB with specially designed acoustic backing.

This noise reduction can improve children’s ability to focus on their work, and allow them to feel relaxed and nurtured in their learning environment.

Comfort 

Children in England spend on average 635 hours in the classroom every year. Therefore, classrooms must be comfortable inviting spaces that children are excited to be in.

Our fibre-bonded carpets provide a layer of cushioning that forms a comfortable surface for children sitting on the floor. Its anti-ravel and anti-fray technologies prevent slips and falls and make it a hard wearing and cost-effective flooring option.

Many different choices go into creating the perfect classroom design. Flooring is key to maximise possibilities in a space, as it is a cost-effective way to insert colour into a room whilst making the classroom more noise-absorbant and comfortable.

Heckmondwike FB is one of the UK’s leading commercial carpet manufacturers with over 40 years of experience in the education sector. To learn more, or request a free carpet sample, please contact 01924 406 161 or email sales@heckmondwike-fb.co.uk.