Introducing carpet to her home wasn't an obvious choice for Clara Jeon. Faced with 2,500sqft of space to cover in her Chung Hom Kok apartment ('the dark expanse of highly lacquered teak parquet was overwhelming'), the graphic designer says: 'Even though I like the naturalness of wood, the parquet was loud and looked stark naked. I realised I needed to temper it.' Carpet - until recently equated with the likes of grandma's house, waiting rooms and other zones of questionable taste, and practically a dirty word in a design world gone minimalist - is making a comeback. 'Carpet is much more flexible in terms of colour choices and textures than wood or stone flooring,' says Johnny Li, an architect and designer at Nail Assemblage. 'Carpet has better acoustic properties than most flooring materials,' says Li, who works with a variety of materials. 'We even use it on walls and ceilings for that reason.' Li also likes carpet for its versatility, ease of installation and affordability. Carpet can be installed wall to wall for a streamlined effect or cut to size to break up large spaces or to fit odd-sized rooms. It's made in two ways: tufted or woven. Tufted carpets will last about seven years and are made from yarn punched together by a machine and held in place with an adhesive backing. Woven carpets, constructed on a loom, are much more expensive, but will last about four times as long. Both tufted and woven carpets are available in a variety of styles, including sisal-like, Wilton, Saxony, velvet, shag, Berber and plush. Sisal-like carpets resemble the real thing, but they're softer and more stain-resistant. Wilton is the top of the line in woven carpets and comes in a variety of colours. Velvet carpets are soft, uniform and dense, but their matt finish may show tracks and indentations. Plush carpets are also soft and smooth and feel great underfoot, but indentations are hard to brush out. Saxony carpets are soft yet they conceal marks, which makes them suitable for family rooms. Berber carpets, which are extremely durable, are ideal for high-traffic areas. Shag carpets have long strands that don't stand up straight and come in a wide range of colours. The style can look contemporary, despite its mid-20th-century origins. These styles can be created using natural, synthetic or blended fibres. Natural fibres such as wool are strong and tactile; silk is soft and luxurious, but not especially durable; linen is great for a humid environment such as Hong Kong's, but doesn't age well; grasses - particularly sisal and jute - are strong, but prone to fade if exposed to direct sunlight. Polyester mimics wool, but is much more affordable. Nylon is stain-resistant and so a good choice for rooms used by children. Carpet can be dyed almost any colour and the stylistic variations and availability of custom-made carpets in Hong Kong make it versatile - so, Li says, the way the room will be used should guide the selection of a fibre. 'Synthetics are good for high-traffic areas,' he says. 'But a silk and wool blend has a sensual feeling.' If it's a statement in a room, use a contrasting colour scheme such as a red carpet in a white room, Li says. 'For achieving a tranquil setting in the same white room, you may opt for a tone- on-tone scheme. And you can always change carpets to change the look.' Jeon settled on a selection of carpets to suit the different moods of her rooms. 'I picked a large sisal carpet that feels outdoorsy for the living room, which overlooks the sea,' she says.'And a wool-silk plush blend for the bedroom, so I feel something soft first thing in the morning.' Jeon says her carpeted home looks decidedly hip.