Natural sunlight from a window will create a different effect than the overhead light of a chandelier, or the indirect light of a lamp. Viewing your sample at different times of the day in the room it will be used will help you decide if you've selected a color that looks nice regardless of the light source. While light color carpeting shows soil more readily than dark, dark shades are prone to show lint. The function of the area that you are carpeting and your family's lifestyle will help you determine how to balance these two situations. Neutral tones that mimic such natural elements of wood, stone, marble, or slate are best able to disguise both soil and lint.
Colors take their cue from nature.
Red and yellow carpeting, reflecting the glow of sunshine, can have a warming effect in a room. Blue and green tones, paralleling the chill of early morning, have a cooling effect. Beige colors are made of amounts of red, yellow, and blue mixed together. The dominant of these three colors creates the beige's undertone, which should be consistent and complementary with other colors and other beiges in the room's decorating elements.