If we were being genuinely honest we would have to say that probably the most comfortable interior environment ever invented is the middle-class suburban home. In other words, comfort, physical comfort, is wall-to-wall carpeting, lots of sofas and chairs, and everything very clean.
– Fran Lebowitz
When I saw this quote the other day, I laughed and thought, ‘That is probably true’. Since moving into this house with seamless wood flooring throughout, I have become well acquainted with my vacuum cleaner. In fact, so far, I’ve had it out every 3 days looking for dust balls (I’m worried that I’ve become obsessive compulsive)!
My last place had wall-to-wall carpeting everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms, the only time the vacuum cleaner came out was when my housekeeper came by every 2 weeks.
Also indoor footwear is a must! Socks don’t cut it anymore! Flip flops in the summer and some (not grandma) slippers for the winter like the pair my sister has at her house (below).
The only problem with carpet is that of course it’s so brutal to inherit someone else’s choices, not to mention, odours that come along with it.
And it’s bossy. There is no such thing as a ‘neutral colour‘ carpet. Any supposed ‘neutral’ that you choose will have an undertone that will dictate your decor. The only place you can ignore wall-to-wall carpeting is in small bedrooms where the bed and what’s on it, takes over and becomes the focal point.
And speaking of comfort, don’t even get me started on recliners.
So my lovelies, over to you, what do you think?
Related posts:
2 Ways to Decorate around Carpet you Hate
4 Steps to Removing Stains from your Carpet
Download my eBook, How to Choose Paint Colours: It’s All in the Undertones, to get the undertone of your carpet right.Â
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me.
To make sure the undertones in your home are right, get some large samples!
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They were hard to find but we have chairs that recline with matching ottomans. The reclining mechanisms are on the side that no sees so they really do not seem/look like recliners. It is the best solution to a hubby that loves his recliner.
Carpet is definitely the most comfortable in cold climates, especially wool carpet. However, there’s nothing like walking on tile or even wood in a tropical climate. It’s like air conditioning for your feet. In this environment carpet tends toward musty, mildew. I guess that’s why the suburban home always seems to have ac.
I still prefer hardwood despite its upkeep (and I still wax and buff mine); just because one can’t see the dirt doesn’t mean it’s not there. People who come to my house never even guess I have a long haired cat…try that with carpet.
CTD
As my lifestyle has changed; from military , to wife, mom and granny…..The carpet thing is no longer popular in my household. I guess it does serve its purpose….but; with high traffic areas, swimming pool, pets and grandchildren…..I’ve downsized to tile and wood floors…..Nowadays, there are a lot of choice for flooring for all homes of different lifestyles….options are bountiful……
I strongly disagree. Carpet is nice when it is new and clean, which, for people with young children or dogs, means it is disgusting before you have time to say, “Not on the carpet!” Seriously, I love hardwood. Yes, it gets dusty, but I’d rather see the dust doggies and sweep them up than not see them and have them embedded in carpeting. Nothing stains hardwood – wipe it up and puddles of all sorts are gone. Carpet? Gross.
I do agree about slippers in winter, why do you need flip-flops in summer?
they both have their place, totally personal…but that said, moving into someone else’s wall to wall is nasty…
in our home in Montreal we did not have the time before we moved in to have the floors done so we ended up with wall to wall, it did the trick for a few years until we had the time and money to stay in a hotel for a few days while the floors were redone.
How carpet on the stairs is a must, if you have ever slipped down a long flight of wood stairs you will have wall to wall put on your stairs before you move in…been there, done that… with a 6 week old baby in my arms…
now are we going to talk about recliners? no we are not… says the designer working for Lazboy lol…
Imagine the dust you don’t see on the carpet? I just ripped mine up in the master bedroom. Love, love, love it! Hardwood with a nice area rug is the way to go!
I meant, love, love my new hardwood!
HATE recliners….but unfortunately ALL men love the ugly things. I finally convince hubby to get rid of big ugly leather ones and he now has a small suede red one…
After helping pull up a friends carpet, I realized what always looked beautiful and clean was harboring all sorts of nastiness. I am currently looking to replace mine with hardwood using a wool rug only in the winter.
Diane
can anyone say allergies?
Ok, here goes:
It has to be said,
If you need to recline,
GO TO BED.
Hee hee hope you enjoy my little poem for recliners
: -)
Carpeting is comfy but to me, not always the best choice. I’m just in my home here in Charlotte for 5 years and although the location is great – it’s not the style home that suits me. However, when I lived in my 1926 Pittsburgh home – THAT home had character and REAL wood floors.
I had the hardwood floors sanded and stained then had area rugs for comfort and it was great. So easy to keep clean to – just a daily swipe with a Swiffer and the room was clean. I had carpeting in that house when my kids were babies because it was a better choice for THEM.
My home here in Charlotte was built with tile and engineered wood which I hate next to laminate. I installed cork flooring in my bar/parlor area and that would be my flooring of choice. It’s soft and really cool looking – and comes in dozens of colors and styles. The best thing about cork is that it’s soft, unique and really easy to keep clean. I know what you mean by wearing flip flops or slippers. That is a must with tile or hard flooring otherwise your feet will always be cold and your legs will be sore.
So, to answer your question, a big NO to carpet. No because to me it’s an odor and dirt magnet, boring because you have to keep it beige to match wall color and just old fashioned, visually a bust. My choice, cork, bamboo or large plank, hand scraped REAL wood flooring with area rugs.
and ps to the recliners – please don’t do it Maria! It’s so Grandma and Grandpa which is good for them but not for your gorgeous home đ
We have w to w in our small tv room mainly due to living in Chicago (unseated crawl space below) and while I like it, I don’t love it. But I do love my shopvac & Bissel vacuum cleaners! We rec’d great advice when installing stair carpeting in our weekend home. The salesman asked what color dirt/dust would we have. The stairs lead from our patio to the main rooms so they get ALOT of use. It’s not Architectual Digest but the light brown speckled carpet hides everything the kids/dogs/cats bring in. And I have house shoes that have good support, slippers too.
Nay! As someone else said, just because one can’t see the dirt doesn’t mean it’s not there. With us working outdoors, kids, pets, and windows open much of the time, dirt gets in. Wood, I see what needs cleaning and whisk it away. The carpeted areas…dirt hides until vacuuming. Steam cleaning several times a year reveals still more embedded filth. Nasty. I can’t get comfortable with that!! Solid surface flooring all the way is my goal.
What a timely post for me! We are closing on a home with a mixture of hardwood and carpet. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to put hardwoods down everywhere, but we do want to replace all the old carpet upstairs in the children’s areas. I keep going back and forth on the stairs.
Any advice on the best undertones for our carpet selection? We prefer a tightly looped wool, but I go back and forth with playing it safe or living it up a bit on the pattern and color.
Do you think carpet is making a comeback?
I think carpet will always be around because it’s generally cheaper than hardwood but I would not say it’s ‘making a comeback’. I would choose the undertone to coordinate with the colours you are painting your walls. So choose the colours first. Maria
Thank you! There will be several different wall colors for the kids rooms so this will be interesting. I will call you should I get stuck! LOL
HI Amy,
I should clarify that your carpeting should coordinate with the main neutral in your house. Maria
Yes. Carpeting is great on the feat and doesn’t show the dust balls. But…I hate the stains, the wear, the allergens, and on and on. Hardwood with rugs that can easily be changed out are the way to go. What’s worse than inheriting carpeting? Being the one to physically remove it. I’ve done it. It’s gross. There. That’s how I feel. đ
Wall to wall carpet just seems dirty to me – yes, it’s gorgeous at first until someone spills a glass of red wine on it, or walks through it with dirty shoes, or the dog runs his butt across it. Give me hardwood and area rugs any time!!
I had hardwoods covered with carpet in my last house (except for the kitchen which was also hardwood). This time I have wood floors with a few area rugs, and I really love them, although we do have carpet in the bedrooms. The house just seems cleaner.
I think a medium tone is easier to maintain that a dark floor, as it doesn’t show every speck of dust. I know someone who had dark floors installed just six months ago, and I think she is already having regrets. Ours are gunstock shiny, but I think matte is easier to maintain.
Wow, this is complex—agreed it holds dirt…but in my upstairs bedrooms, we lived w/o carpet for 2 years.
We could hear every step upstairs. We finally installed wool carpet– gray with some natural specks of color,
kinda looks like an Irish knit sweater. It’s gorgeous.
And wool parts with stains like NO OTHER FIBER!
I use a product called Capture and it’s magic. But,
it’s been 2 more years…my 15 year old grandson and my stepson have been in those rooms–no stains, no “walk pattern”, no nothing– it’s a breeze.
And it was not any more expensive than a top grade nylon.
Rest of the house is wood& tile, because some is heated with floor heat. Tile transmits that best, wood not as well. There are so many factors to consider besides maintenance. For one thing–I will never install wood in the kitchen again–too much care. If we do build again or move & remodel, it will be cork in the main areas. (I agree with Donna).
PS: Arhaus Furniture has a very cool recliner that you cannot tell that it is one at all. Super handsome.
Cork flooring and this wool carpet and area rugs sound like a dream come true!, when one has little kids is a big challenge to find the perfect material so your space is safe, looks awesome and it does not need much maintenance. I would have to do my research on cork and check the colors out. I am not a designer, I am a mom and business owner and I deal with Natural stone in the day to day bases and I would love to have your thoughts on natural stone as a flooring material. Thank you.
PS Nay for carpet, with a one year old at home and a dog it has not been the best option, the vacuum has to be out almost every 2 days and as you know it’s hard to keep up with that.
Well I think stone or tile is necessary in hot climates but otherwise I find the colours too bossy to deal with, I would avoid it whenever possible for that reason. Maria
I agree with Paula Van Hoogan on wool releasing stains.
Wall-to-wall, wool or nylon, only works if the owner is willing to commit to the maintenance. And it varies from home to home. Two adults, no kids, no pets, whole-house air conditioning? You might get away with a once a week vacuum. Kids, pets, climate, life-style and you’re looking at every other day — sometimes every day.
“Forgiving” is my term for hiding stains. But the dirt is still there. I’ll take a wood floor any day.
Hi Maria
Given a choice of wall-to-wall carpets or hardwood to me is a no-brainer. Carpets are dirt and odor magnets. I have wall-to-wall carpets in all the bedrooms of my house and I steam clean them myself once a year. You can not even imagine the dirt that comes out when I empty the water bladder of my steam cleaner. Having said that, imagine how much dirt there would be in carpets in the main areas of a house.
I am just working with a couple that have purchased an older house that has been entirely carpeted over the original hardwood floors. They are having the lower level floors refinished in a mid-tone and carpeting the rest of the house. I’m mortified.
As far as recliners are concerned, I’m with you. Don’t get me started. BUT, there are some nice ones that you can’t even tell that they are recliners…….Chair Tech and Via Furniture just to mention a few.
Susan
I grew up in a suburban house with wall to wall carpet- it was very cozy, and I remember my family members lounging around the family room on the carpeted floor. My parents replaced carpets with hardwood flooring a few years ago, and it’s a little harder to find a comfortable, cozy spot on an area rug! I think as far as look goes, as well as avoiding all the stuff that carpet collects, hardwoods are wonderful.
In my own house, I have hardwood flooring everywhere. I wear a pair of flip flops in the summer and cozy slippers in the winter- I’m hardly ever barefoot in my house, and I do miss that a little, to be honest!
And I have to sweep all the time. … no, you are not OCD to have the vacuum out a lot. đ
As a mommy with smaller kiddos, I only carpet bedrooms, family rooms, sometimes stairs. Hardwood, like the others have said, in a medium to light tone (although I loooove the look of the dark woods) is super easy to wipe, and a broom or Swiffer once a day does the trick. Carpet, in my mind, is way more high maintenance. A vaccuum is harder to get out than a broom. As for bossy undertones of carpet, I’ve found that when they are golden, it’s easy to decorate over. That’s my way of doing things!
đ
I have all hardwood floors downstairs, except for the kitchen and garden room, which are tile. I have carpet upstairs in all the bedrooms. I don’t object to the carpet upstairs and agree with Tawna that golden tones are fairly easy to work with. But it’s time to replace the carpet, and I really want to go with wool. My husband is afraid it will be a nightmare to clean, but I’ve heard the opposite. We do have a couple of dogs. Any advice?
We had a dog and a w/w cream color wool, master BR
carpet. There wasn’t a stain I couldn’t get out with the “Capture” product. Wool is soo heavenly soft on the feet & to lay down & stretch out on :).
Growing up our LR,DR hall and BRm had w-to-w wool carpet. It was dreamy. I loved sleeping on it. My mom was a cleaning fanatic so I don’t think it ever got dirty and our entry was tile. When my parents new home had synthetic carpet, they hated it. Even with stain resistant coatingit was much harder to clean…and don’t forget the static electricity with synthetics especially when combined with HVAC (meaning not hydronic or steam heating.) It would drive me crazy. Go for the wool! I like the idea of the sweater look mentioned above. CTD
i have terrazzo and hardwood, but i love wall to wall carpeting! i wear bedroom slippers the whole time I am home. i do miss the carpeting! đ
We have wall to wall in the (always cold) finished basement, hardwood on the main floor, and wall to wall on the stairs and bedrooms. This is the best compromise for us, all adults, no pets. It all gets dirty and is a hassle to clean, each has it’s own benefits.
I say carpets definitely in the bedroom and hallways, but hardwoods in the living and dining rooms.
There’s something so nice about waking up in the morning and putting your feet on soft, comfy carpet.
Not a wall to wall carpet fan. We have hardwood in our home. As for the recliner discussion…… with chronic pain for many years it is my friend at times. The one that we own does not in any way look like the typical recliner. I do not care for the big fluffy ugly ones. I do not care for big fluffy furniture at all in any form. In the end you should buy what you like even if it is ugly hahahaha.
My hubby and I live in a 3 level townhouse. The main level with kitchen, dining, living and family rooms are all hardwood. With a backyard off the kitchen, hard surface is the way to go! I have to sweep/vaccuum every couple of days, but dirt doesn’t get ground into the floor. Having said this, we had carpet replaced in the upstairs bedrooms (we only like our dirt thank you) and installed on the stairs and I wouldn’t change a thing! Bedrooms are low traffic areas which means less dirt gets tracked up there and the spill factor is greatly reduced. Our stairs used to be laminate and we’ve found that the carpet reduces slipping and noise. We found a wonderful nylon that is berber and cut loop with an interesting striped texture. It looks expensive like it belongs in a high end hotel and the cut loop adds softness while the berber is tough and holds up to wear and tear. Absolutely love it! Hate to say it, but it is my opinion that W to W is going to make a comeback, but we will be going towards pattern with texture and colour.
I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Our house is in the slow process of being upgraded and we will have to think about flooring options in the next couple years. Yes of course I am already thinking about it! We’d love wood everywhere but will most likely have the bedrooms carpeted. I do like plenty of rugs on hardwood to soften things and make for less floor cleaning. In a yellow undertone beige, not pinky! I desperately want herrinbone tile floors in the kitchen/dining but we will have an open floor plan and I don’t know that I want to chop things up so much. Sigh. Choices, choices.
I must agree with Diane’s comment, that carpeting versus hardwood is a compromise but will also add, I feel much depends on the design layout of the home when they are applied. ie: Harwood in a one-storey home looks wonderful throughout, whereas with a two-storey home one can conquer and divide and have the best of both worlds. To me there is nothing worse than having your feet hit a cold flooring when upon first rising in the morning, therefore I personally prefer carpeting in a bedroom (and thankfully my husband insists on it as well). Also to cover hardwood with a ‘large’ area carpet to me doesn’t make economical or aesthetic sense plus there is always the issue of acoustics with sound reverberating to the lower level.
In respect to recliners, I have never met one that I liked as to me most are proportionally designed for the Male species and dare I say for those who are more heavy-weights. I have had several quality ones and none have met with my satisfaction in comfort however the one which my husband currently uses (in the Family Room) isn’t too bad and amazingly it is an Ikea design and not near as expensive as those in the past that I’ve discarded. -Brenda-
P.S: I’m also going to add, “an UNcarpeted hardwood staircase IMO is “an accident waiting to happen”. The statistics on people and pets falling down them and sustaining serious injury, speaks for itself.
In our subtropical climate real wood is not practical. Engineered wood is but it can’t be refinished like real wood so it may not last like real wood floors. We wanted something seamless and durable throughout the majority of the home. we choose a beautiful travertine floor with no grout lines. This beautiful stone feels soft to walk on but slippers are better. It remains cool and helps with our AC bill! We will put engineered wood in our master bedroom for the love of wood. Carpet is in in our other bedrooms that are not really used.
We will be doing our downstairs in hardwood and our stairs/second floor in carpet. While I would love wood throughout the house, we can’t afford the cost to redo the subloors to eliminate any squeeking and the additional cost of installing wood in a 3200 sf home.
Plus, I have a new baby and when she starts walking, I don’t want her falling on wood stairs! Not to mention, walking around on wood floors upstairs is much louder than carpet! So, although I LOVE the look of all wood floors, it’s just not practical or financially feasible in our case đ One day, when I live in a single story house and the kids are gone!
I love wood floors and loathe wall to wall carpet. I have dust allergies so that might partly be why, but to me wall to wall is just kind of tacky. I love beautiful wool area rugs-my own taste runs to turkish and persian types, and I like it that with a wood floor I vacuum or sweep more often. I like knowing it is clean.
I also loathe recliners. But I am all about lying down on the sofa with a good book. Sofas must be cushiony and comfortable with tons of pillows.
love wood floors under my bare feet. carpet is fine depending on the plushness. i always loved shag. but wood is best.
I hate tile except in appropriate areas like the kitchen or foyer. I have ceramic tile and it breaks everything that is dropped on it and it has the potential of hurting someone if they fall or slip. Keep tile where it belongs. I am tired of all of the hype about tile. I cant wait for carpet to make a comeback. I wont even look at a home where it is without carpet after living in tile for 5 yrs.