We used Mohawk Smartstrand berber in our basement rec room and a nylon Mohawk in the bedrooms. Ours were more expensive than you are looking at. As for berber, we had an off white wool berber in our old house for 20 years that was indestructible and unstainable (grape juice, red Kool-Aid etc. did not stain it and nothing snagged it, not even our dog and cat). We were so impressed by that berber that we got it again for this house, but we got smartstrand instead of wool because wool is extremely expensive. The smartstrand has not stained, but it does snag. Luckily, it has a backing that keeps snags from running and the snags can be repaird, but they may not use that backing at the price point you are looking at. If the berber you are looking does not have the backing that stop snags from running, I would not get it if you have small children and pets. In fact, although I really like the berber that we have in our new house, I would not get it again as long as we have pets even if it had the backing that stops snags. We've only had three snags in the basement carpet the year and half that we have lived in our new house. The first snag happened when the dog was rolling on his back on the floor--one of his dog tags caught in the carpet and of course, being a dog and feeling trapped, he kept tugging and tugging at it and pulled out yarns that left a 3/4" x 3/4" bare spot--if the backing didn't stop runs I'm sure we would have had a run that went from wall to wall to wall to wall. We were able to glue the yarns back and the repair would have been invisible, except that cat really liked the latex glue that you use to fix carpet and the cat kept pulling it back up. The other snags were not from the dog and were small and easily repaired, but I do worry about snags every time the dog is down the basement. Good luck!

I agree with those who refuse to pour a ton of extra money into carpeting. We did, 14 years ago, and while I did get a LOT of compliments on the Sculpted Berber that we chose, it's a $%&$@ to vacuum because all the dog hair, lint, crumbs, etc., wants to 'hide' in the sculpt and I've wished for the last 10 years now that the carpet would just evaporate right off the floor and be gone. Heck no, this stuff is going to outlive US, I swear, as 14 years later, it still looks almost brand new even though it's a very light 'stone' color. Luckily we're moving away from IT instead, building another home, and while I have nothing against Berber in general, we did opt for Frieze this time as a change of pace. Actually, we're doing a combination of Porcelain tile in the Foyer, Kitchen & Baths, Laminate in the Dining Room, Office and Workout Room, and then Frieze in the remaining Bedrooms, Family Room and Living Room. It's a heck of a lot softer than Berber, but I kinda/sorta agree with whoever it was that said that it reminded her hubby of the outdated Shag. I'm hoping that I'll like this!

My personal speculation... stainless steel will eventually go out of style and looked dated and industrial. Granite will stay in style because it's functional, durable (won't look worn, discolor, chip, and peel like laminate, for instance), and has enough variety to please plenty of people. My prediction for coming trends, fwiw, the high-gloss cabinets (in woods or bright colors) that you now see in the mags, and honed granite or soapstone counters to contrast with a matte finish. Possibly not necessarily *together* though (high-gloss may end up paired with polished granite and matte granite with non-glossy cabinets). Not my style, but both seem to be gaining traction in design mags and for the high-gloss cab's, even places like Home Depot, which suggests its popularity with the masses. We shall see, ay? ;P

lobby68, I've seen the meany pros put in their places by assertive posters just telling them they aren't being helpful, or that if they'd read the original post they'd know that buying new/tearing out a wall isn't an option. Or telling someone that isn't being nice that their comments are being ignored because the op doesn't need that kind of help, etc. I also think a few of us call out meannies when they are being that (altho the pros sometimes circle the wagons around their own). So go ahead and post and just don't take any carp from anyone and don't take it personally if someone is mean. We'll try to have your back!