Not familiar with Denver, but when you compare prices ask for the itemized quote. A lot of people come to me saying, "So and so is a dollar less on the carpet." without realizing that they're making up for it in other areas. That should help in your search.

We had the Smartstrand Silk from HD installed throughout the whole house in August and I can highly recommend it. Just this morning my dog vomited and it came clean with just water. Just make sure your vacuum will work on it :-) We, too, had to "move". That's what it felt like anyway. We had the carpet installed in two parts, one week apart. Since we had closet systems, they all had to be dismantled and cleared out, the old carpet & pad removed and rooms painted (all by us) before the carpet was layed so it was a really rough couple of weeks. We just moved everything from one side of the house to the other and then back again, putting a lot of things in the basement (We still don't have everything back where it's supposed to be). We had considered renting a pod but decided that was just as much work and a lot more money. It was really, really hard although it gave us a chance to clean out all the junk we didn't even know we had! I told my DH we'll either move or be dead before I'd do that again :-)

I agree with function--but I'm also a person who would look for durability and design before I worried about chemicals. Most of those "natural" wood floors have a lot of chemicals on them also, to treat the wood, stain it, and then protect the finish :)

I think 6 x 9 will look very small.......... You want to get under and beyond the sofa so I would tape that off on the floor before you decide a size. As Flo stated, 8 x 10 seems more like it : ) I'm seeing white pillows and a seashell print on the couch pillows........perhaps an idea of what you are going for would help. I wouldn't purchase a rug around curtains that "must stay" unless you love those. If this is a tropical locale......? Perhaps post more photos of the adjacent areas too, and different angles