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Home Decorating

Can someone tell me about carpet (wall to wall)?

14 years ago

All of my adult life, I've lived in old (or reproduction-old) houses with hardwood floors throughout. I've never shopped for wall to wall carpeting and in fact, my last encounter with it was some circa-1979 shag my parents installed in my bedroom when I was young.

We are turning our basement into a playroom and I really want nice cushy wall-to-wall down there (I think I'm rebelling against years of hardwood -- while beautiful, it's not very comfy to roll around with the kids on the floor, LOL!). When I look at ads or wander through the carpet section at Lowes, I'm overwhelmed by the number of selections and the variation in price. There's different textures, different fibers, and WAY different prices. I don't even know where to start as far as comparing one kind against another or knowing what would be best.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? The carpet will go down the stairs (I think -- or I could leave the stairs hardwood as well, since they have nice finished treads) and through the basement. I don't think I want anything shaggy because it will get beat-looking on the stairs, right? I was thinking berber, but then I hear that berber is cheap and doesn't last well. I'm looking for something that's kind of fun and funky because it's a combination media room/playroom - maybe something with a geometric pattern.

Any input/suggestions/guidance at all would be most welcome!

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Comments (6)

lsst
14 years ago
We have frieze carpet and have been pleased with it.
One thing I do know is do not skimp on the pad. Go with at least an 8 lb.
The carpet will fell better underfoot and will wear longer.
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folkvictorian
14 years ago
Nylon and wool are probably the longest-wearing fibers. Like lsst says, get a really good, thick pad, too.
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lindac
14 years ago
And don't under any circumstances buy dacron...it soils like you wouldn't believe.
Berber comes in "cheap" but it also comes in good quality...if that's the look you like. But it also "pulls" if something catches it will pull out loops. I think a tight pile wears longer.
Linda C
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fnmroberts
14 years ago
We recently recarpeted our home. My experience is to stay clear of the "box" stores as they generally carry lesser grades of well known brands but, most significantly, the sales people are not knowledgable like experienced personnel from carpet specialty stores. Additionally, the low price install is offset by other costs applied by the "box" places - like padding and stair install charge, haul-away, etc. We believe our premium to purchase from a specialty store may only have been $125 and the install is very nice.

I believe there is specialty padding for basements with a built-in moisture barrier. That said, I would be VERY cautious about wall-to-wall carpet in a basement. Basements are generally damp and you must consider the possibility (certainty) of a water heater leak or sump pump failure. I would suggest an area rug or a bound carpet which could be removed should it become necessary. Our stairs to the basement are carpeted with a very dense nylon plush which has minimal matting after several years.
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maanda
14 years ago
We put a better quality berber in our playroom. We did get a speical underpad for basements. One thing I wish is that we would have gotten something with a little colour variation in it, as this one is a solid and it shows everything. Even with no food down here ever, it still gets dirty looking.
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amysrq
14 years ago
Basement and playroom...hmmm...that just makes me a bit nervous about WtW. Have you thought about an area rug or maybe Flor? The beauty of Flor is the you can pull squares that get dirty, wash them and lay them back down. The patterns are really fun and very colorful.
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