LVPlank click........... area rugs. What's out is edge to edge carpet for the most part. If it's on your stair as well, a runner in a forgiving pattern/ texture for that.

We will have to make a similar decision about our bedroom carpets, too. We have hardwood downstairs but my husband prefers carpet for the stairs and bedrooms. We replaced our family room carpet recently with wood flooring. The carpet we had there was a type called "frieze" with little flecks of color in a beige background. Unfortunately, while I thought it would camouflage stains and dirt, it ended up looking dirty most of the time. So I wouldn't recommend carpet with colored flecks! I hate to even think of how hard it will be to find a carpet color I like. Good luck to you; I will look forward to seeing what you decide!

Over time, hardwood and area rugs are so much easier. You can have softness underfoot! Kids can have inexpensive easy to change rugs suiting their ages and gender and decor. Because the wood is the unifier of all else.

Last points ?Nothing soils faster than bedroom and closet carpet.. It's your BARE feet that cause that! .....

They leave behind oily residue that becomes a magnet for dust. Then you walk some more and grind it in.

Nothing like a kid getting sick in the night. ...... we're not going there. That's a case for wood all by itself

When we replace our bedroom, hallway and stairway carpet, it will be with more carpet. Soft underfoot, less expensive than hardwood + area rugs. And I like the way it looks. I'll look forward to reading any helpful advice you get. However, our carpets are 20 years old and still look great. Thankfully, neither vomit nor bare feet are an issue in my house.

I've always like oatmeal Berber as well. This one is by Shaw Floors.

"What are the floors in the rest of the house?" - slate, vinyl, wall to wall carpet, ceramic tiles, 70-plus year old hardwood (which I hate as it's narrow strips that has gaps, etc. and even though we've refinished twice and they filled it, and yes, beautiful for a time, although never a color I really embraced, then with movement in the floor the filler comes out, and it looks horrible. Old, damaged, horrible. Hate them.) No two carpets are the same, no two rooms the same flooring. Would LOVE a consistent look throughout instead of chopped up look, but can't afford to put 2700 square feet of flooring in all at once.

On the other hand.... the bonus, office, and 4 bedrooms need flooring replacement now. The master bathroom is in construction, so that needs flooring too in the near future. We are planning on remodeling the kitchen (moving it when we do) and opening it up to the family room - so that will be new flooring then for those two areas. And after doing that, we would need to patch up the old hardwood (where the kitchen used to be, creating bigger and more open living and dining rooms). If we pick out the flooring now that we would like all through the house, we could just start with the rooms that need it. And then as we work through the rooms and are ready for new flooring each time, we'd keep adding the flooring we like. The last would be the old hardwood, and I guess instead of patching a floor I hate, we could rip up the old hardwood in the living and dining rooms (and down the halls to bedrooms) and put in the new floor that would now match everything else. I'm just thinking now that it really doesn't make sense to keep putting in floors I don't like (and keep perpetuating the problem) because I can't put them all in at once! If they all need to be replaced sooner or later in our plans anyway, then why not pick what I love (and hopefully can afford) and do it little by little? Not sure why I didn't consider that before. Any thoughts on that plan?

One thing is that there would be places where old met new and wouldn't "match" for a time. One - the hallways (old hardwood) and bedrooms (new flooring). Does that bother anyone out there?! (LOL) The bonus and office are separated from old hardwood by a slate entry. The kitchen and family room will connect to the old hardwood living and dining room via french doors, but it was going to always be different anyway as I don't like my old hardwoods enough to match them. So I think I just answered my own question. Don't worry about it! Eventually it will all match.

Jan, I had to look up LVPlank click as I had NO idea what that even was. How does the price compare to carpet? How durable is it? (Better than hardwoods? Not as good?) Do floors like this work in bathrooms? Kitchens? (Places with more water and humidity.) Does this look like real wood? I've heard comments about coloring on wood floors. Stay away from gray? Don't go too light? Or too dark? What is the recommendation there in regards to color? (I've always liked dark wood floors in pictures with lots of white everything!, but I'm guessing I'm just as "out of date" with that thought as with wall to wall carpet?!? LOL)

Anne, I picture wood more easily "downstairs". I guess I am just used to carpet though. I always thought it seemed "warmer" too for places like bedrooms, or a family room where kids were down on the floor. But I don't have kids down on the floor anymore and I guess that is what area rugs are for - warmth and softness underfoot. And in pictures, wood floors are beautiful in bedrooms too. I love the look of a runner on stairs even. I just need to adjust my thinking and open my mind to the possibilities!!!

Thank you all for taking the time to comment and from saving me from myself and a decision I wouldn't have been happy with!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have always like an oatmeal Berber too. I don't know how they compare with other carpets for cleanings (holding up and looking nice). I have four boys and so we are very hard on things and floors need to handle repeated cleanings. What should carpet be made of for durability whether wall to wall or area rugs?

Manon, I like the look in the picture. Really great color.

I have hardwood floor throughout my condo, but carpet in the bedrooms and family room. I chose Shaw berber carpet (it's called Be My Guest). It's been installed for 2 years and still looks brand new. I'm also very particular and don't like vacuum or feet impressions on carpet. This carpet shows neither and looks like a jute rug.

I would keep the carpet the same in all rooms for consistency.

As far as cleanabilty of a carpet, it is the fiber you need to look at. Nylon though more expensive is the easier to clean. I have nylon in my living room, dining room and hall and only have to use warm water to clean a stain. I have polyester in the bedroom and if they get a stain I have to use a carpet cleaner to remove the stain. Also you have to look at the density, the twists and the pad when buying carpet. There is many Web sites to educate you about carpets.

Hi, Ana. I'm not carpet expert, but wool kind of sets the bar for carpeting material. It has a reputation for being very durable as well as stain and flame resistant. It is expensive, but will wear better for longer than man mad materials. So, in a way, maybe it's not that expensive after all.

I found this article to be informative.

Wool Carpet Pros and Cons

I do agree with others to keep the carpeting consistent. I also think you're asking all the right questions. I'm sure you'll land on the right choice once you've competed your research.

I love all your insights. My husband and I are sitting here discussing everyone's points. It's all helpful! Thank you Annie for taking the time to tell me specifics about your carpet! Really good point about marks and impressions not showing. And I love the look of jute, and have wondered about a carpet that would have that look. (Is Be My Guest the line of Berber? Or the specific color you chose?) I'm glad to know the difference between nylon and polyester (and to know to stay away from polyester!) and also all the info about wool.

When you have area rugs, how do you clean them? And maybe it's a stupid question, but when you have different rooms with different area rugs, do you need to be concerned with the rugs matching each other from room to room? Well, not matching exactly, but maybe being in the same "family"? Or can they be totally different? I'm thinking about when you see them from one room into another. Thanks!

I much prefer carpet in my bedrooms and on stairs. I just re-carpeted the stairs and FROG both, and love it. I chose this carpet for my stairs, and this one for the room that the steps lead to. The colors are an exact match, but I wanted a more durable carpet on the stairs, and I loved the diamond pattern so that worked perfectly for me.

This is a close-up of the two carpets. I can't tell you how hard and long I looked to find a match like this. I found the patterned sample in a carpet store...I noticed it from across the room and as soon as I saw it, I knew that was what I wanted on my stairs. And of course once I researched the carpet itself, I knew this was a good choice for me.

I had a terrible time finding the match to it for the room, as Shaw was in the middle of a rebranding, and was moving their recently acquired Tuftex brand to become Anderson/Tuftex. So I thought I had found the carpets, but getting quotes was nearly impossible as during the rebranding Shaw completely renamed the carpet selections. Oy vey! I thought I was losing my mind LOL. But it all worked out.

"No two carpets are the same, no two rooms the same flooring. Would
LOVE a consistent look throughout instead of chopped up look, but can't
afford to put 2700 square feet of flooring in all at once."

Open and visible to one another areas are united by a single flooring selection. In a 2700 square foot situation such as yours, with more remodeling to come on the first floor I'd consider an engineered hardwood everywhere but bath floors on the second floor, all bedrooms and bonus room. The brutal truth of nylon carpet, is the days of "Inexpensive and long lasting....." have sailed, despite all advertising . There are beautiful engineered floors at five dollars a square foot. Yes, they need to be installed. Area rugs in kids rooms? Bedside is plenty! In a master? Remnant rolls of broadloom exist everywhere and can be bound!

Same is true on the first floor. Nothing will exceed the timeless longevity of a sand on site flooring. Engineered hardwood products can be sanded.....they also get discontinued with regularity so a do it all decision there is the best decision. Sand on site allows a more piecemeal installation and future match up. No matter what that flooring is, the more of ONE......... the better. Laundry rooms excepted, but even a powder room can be wood. engineered, sand on site, click float etc.

There is no right/wrong answer other than how many times you want to do a thing. Carpet on a second floor ( nylon ) has an average lifetime for looking good of about five years max. After that it is a total crap shoot. Much of that crap shoot, even up to five years, involves daily habits, bare feet ( the biggest carpet killer) , vacuuming frequency, cleaning frequency , pets, kids, traveling food and drink, etc. Stay far from a polypropylene product if you go that route. Even a nylon "smartstrand: will crush over time. Nylon, a good one, is NOT cheap. But if it is there? IT IS ONE. Period. Everywhere. : )

I like the diamond pattern too!

Just remember that the carpet pad underneath the carpet is as important as the carpet you choose. I used the information at www.thecarpetprofessor.com to help me know what to look for in both the carpet and the pad. Very helpful.

Just as an FYI:

The carpet I just replaced was 24 years old. The FROG and the stairs were in worse shape than elsewhere in the house, so that got replaced first - also I had redone my kitchen and that stairs was part of it so it all fell into the same project. I still have the same 24 year old carpet in the rest of the house and since I just got a new roof and gutters ($$$), it will be at least another year before I can look at replacing the rest.

A family was there the first 4 years, then I bought the house. Just me and my son for 13 years, then just me for the last 7 or so. Had a cat for 7 years and that was the only pet. NO dogs. So light usage, for sure. I've never had the carpets cleaned, not once. I have kept them clean myself with regular vacuuming and cleaning up spills. And, when they pulled up the old carpet upstairs? I never saw any of that massive dusty mess that everyone alludes to. I guess it just depends on who is living there and how lightly you "live". The carpet that I just put in? I expect it will last me the rest of my life.

Jan, thanks for all the input. The 2700+ square feet needing flooring is all on one level ranch. And yes, we've got all the above: kids, pets, feet, food, etc! The bonus room carpet (Shaw) was beautiful and felt wonderfully lush for a long time, really it held up well (considering what we put it through!) and cleaned up to look new, but not so much any more. Now even with cleaning it just doesn't revive - looking too matted and grubby. So I want it out! Good point, put another beautiful carpet in and then redo again down the road every time it's needed, or put floors in once. Done.

You said no engineered wood in the bathrooms (powder ok), so what do you suggest for main kid and master bathrooms and laundry? Just any kind of tile? No wood look? As a designer would you stick to the same tile for all baths and laundry? Or change it up? And the engineered will hold up well in a well-used kitchen? (My family of boys are hard on things.)

You mention engineered floor products come and go, so if we aren't ready to put it in all at once due to work to come, we should still buy it all together now and just store it, right? Or else we could go back and not available any longer.

Which are the beautiful engineered floors at 5 dollars a foot that are sand-able on site, etc that you recommend? What finish/color? I do like the look of wider planks and even a little bit rustic look. (LITTLE BIT rustic look Ü)

Thank you all for taking the time to help me.

Chess, our carpet in the bonus room is 12 years old. High traffic, heavily used daily; we are just really rough on things. It shows wear and tear. The carpet in the kids' bedrooms is just plain ugly. They were remnants so each room different. Actually, one kid's room is nice enough, and works well in his room, I could continue to live with that one, but then it would be different from the other rooms (so back to the "chopped up" look). The master also would be in perfectly fine shape, except that we moved a wall and had to patch in etc. and just lived with it. Also, I didn't pick a neutral! It's green Berber. It worked with the room (a designer helped me), but what shade of green is "in" comes and goes and this one is dated as well as dark in a northern room that is dark to begin with dark furniture and dark colors.

Ana, I wasn't trying to "advocate" for carpet, just explaining that "replace every 5 years" does not reflect real life - in general. I think the average is really about 10 years for most families. But given how old mine is and how it looks, clearly I had good carpet, and more important - light usage. For your "hard usage" family and pets, I agree that either LVT or engineered wood might be a better choice.

Chess, I was glad for your comments and didn't feel you were pushing one way or another, just sharing your experience, as I was. I do like the carpet you chose and love the warmth and coziness the look carpet gives overall. Currently, I am still considering carpet in the bedrooms (we aren't hard on those - the kids really don't spend much time in their rooms), and then the engineered wood for the high use bonus room (and eventually everywhere else in "public" rooms in our home). I do love the look of wood floors and area rugs, and the wood floors (or rather engineered) would last longer for us.

To those who know, is "engineered wood" ok for and wear well in a high-use kitchen?

And does it seem reasonable and justifiable, to instead of patching in on an existing oak floor that looks horrible, to rip out hardwood to put in engineered wood (that would then match the rest of the spaces in our home)?

We are having to rip out engineered wood in the house we just bought. It is very flimsy, and if part of it gets damaged, you can't just repair it. It has to be removed. You can't restain it, either because the veneer is too thin. I would stay away from that. We are replacing it with real hardwood. In the basement, we are pulling out carpet and putting in LVT.

I have no idea what LVT is or what is engineered that can be sanded vs. the kind that can't be. Jan is saying that engineered wood can be sanded. Also, what is the difference between engineered, laminate, and vinyl plank (if there is a difference). Many of you are referring to letters and names and I don't know what any of it is. Is there a good resource for me to just learn about all the flooring options, pros and cons to each, etc?

LVT is luxury vinyl tile. LVP is luxury vinyl plank . Either can appear as "wood" planks.

Engineered wood is wood, best is 3/4 inch thick product, but there are reasons for lesser thickness!

Get yourself off line and go to several local flooring sources. Try to skip the big box. Look, listen. .... :) and you will learn best options for you .

A great deal can depend your budget, climate, whether you have basement, slab, or crawl space foundation.

Go shopping:)

Good advice. That's what we'll do. Thanks Jan.

https://www.thespruce.com/laminate-vs-engineered-wood-flooring-comparison-1822247

There's a good chart there that explains the difference in laminate and engineered.

And yes some engineered can be refinished if the top wood layer (veneer) is thick enough. This link will explain about refinishing engineered wood floors.

wear layers

and more here

Personally though, I'd never have floors refinished in a home I was living it. Way too much of a mess. But that's just me.

I cannot imagine how you have escaped the LVT madness. It's EVERYWHERE. :-)

LVT or LVP means Luxury Vinyl Tile or Plank. It's a different animal that the old vinyl of yesterday.

This blog goes over the differences of the types, though be aware that the products mentioned there are older, and you would want to look at more recent ones. SO many acronyms now it is hard to keep track. Some of them have no actual "vinyl" in them at all, but often "LVP" is used to refer to the entire category of flooring now.

Types of LVT/LVP

A couple of new ones - WPC & SPC link.

There is a thread here in HOUZZ on a new WPC floor - tons of pictures and experiences with it. Check it out.

All great information. Thanks! Have been studying it. Now I'll have better idea what I am looking for and questions to ask when I go shopping and comparing.

Ana - We replaced the laminate and carpet in our kitchen and family room with engineered wood flooring from Appalachian Flooring, in September of this year.

link:https://www.appalachianflooring.com/useful-infos/warranties

We chose engineered flooring because I knew we tend to spill stuff in the kitchen and it sounded like the engineered wood would be more durable and water resistant. We picked a light toned wood with wide planks, the Alta Moda white oak in linen finish. I absolutely love it! This company has a 35 year warranty on their flooring, and since we are in our '70's, it will last for the rest of our lives! We did buy a 8x10 area rug to put in the area of the family room where we sit to watch tv. We don't have children or pets living in our house now, but we do have lots of visits from messy grandkids!