Carpet or no carpet? What’s the best for your listing and why?

[Jenny]

Hello everyone!

The other day I was thinking back to places I’ve rented to live in over the years.  I’ve stayed in some wonderful, and some not so wonderful places, but one sticks out the most because it had a main bathroom which was carpeted, including up the sides of the bath!  In my personal opinion, carpeting in the bathroom is a no-no.

That got me thinking… what about Airbnb Hosts, and their listings?  I can imagine that carpeting a listing must mean a bit of extra work hoovering, it’s more difficult to clean up spills… but then laminate flooring is noisy for downstairs neighbours, and for some people it’s not very cosy.

So, the burning question from me is:  Carpet or no carpet - what’s the best for your listing?  Are you a fan of cosy, plush carpeting?  Or do you prefer some sleek, easy to clean laminate?  Maybe you’ve got beautiful old polished floor boards and some lovely rugs to complement your decor?  What’s the positives and negatives about the flooring you’ve chosen?  Let me know in the replies.   Feel free to share photos!

Hope to hear from you soon.

Take care!

Jenny

[Helen427]

What an interesting topic @Jenny @Ειρήνη/Irene0 @Ken3103 @Julie5213 @Barbara3006 and fellow Community Centre people.

Maybe we could all take time out to understand why people may have the flooring in the homes we live in with the materials used that they have, how they are built and most importantly what era or location because it all has an impact.

Does the home you have, have the original scrim, newspaper on top of floor boards  tucked under the carpet or behind the wallpaper to stop the draught, (layers of) wallpaper, fresco's, wool carpet, cork,  vinyl, Wunderlich pressed walls or ceilings, natural timber or synthetic materials used in them?

I grew up in a heritage villa where our family renovated and extended as more of us arrived and grew up so have seen many styles and materials used as and when the means and materials changed or became available.

We had natural wooden  Kauri Timber floor boards, Linoleum that today would be kept as it was quite an artistic feature, Pull cord Lights which made a ping noise as we pulled them on and off and open fires which in later years had a Wetback heating system for Hot water.

On the wooden floors we had a hand made Wool Rug to stop any breeze coming through the floorboards and in later years Pure Wool Carpet for added warmth.

Out of interest perhaps we could have a topic on the changes over the years of how people cleaned floors, from on one's hands and knees with a bucket and cloth, polishing the wooden ones wearing old socks or worn out towels to hand held carpet sweepers, having to have an Anchorage cord to access a Hot Point in older homes to be able to use a trusty Electrolux, Tellus etc Vacuum Cleaner before the invention of Dyson and Robotic cleaners.

Do you remember those days to?

A fun story I stumbled on recently whilst reading in an archived Periodical and Journal called "Progress" here in New Zealand from around 100 years ago, was of a lady who was observed cleaning up Flour spilt on the floor as she used the vacuum nozzle to make Flower patterns.

She played a role in the creation of Floral and similar designed Carpets.

Personally I love Pure Wool Carpet made of course from Sheep's Wool due to it's sustainability and warmth.

It's easy to keep clean in today's day and age with the equipment many of us have access to.

Those who may not be aware, or worry about Carpet in the Bathroom being ruined, try Pure Wool Carpet because it doesn't absorb the water - go outside and observe a Sheep on a rainy day and learn why 🙂

If however I was living in a countryside or seaside location it may not be so practicable to have carpet in all the rooms, alas if as many of us were raised to take our Gumboots off or hosed our muddy feet or sand from our feet and Footwear off at the door before we entered our home, it's simple to keep clean!!!

[Jessa43]

Thank you for sharing your history Helen,

I'm guessing the evolution of insulation is part of why "Healthy Homes" was instigated? Do you happen to know if/how that applies to Airbnb's Helen?

Also, what is a wetback heating system? my exposure to that term is presumably very unrelated and derogatory.

Cheers

[Helen427]

Hello @Jessa43  my fellow New Zealander.

Healthy Homes has been around since Queen Victoria's era in it's various ways.

Have a browse in Papers Past NZ archives using the word Healthy Homes and it all pops up including her role to play with it.

I have spent many an hour around builders and well recall the first thing one does when there's a leak coming through the roof, or dampness/ mould on the ceiling area is to climb up on the roof and see if any nails or tiles/ Shingles/ Roofing iron is in need of replacing or repair - 9 out of ten times it's a solution.

Ditto look to see if where there's mould inside around the base is where there's a lack of sealing where people may have drilled holes into outside walls where previously they were not.

It takes around 3 years for mould to appear inside in cases like that.

Room temperatures for Invalids/ those who are sick have always been around 72 degrees Fahrenheit/ 22 degrees Celsius and it has always been between 62-64 degrees Fahrenheit - 18-20 degrees Celsius in other rooms like the living room.

Kitchens don't need the same heating because obviously one is in a heated environment. 

Bedrooms also didn't need heating so much because one is usually blessed to be tucked in nice warm blankets - I so wish we had more people appreciating those Pure Wool ones we have here @Jessa43 

The worn ones make great Draught stoppers / snakes!!

There's fabulous information in Historic newspaper/ Periodicals and Journals that may inspire others when thinking about warmth and coolness in one's home and the impacts of to carpet which rooms and which one's not.

[Jessa43]

Hello @Helen427 !

It is so nice to meet a fellow New Zealander on here, especially one who seems such a wealth of knowledge as yourself.

That is interesting, I had no idea Healthy Homes dated that far back, that will be some interesting research to look into!

That makes me wonder if those companies that do the insulation via a hole drilled into the exterior walls ever run into issues with mould somewhere down the line.

Ta for all of the information

[Helen427]

@Jessa43 
The Wetback heating system is a copper piping in the rear of the older style open fireplaces that is used to heat up the hot water cylinder - great for when there's Electricity outages and in large families and one draws the short straw to have the last shower or bath!!

[Verne40]

Well I think both are best. Carpet in the bedrooms and flooring everywhere else. Also as the others stated the rooms with no carpet can be accompanied by a nice plush rug.

[Shelly277]

I have carpet in the bedrooms only and tile throughout the house.  I honestly love the warmer of carpet in the morning when getting out of bed.  However with that said, carpets do require frequent cleaning.  I’m just starting my hosting and so I might change my mind . 

[Heather1659]

Area rugs work well and may be a good option as they are easy to spot clean or replace if needed and provide function for design and warmth.

[Muwanguzi0]

Carpet

[Geraldine359]

I have carpets  with additional luxurious rugs where the feet hit the floor in 3 bedrooms upstairs, the cosiness of soft wool under the feet is the main reason for this. Downstairs I have wooden flooring with a big cow hide in the large lobby area, and carpeting in one reception room and adjoining dining room. Yes I need to vacuum frequently and I also spt clean any marks with a bristle brush, soap and water. One guest commented that the bedroom carpet was the cleanest he'd ever seen so I know I'm doing something right!

[Ozgur9]

Wool carpets in winter, thin carpets (kilim) in summer. That's how we do it in Turkey. 😉

[Mehriban1]

Hello everyone🤗 I am new in airbnb and want to stress that happy to be part of the community! 
to the question carpet or no carpet I believe if you space is small you should keep it simple whereas more spacious places can have the carpets as luxurious item. again it depends 😊

[Mary5608]

 it all depends. I have a carpet in my hall to pop the color of the walls. It would look fine with or without. I think at times, if done right, carpets can make a feel of warmth and comfort . It really comes down to your personal preference and style. 😊

[Alaa54]

 

It depends on your space and your style.

I have two listings, one of them with carpet and the second without 🙂 

[Alice1417]

Carpet in the bedroom and living room