To carpet or not to carpet?

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a great week.

There are usually many different reasons why we have particular flooring in our homes; design, cost, weather, preference, being just some examples. When it comes to flooring there is certainly a lot to choose from. 

Whenever I have spoken to friends/family about their homes, i've always been quite surprised about how passionate they get over whether to have carpet or not. So with this in mind, I thought I would see what your feelings are on this. 🙂

Are you a fan of carpet in your home or not? Perhaps you have gone for something different for your guests, if your listing is seperate. Why have you chosen your flooring? 

(@Marzena, recently shared about some very clever flooring she has in her listing.)

Personally, I like a mixture! I am a fan of carpet in the bedroom, I like to get out of bed and sink my toes into soft carpet. I also like floor tiles in the kitchen, this way if I spill anything whilst cooking up a masterpiece (ok, just food), then it is quick and easy to tidy up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Lizzie]

Oo, this is lovely @Sarah977. I remember a friend of mine decided one day to create a mosaic design in his garden. It was a circular design, it looked wonderful at the end, but it sure did take some time and you were much quicker than him. Like you said, all the cutting and making sure the cement is all level. 

I think this is a wonderful addition to your floor. Are you tempted to do it elsewhere? 🙂

[Sarah977]

Thanks, @Lizzie.   And no, not tempted at all- my place is DONE, thank goodness 🙂  I have way too many hours of sweat equity in this place- but there's endless maintenance in the tropics, so I'm not hurting for projects. Will post more tilework photos when I get a chance.

[Melissa442]

Nooooooo to carpets. Rural Wales is muddy for at least nine months of the year. My listing has a stone floor. My adjacent home has carpets. Seriously jealous of my guests!

[Willow3]

I am just finishing up my guest room after ripping up the carpet. It was the last room in the house with carpet and I am so happy to see it gone! Just need to do trim work and put the space back together. 

Everytime I rip out carpet, I’m reminded just how filthy they are. The accumulated filth in and under them will make anyone hate carpets! 

The hard work is done, now to select cozy area rugs for beside. 

[Ashley197]

Willow, 

The room looks great! I can't agree more about carpets. We still have some rooms remaining with carpets, but as a homeowner and a host, my vast preference is no carpet - and if some kind of cozy carpet feeling is needed, nice throw rugs! 😉 

[Lizzie]

I agree with @Ashley197, it looks great. I like finish you have put on the floorboards. Was it hard to get rid of the carpet?

[Willow3]

Pulling up carpet is very easy.  Getting the tack strips up off around the edges of the room is a bit of a pain - I've found the easiest way to get them up is to lay a hammer flat on the floor (as though you are laying it down) and use the flat top of the head to bash the edge of the tack strip - it loosens and is easy to remove.  Using a pry bar caused damage to my floors. Of course if you have nice floors under the carpet, care should be used regardless of how you get the tack strips up.  I think that if the devil invented a toy - it would be the tack strip.  How I hate those things!

[Ashley197]

I manage a 3-bedroom apartment that can be AirBnB'd as a whole (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/19988455?s=51  ) or I can AirBnB out each room separately. Of the three rooms, two are carpeted (The Emerald City at Night Room: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20330713?s=51   and The Map Room: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20333979?s=51 ). The Cherry Blossom Room (https://www.airbnb.com/manage-listing/20327872 ) is not, and all other floors in the apartment are not (kitchen, bath, living room). I've had dancers, those sensitive to allergens, and those who like to get down close the floor for yoga, etc. rent the apartment precisely because they appreciated that much of it wasn't carpet that would impede their activities or feel less clean than a freshly mopped tile or wooden floor (we actually have vinyl wooden plank).  On the other hand, I've had a couple guests specifically want that warm feeling of some kind of carpet or rug on their feet when they get up in the morning. I thought that the carpets would be trashed after a year of AirBnB'ing but we have a no-shoes culture in the house and our guests have been remarkably clean and kept the carpet in great condition - better than when we rented the space long-term! 

For me, personally, as a host... I find non-carpeted floors to be much easier to clean and maintain. Of course, I prefer non-carpeted spaces in general.   

[Diane728]

Having read your many posts on carpeting your homes, I sadly did not find one home in London that was carpet free.  The reason I’m seeking this is for a visitor who has a serious carpet allergy and finding it difficult to find accommodation.  Anyone out there in London, England without carpets for booking in September 2019?