Decorating Advice - new carpet?

[zoey55]

Would like to hear some opinions. We moved into our house in 1998 and had the chance to pick out all our stuff. I've got hardwood floors on the main floor, with the exception of 3 bedrooms. Those all have berber. So, 13 yrs later it is pretty matted down and beat. I'd like to replace it. But, with what? 1 room is the MASTER, 1 room is a GUEST room, 1 room has a Bowflex and a Treadmill in it and is mirrored. I'm not even sure what kinds of carpet are popular these days. Don't have kids but do have pets, so not looking for anything too high end but willing to spend money. Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts :)!

[donleyk]

We have the same problem. The berger is starting to show it's age (and snags) but we have a cat and a dog so I haven't wanted to spend the money.

I've seen a lot of ads for the textured carpet. Hardly any pile to it at all, and has a pattern. I could see it being convenient to clean and still be warm in winter.

I'd be interested in what you decide. Good luck.

[LakeMartinGal]

I'd use something in the MBR that feels good under your feet! We usually get great quality pad, and less quality carpet, but left to myself, I'd get great quality in both.

I'd get a lesser quality in the guest room -- less traffic and use. Just something that looks nice.

In the exercise room, I'd go with those replaceable carpet rectangles -- no pads, no pile to mat down, but enough of a floor covering to be good on the feet. And if it's ever stained, you can replace 1 square of it, and not see the difference. Lots of public places have gone with this because it's durable, and you can put it down yourself!

I have just discovered berber carpet, as that's what was in the new house. I have a couple of snagging issues in the MBR from the dogs, but love it everywhere else!:)

HTH

[Valerie226]

If you actually exercise in the exercise room, consider wood look laminate, something similar to the hardwood on the main floor. we used to have our exercise room carpeted with industrial type carpet but it got stinky. hard floor is much easier to clean. you can put small throw rugs or rubber mats directly under the equipment to keep the noise down.

I like the short patterned carpet. something that doesn't have the loops that get snags all the time.

[zoey55]

Thanks, everyone, you gave me a lot to think about. I'm excited to actually go to a store and check out what's new, it's really been a long time since I've done that or paid attention!

[PurplePotato]

I would also do a laminate type wood in the exercise room. Or real wood - my mother did hers a couple of years ago and some real wood she loved was cheaper than the nicer laminate! Go figure.

But...the noise level is a good point and the carpet squares sound like an excellent solution.

As someone who just had a ton of carpeting removed I'm not a huge fan at the moment. ;) I would love to do wood in the bedrooms with a large area rug under the bed. Love the look. It would tie in nicely with the rest of the house. Just another option.

I do not like berber because I find stains much harder to remove than in a plush style. But again, just had a lot of berber ripped out...

[wallycat]

Cork is also a great option in the exercise room. You can do square glue down and they do floating floor clicks as well.
If you want to be "green" but have something durable, marmoleum (like the old, old, old linoleum--NOT vinyl) holds up really well and can be glue down sheets or click tile or click planks. This also has a cork back so you can get prettier color choices and still have the benefit of cork for sound deadening.

I am personally not a fan of carpeting but the new squares are nice, especially if you have a pukey-cat, which we do :p .

The new-to-us-house is all laminate throughout (we swore it was wood even up close) and is much more durable than wood, but wood can be sanded and refinished if you need to.

If you really want to confuse things, they have fake tile now with a nice backing and no grout lines necessary. We had thought about that in the kitchen if we had built...but an exercise room that you can use throw rugs in would be nice too.

have fun.