To think UK should have moved on from carpeting by this stage

[Finlesswonder]

It's gross, it's ugly, it's high maintenance, and in a world of global warming, it increasingly feels like a dust and burning sun heat trap.
Why are people in this country still obsessed with carpeting?

if you have wooden floors upstairs what do you do when these need to come up due to leaking pipes etc.

I'm totally sold on carpets, nothing wrong with them. Only thing wrong are the owners who keep manky carpets long past their use-by date, who soil them with cats, dogs, food spills and walking around in outdoor shoes when indoors.

Who wants to walk on a hard floor? It makes a dreadful noise, isn't soft to bare feet, anything glass/china dropped will smash to smithereens....and it's cold.

My carpets are all brand new, laid on a cleaned under-surface. They're wool, not foam-backed, so less disintegration. I live alone and don't spill stuff on the carpet at all, I don't have pets and there are no small children messing my place up. I never, ever wear outdoor shoes in the house, and family visitors likewise take off their shoes.

I pad about in perfect bliss, nothing can beat a decent carpet!

God I've heard it all now! Imagine starting a thread to accuse folk who want to lay (or keep) carpet in their home as being "obsessed with carpeting"?

Now, if you had said "obsessed with bland grey floor laminate", you might have had a point

You know all those really hot countries with hard flooring, they do a roaring trade in rugs.

Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, the Swedes also use rugs on their floors.

Carpets are also more comforting. There’s just something hard about a wood floor.

My lounge is laminate with leather sofas and I hate how cold it feels. It is however very practical because we have the dining table in there too so stuff is always getting dropped or spilled, it's all very easy to clean.

Ideally I would have a house where the hall, kitchen and eating areas and bathrooms were hard flooring with carpets for bedrooms and lounge areas. I would never have hard floors in the bedroom by choice.

My carpets probably are disgusting because I don't hoover very often but we aren't dead yet so it's not something I'm going to get worked up about.

You sound filthy.

Same-hard floor downstairs, carpets upstairs. We’ve had cream carpets in all the bedrooms since the kids were babies and only just changed them over a decade later (they didnt actually need to be changed). Most people eat, drink, socialise in the kitchen/dining room and garden in the Summer so its no problem having warm, clean carpet upstairs. I would need rugs to step out of bed onto cold wood floor in the winter 🥶

Are you always this judgemental about other peoples choice that don’t impact you even remotely? Really weird OP.

Absolutely agree. My neighbour recently replaced her carpet and curtains with laminate and blinds. Noticeable increase in noise from her now to the point that if it's the early hours (as in 3-4am) and she's got friends over I can often hear quite large chunks of conversations.

Istanbul, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, etc etc etc, way more obsessed with cats than UK.

I only have it upstairs.......keeps me cosy on the 360 days a year the great British weather is shite.

There is nothing at all hilarious about it.

If you came to my Victorian terrace in the north of England with its wonky floors and poor insulation in the depths of winter, you’d soon understand the concept of carpets in bedrooms.

Although, is a carpet a concept? Hmmm.

There’s vacuum cleaners you know which can actually wash carpets (well sort of shampoo) but they’re expensive. I keep track of what’s in my house so eg dirt, the vacuum cleaner thoroughly cleans all dirt and if necessary I shampoo them. In fact I do shampoo some areas about once a year but shouldn’t need to really. I vacuum once or twice a week depending on dirt. You used to be able to get a powder called Shake n Vac which helped clean/scent the carpet.

When I clean my non carpet floor it’s obviously with Flash or other detergent but as others say no carpet floor I find tends to show dirt more.

Re bare feet on carpets I and most of my UK fellow people tend to wear slippers on carpets. I got some lovely leopard print thong slipper fabric feet things in Intermarche a few years ago which are perfect for the heat.

Other than bathrooms and kitchens I love cosy warm carpet. I was very glad to see my flat had carpets when I bought it although I am going to take up the hall one as flooring will improve the look and make it lighter. My mum's obsession with carpeted bathrooms is one too far for me though!

I much prefer it to tiled floors which are freezing in winter! Squinting at DH's family......

I'm mid thirties, and think my friends are about 50:50 carpet to solid floors.

Only one is obsessed either way though, and whenever someone shows her a house without, it's always "it will be nice once you've put carpets down" or after purchase "you getting carpets put in then?"

This. I have amtico in my kitchen diner and hall but carpets in lounge and bedrooms. They reduce the cold in winter and as none of us has a dust allergy they are fine.

@Finlesswonder My friend's sister doesn't have curtains in her living room. It is freezing in winter. Curtains offer an extra layer of insulation in cold weather. It is very noticeable when I open the curtains in winter at home as I can feel the extra chill. Our windows are double glazed BTW.

I lived most of my life in Europe and I loved coming home to the UK and carpeted homes! I think laminate, boards, lino looks cheap and tacky. I have been through them all and I just do not like them at all.

I hate homes with no carpet upstairs in the bedrooms. Also, our homes are often terraced or semi detached and carpet reduces noise.

we have a mix - hard floors most of downstairs except study and living room so it’s nice and cosy. Carpets upstairs except bathrooms. My house is perfectly clean for living without being operating Theatre clean. You know obsessively clean isn’t great for humans and our health?

It's no wonder people have so many problems with allergies these day when people are so obsessed with hygiene. The healthiest place for kids to live is on a farm, not a hermetically sealed, antibacced to within an inch of it's life, sterile environment.

^This!
A little bit of dirt never hurt anyone. When one of my DC was found to have a chronic heart condition as a baby, the consultant actively told me not to be too fastidious about hygiene, that she needed to build up her immune system. 20 years later she's a healthy robust adult.
I like carpets in some rooms and quite honestly OP if this is all you've got to worry about, you're very lucky!

Only in MN world do people actually think carpets are DISGUSTING!
At least I hope so. I don't think my friends believe my home is disgusting; they are all happy to be hosted here. Maybe they go home and disinfect themselves and slag me off behind my back. I suspect not.