Are carpets awful?!

[WillowSummerSloth]

Are carpets an absolute no-no style wise? I would love wooden floors through the whole house but it's so much more expensive than carpet. We're getting wooden floors in kitchen, dining room and hall but upstairs and living room remain carpeted. And it makes the whole thing look dated. Floorboards not good enough to just buff up. Does anyone else have carpets or are they totally passé?
Thanks

What a strange thread. I don’t think I know anyone without any carpets at all. We live in the Uk. Most people have carpet. Carpet is far nicer upstairs imo. I’m just redoing our master bedroom suite and I’ve gone for the palest, thickest longest pile carpet I could find.

I love the variety of preferences. I am, unfortunately, influenced by what is current and modern hence why I've been a bit out off carpets. I am more positive about the upstairs carpets esp. because of the noise aspect which I hadn't considered. But I still think I'd prefer wooden floor and a rug in the living room. Better get saving up....

I like carpet upstairs, I think most people have it as it’s more comfortable and looks fine if it’s a nice neutral colour. Carpet in the lounge/downstairs makes me think of grandma houses though.

We had wooden floors (with rugs) throughout downstairs, and have just, after years of complaining about drafts, fitted carpets in the living room and playroom. It feels so much warmer and actually much lighter and cleaner as we went for quite a light carpet and looks neater for some reason. I'd say everyone I know has carpets upstairs, about 50% downstairs.

It's May and it's bloody freezing, I'm not giving up cosiness due to style trends. Plus hoovering is so much easier than sweeping plus mopping

The reason carpets became popular in the UK in the first place was to help keep houses warm, help to block up any gaps to prevent draughts, to help cut down on noise and make cold rooms feel cosier. They offer a practical solution to the problems posed by living in a house on a cold, windy, damp island.

I think it’s all about personal taste too.

I do think hard flooring and rugs downstairs is a much more modern look than carpeted. But again we all have different tastes.

As said mine are exposed original floor boards, they are oak (old house) and sanded and varnished, with a huge cream rug, so I think it’s cosy and has a wood burner in there so suits the room, but if I didn’t have the rug it certainly wouldn’t be. It would be cold and hard. I know because I tried it without the rug and that’s exactly what it was.🤪

I hate carpet. I find it a really dead, uninteresting, bland surface compared with the light and shadow and patina you get with a wooden or tiled floor. It’s also desperately impractical and impossible to keep clean which I find self-defeating in a surface intended to be walked on.
Up there with net curtains, and only mildly preferable to crocheted loo-roll crinoline ladies.

Carpets aren’t modern? What next? Windows are so last season? We’re not doing roofs this year?

No.

I think carpeted stairs are essential. It's safer and quieter. The guy who fitted my hard flooring said he pretty much refuses to fit it on stairs.

I have wood flooring downstairs and tiles in kitchen area, all bedrooms have laminate. The only carpet i have is the landing and stairs and id get rid of that too. I have two black cats and the carpet is cream wool. I hate it. Only thing stopping me taking it off the stairs is ds is very heavy footed and imagine it would piss the neighbours off listening to him smash up and down them all day and think its safer while dd is still little. I would like to laminate the landing though. I vacuum it daily and it just holds so must dust plus the fecking cats pull on it aswell

Agree stairs are better carpeted or with a runner for safety if hard flooring elsewhere.

We've got carpet upstairs and the faux wooden stuff downstairs. Apart from the living room. I made a last minute decision to get that carpeted (its a new build)
I'm still 50/50 because I think that the karndean + a big old low pile rug would have looked classier, but the type of rug I'd want (fopr looks) wouldn't feel as nice. Whereas we have lovely fluffy carpet the 10 year old likes to roll around on and I love it when its cold and I can put my feet down on the nice fluffy floor.

I have carpet on the stairs and landing only, lots of lovely rugs to cosy it up and for ds to play on, and good quality sheepskin slippers for winter.

Wood floors are the second most lovely thing when it's boiling hot in summer only to marble floors which are truly truly heavenly on hot feet.

Wood floors are also very easy to keep clean and dust free, which is important for us as two thirds of our household are very sensitive to dust.

I find carpet in living areas feels a bit stuffy and would never have it now. Even the very best hoover will never get it properly clean. I can my floor clean enough to eat off with a sponge and some hot soapy water (not that you would want to eat off it but you get my jist)

Most of mumsnet has a hatred of carpets. Everyone I know, including us, has a carpeted house everywhere except in hallways, kitchens, dining areas, bathrooms/loos. But I live somewhere that has a cool and damp climate and don't have pets or small children so hard floors aren't required or ideal.

I also have a carpet cleaner, vacuum regularly and we remove our shoes indoors so our carpets are no dirtier than a hard floor.

Most of mumsnet has a hatred of carpets

Clearly not as most people are saying they prefer it upstairs.

The reality is it is generally perceived as a lot more modern to have hard flooring and rugs down stairs. Fitted carpets in a living room etc are seen by many as dated.

Everyone should furnish and decorate their house as they wish and with what they like. If someone likes avocado bath room suites, Artex ceilings and woodchip wallpaper they should do that. It is about what they like.

No one should be getting defensive because carpet down stairs is seen by many as dated. As long as the folks who live there like it that’s all that matters.

No one should be getting defensive because carpet down stairs is seen by many as dated. As long as the folks who live there like it that’s all that matters.

So true. Our house would be too cold if we had hard floors everywhere.

I think carpet in bedrooms is nice, wooden floors in the living areas. I think wooden floors in bedrooms only look nice if they are really high quality and aged and then rugs for warmth but I think the lovely look is outweighed by the cold and noise

I love my wool Berber carpets

Agree that standard cut pile carpets aren’t pretty

I took up all my wood flooring, only laminate and put down luxury vinyl tiles down in the hall, kitchen and downstairs toilet and lovely thick warm very light silver colour carpet in my lounge, it’s the best thing I did.

I’d had the laminate around 10 years with rugs and hated it.

Although I do think patterned carpet is really dated, especially with clashing walls, reminds me of old hotels and care homes.

If you google show homes most now have carpet in the living room. It’s seeing a bit of a revival.

Make sure downstairs hallways are definitely not carpet, learnt the hard way in our old house!

Carpet everything upstairs except bathroom (noise, even if your detached!). If you have a study or office then very low pile and hard wearing for a chair on wheels.

Downstairs, I love carpeted living room but depends on your set up, I'm tempted to go wood flooring and large rug as our living room is a wall way through to other areas but I don't think DH is keen!