On My Mind : Carpet & Runners

Deb

We have carpeted bedrooms but throw rugs in the hall. Previous owners carpeted the center of the stairs, leaving an eight inch border of hardwood on each side. I rather like that look. No problems so far with dog toenail scratches on hardwood as the dog seems to prefer the carpeted area of the stairs.

Karen

Our house when we moved in (4.5 years ago) also had “cheap and installed to sell” carpet in the bedrooms and primary bath/closet. Like you, I thought – at least it’s new and clean. When we moved in, we first immediately ripped out the bathroom carpet and stood on concrete subfloor for about a year. We started six months later doing a major reno in the kitchen/living areas of the home, including all new hardwood flooring, and that new hardwood fed into the hallway which lead down to the primary bedroom which lead to “Hey, why don’t we just install hardwoods in the bedroom while we’re here?”. Sure!

Well, when they tore up that bedroom carpet, that lead to discovering a leak from the master shower (other side of the bedroom wall)…..UGH. This was at the tail-end of FIVE months of hard-core renovating – major structural work, half our house was a construction zone, 3 solid months without a kitchen – cooking in the laundry room, and at the time my girls were 3 and 4. So I was on major reno-overload/cannot take anymore/so over it mode.
But of course this leak discovery lead to “Hey, why don’t we demo the primary shower and just reno the bathroom/closet since we kinda have to”…….I remember walking in to the contractor demo’ing the tile shower/tub combo (1978 special) and my brain just melted…..I was so NOT ready to make a ton of important decisions all over again. But I did it! And looking back, I’m quite grateful that we managed to renovate 80% of the house in one year; we have only one bathroom left to do, and we’ll get there when my girls are a bit older.

ANYWAYS, sorry – I got so off track here – about a year ago I was looking at the remaining carpet in the bedrooms, and it was so gross. Kids/dogs/we never had it cleaned. I connected with a reputable (and referred to me) local flooring company, and the guy was great. I told him I didn’t want the usual “tufted/yarn sticking up” carpet, I want it more flat/low pile. When I got to his showroom – with selection galore (brain explosion time) – he had already pulled out five samples, three of which were perfect and I took home to show my husband/decide (and that decision was made in 5 minutes). We also had a 10′ x 5′ pile of leftover hardwoods material sitting on the floor in the garage, that had been annoying my husband for three solid years, and this flooring company was able to install them into our smallest bedroom.

For us, using a flooring company really helped because they knew their product, and they pointed me in the right direction – the whole process was quick and easy. And of course I knew they were all licensed/insured/etc., which is super important when people are working in your home. I’ve also added an annual reminder on my calendar to get the carpets cleaned, as you do have to maintain them.

B

I totally agree that carpet makes bedrooms warm and cozy, but I would reallllly think about the durability, to the point that I would even consider commercial options. Every carpet we’ve had to date has been ruined to the point of needing replacement. In our last house, the beautiful, expensive Berber up to our third story that we installed when we moved in was ruined by a cleaning lady accidentally spilling a bucket of bleach water on the stairs. In our current house, our two sweet old dogs were both incontinent at the end of their days, and the carpet service that we had out to treat made it better for two weeks and then the stains came back worse. That’s apparently a somewhat common issue? And then on top of that we have a 6 and 8 year old, who have managed to grind markers, putty, and god only knows what else into it. It honestly looks like a crime scene but we are waiting until our new build is done and then I’ll replace it for resale. In the new house, we are sucking up the expense and doing hardwood everywhere because I truly believe carpet is not a good investment. I may just have epically bad luck, but definitely really think about the dog issue.

Lauren

Ooooh I love this series already!! It’s going to be interesting to see what you have mulling around in that designer genius head of yours! I quite like this topic because that’s exactly what I have mulling in my head. We have tile in all areas where there is water (it’s hideous but in good condition), plus our entryway and downstairs pass-through to the living room. Everything else is carpet (that I’m pretty sure is original to the house🤢). Two years ago we installed new carpeting in the living room, downstairs hallway, and bonus room. I completely regret carpeting that hallway (which gets a ton of traffic from the garage), as well as my carpet choice. The type of carpet you’ve displayed with these images is what I envisioned, but Jeff would have never gone for it. So I compromised and now I hate it. Needless to say, I know the carpet we installed doesn’t fit with my own staircase vision. Like you, I want a stair runner with the gorgeous finial rods-it just looks elegant and polished. I’ve searched for several different looks when it comes to stair runners and I love them all. I’ve seen the type you’ve shared here, plus some with a patterned runner, and some with more of a vintage rug look. They all look gorgeous to me but my preference are these neutral, contrast border options. To me they ground the space and give just enough detail to draw your eyes up. Carpet upstairs is a must for me. I considered the idea of hardwood flooring upstairs for about two seconds, and then realized it would never work for my family (or anyone else’s) when it comes to acoustics. I don’t want to hear every footstep overhead, nor do I have the type of budget to install insulating barriers between the upstairs subfloor and the downstairs ceiling-even if I did, it’d be a chore what with all the electrical running between the floor joists. I often stand on the upstairs landing and consider what I would do about runner termination and carpet border. I’m not sure how large your upstairs landing is- mine is 2’x4’ (I’m only talking about the part that can’t be considered hallway). In my head, the wood that I want on the stair tread would continue into this 2×4 space and terminate at the true perimeter of the hallway. The runner would begin shy of the carpet edge so that the wood can be seen between the two and continue down. For me, I would have the lower end of the runner terminate at the end of the bottom stair riser (no overhang onto the downstairs floor). I don’t know if that makes sense, or if you can envision it, but I have seen it done with an overhang upstairs and down, only on the downstairs side, and only upstairs. For our staircase, this would just make the most sense. I do agree that the runner should look cohesive with the carpet, but I don’t think it needs to be a complete match. The textures of carpet you’ve shown here evoke that waffle weave look, and depending on the size profile of that pattern, I think it would look great to do some subtle pattern mix. Maybe the runner weave is the same pattern as the carpet on a larger or smaller scale. Or perhaps your carpet is a more linear geometric pattern while your runner is more like basketweave. I think both could look great, but I get that it can easily take on a coastal look, and not wanting that. One carpet type that I’ve lived with (alongside large dogs) and loved, is Berber. I love the low pile loops and the fact that it’s more cushy, plus the color variation is outstanding. I can definitely see myself using Berber or something similar to what you’ve shown here. That image from The Frugality is stunning, and a look that I can see you aiming for. I particularly love the look of that runner!! I can’t wait to see what you dream up Sarah-I’ll be taking notes. I know what rabbit hole I’ll be heading down today (for the 100th time lol), and thank you for sharing your thoughts! Have a lovely Wednesday!

Colleen

Hey Sarah 🤗
Honestly I’m in the no carpet camp and I say that because of my own experience. I regretted big time in our last house of installing carpet in the bedrooms. We installed a beautiful low pile sisal look carpet with an upgraded underpad to create a more luxurious feel and we were sold on longevity of the carpet. I would say within two years in that house I was unhappy with it. Luckily for me we invested in hardwood in the upstairs hallway and family room (which was also on bedroom level) Because we were busy and it is a complete life disruption replacing flooring we didn’t have the time to change it out before year 10 😳 I was so over the carpet by then and swore off wall to wall carpet in future homes. We used the same carpet as a runner on the hardwood stairs too as it seemed to make sense but I totally could have done a different runner as the transition was to hardwood. Fortunately for us the hardwood we installed was a classic and still available when we finally had the carpet replaced after 10 years. The house we have currently has no carpet and I will never live with wall to wall carpet but I understand the appeal. I installed it for all the same reasons you have stated but even with regular cleanings it doesn’t hold up to pets and children. Let me say a few words like paint, nail polish, massage oil (lol) dog accidents, kid accidents, the stomach flu, endless dust, etc. the list goes on and on.
My advice is if you have your heart set on carpet, keep it in he bedrooms only. Do hardwood in the hallways on the upper floor, it will give you more options for the runner on the staircase. Totally do a different runner, don’t match it like I did. Because you asked those are my thoughts 😉 Changing carpet later is a big freaking pain but your house your decision. Lots to consider and getting your readers input hopefully helps.
Have a super awesome day!

Kristin Richardson

I love the look of runners on wood stairs. My question to you though is specific…. where do you stop the paint when painting risers?? In the picture above, from Jacqueline’s project, it looks like only the actual tread remained stained, the riser and trim piece between it and tread is painted? Is that the design correct way to do this? I ask since I recently painted our risers, but left the trim piece stained, along with the tread. (Which of course lifted off even though I used the green frog tape😕.) Painting that trim would solve a big conundrum!

As for carpet vs hardwood, I’ve had both in an upstairs bedrooms situation and I’m pro- hardwood. With a nice thick rug and thick pad for noise absorption. As a dog lover and borderline obsessive cleaner. I just find it easier to maintain. But as you consistently advise…do what makes you happy!!