On My Mind : Carpet & Runners
Surprisingly, I get quite a few questions or source requests for the carpet we currently have in our home (pictured above), but I honestly don’t love it, nor can I recommend it. It was honestly kind of tough to find an image of our carpet, because I typically crop it out or shoot strategically because it annoys me. The carpet was here when we moved into our home, and I’m pretty sure it was an afterthought or attempt at selling the home more quickly. After the previous homeowners moved out, they had the entire house painted a warm gray color and installed new carpet throughout (even in the bathroom… remember that?!). It felt and still feels uninspired to me. The carpet isn’t great quality, but it is in good shape, is clean, and is a cool gray color that luckily goes with most palettes. However, it’s not my preferred style and it’s not holding up well to our dogs. We moved in two and a half years ago, and I’m still not impressed with the carpet situation. I’ve been thinking more about the carpet as I’m designing our entryway (think integrated stair runner), and wanted to share my random thoughts on the design topic and material. I have a lot of ideas and design-related things floating around my brain that may or may not ever come to fruition. I thought it could be fun to have casual discussions, bounce ideas, and share them in a new “On My Mind” series. If something pops up that seems interesting or relevant to chat about, I’ll use this tag / title to post about it. Sound good? Click through for a casual discussion on carpet and what that might look like in our home someday!
Since I’ve been brainstorming ideas for our entryway, I’ve been scouring the web for stair runners. I have always envisioned a neutral (and durable) runner on our staircase. It got me thinking about how that integrates and connects to our future carpet on the upper level of our home. It’s funny how designing one room can you make you stop to think about the rooms that will someday follow it. You’re designing a space for now, but also have to think about the future and the other rooms that surround it. If you choose a material now, will it even be in stock in a year or two when it comes time to renovate other spaces in your home? I guess that’s one downside to working in phases, but that’s how we do it over here.
Anyway- Emmett & I have decided we want to keep the entire upstairs carpeted. Why? It’s all bedrooms and it honestly feels nice and cozy. All of our previous homes have had hardwood flooring in the bedrooms, so I always relied on area rugs. We have four bedrooms upstairs: our primary bedroom and three guest rooms (this one, this one, and this one). Obviously the primary bath and guest bath have tile, but the other areas I definitely envision installing new carpet. It’s great for acoustics, it’s soft & welcoming, and it just feels good underfoot- especially in a bedroom setting.
I definitely envision something warmer in color (yet still neutral or natural), and it has to be very durable because of our dogs. In regards to material, wool carpet is my preference, but I’m also open to engineered materials that are stain resistant.
I also want a low pile and some sort of textural pattern (without it taking on too much of a coastal look). I think low pile, woven carpet is more timeless than a basic loop or shag. I saved all of the inspiration images throughout this post solely based on the carpet style, so you can see what I’m brainstorming.
So back to the stair runner… if the entire upstairs is carpeted, that means the stair runner will have to connect or transition to our future carpet someday. Should they match? Is a little contrast nice? What kind of carpet feels right for our house and family? These are a few of the questions swirling around my mind, as the entryway design plan begins to evolve. I really haven’t decided on anything yet, but the idea of new carpet someday has me oddly excited.
I’m very into the idea of a contrasting border of some sort, to define the edge of the runner or add a graphic punch to our colonial stairs. The staircase is the first thing you see when you walk into our home through the front door, so I want to include some elegant or more formal details. I also want to incorporate finial stair rods… anytime I have an opportunity to use pretty hardware (like jewelry for your home), I’m going to do it.
I definitely think when it comes time to renovate the entry and staircase, the runner will be a DIY project I tackle. If you’re interested in a tutorial, Jacqueline actually shared one a four-ish years ago here on the blog (pictured above)! I’ll link it here. It’s an awesome post with step-by-step instructions.
To wrap things up, I’d love to hear your thoughts on carpet. I’m a big fan of hardwood flooring and tile, but there really is something nice about carpet in bedrooms, kids spaces (like bedrooms and playrooms), and media rooms…. spaces that feel more cozy and comforting. Do you see where I’m hoping to take our carpet? What do you think? Do you have carpet in your home? Do you love it or hate it? Is it something you’d eventually like to change or trade? How do you feel about stair runners that match or mismatch the carpet in the same space? I actually think both can work. For me- it’s just a matter of deciding which look I want to commit to. Decisions, decisions!