Carpet is only a problem if you get a dog that you have to house break. Consider adopting an adult dog that is already housebroken. My dog, Skye, shown in my avatar was a rescue and he has only had an accident in the house three times since I got him three years ago. Each time it was because of something that he had eaten and none of those times did he "go" on carpet. He was neutered at 6 months and so he does not hike his leg, he squats to pee and so he doesn't mark his territory. My flowers and I are both thankful, lol.
It is MUCH harder to maintain the hardwoods in our current home with such a large dog and his toenails than it was to maintain the carpet in our previous home. His toenails do mark up my hardwoods, but I will just get them refinished years from now when our dog is no longer with us.