Garden Gnome

We are getting ready to do some remodeling on our 35 year old house. It still has the original vinyl and carpet. (ugh!) I want to put tile or slate in the kitchen and laundry, but the living/dining area has me stumped. Also hallway and stairs.
We have a dog. We have grandkids. I have rheumatoid arthritis, in my feet. Sometimes I can hardly walk barefoot. We live beside a gravel road, and a mile from a sand mine, so there is lots of dust and grit coming in the house.
What are your thoughts on carpet vs wood laminate? Cleanliness vs comfort? Allergens vs dust? Grit scarring floor vs destroying carpeting? I'm not worried so much about resale value. It's for our comfort.

I am pretty sure we will be getting a Roomba, so that is something to consider, or not worry about.

I love the look of wood flooring, but love the comfort of carpet. ??

cathyvv

Living, dining and hallway areas - Laminate - assuming a hardwood look - seems ideal for your situation. You can put the laminate down and soften it up with inexpensive area rugs. There are some beautiful area rugs to choose from. When the rugs get dirty, it is not nearly as expensive or time consuming to replace as taking out wall to wall carpet. Just roll up the old rug, and replace it with a new one. Also, what I find is that we don't walk in the perimeter of a room, so the rug would protect the most used portion of the laminate. You get the best of both worlds.

That would probably work for the hall, too, and, again, if it gets dirty, roll it up and replace it.

Steps perhaps use laminate and a pretty stair runner carpet over the center would work. Most of us only use the center of a stair, so I don't think that you would have to worry too much about sand, grit, and rough family usage with a stair runner in place.

With area rugs, make sure to secure them in place with double sticky tape.

jokir44

I'm not sure an area rug will give you enough protection on your feet. I have that problem so I know you want the comfort of a good pad. Maybe you can put a pad under an area rug to soften it. I might still carpet the bedroom as that is where you likely will do most of your barefootin'. Can you find a comfortable pair of slip on shoes for the hardwood?

Prism99

I agree about the laminate and area rugs.

I have a Neato instead of a Roomba. These are great for hard floors. They do a lot for carpeting, but you need to understand that they will pick up only surface particles from carpets; you still need to do a regular vacuuming once in awhile to pull up particles from deeper in the carpet. We have pets and the Neato is great at keeping pet hair under control; however, there is still a gradual buildup of pet hair on the carpets so that eventually I have to use the regular vacuum on them.

In terms of allergies, there is no comparison -- hard floors are always going to win out over wall-to-wall carpeting, especially if you are using a vacuuming robot. The only time I need to use a Swiffer on the hardwood floors is in tight areas where the Neato can't squeeze in.

Edit: Regarding feet, it is imperative to wear good shoes in the house if you have hard floors. My current indoor shoe is an Alegria sandal that has wonderful cushioning. When we first moved in here, my feet were in pain from walking on the hard floors without shoes. Haflingers with cork soles made all the difference. Unfortunately, Haflingers no longer work for me. They are now made in a variety of East European countries (instead of solely in Germany), and although they look the same the quality varies now depending on where they are made. Also, they changed from all-cork soles to a cork/plastic composite that does not provide enough cushioning for me. Anyway, my point is that the right shoes can compensate for the hardness of floors.

cathyvv

You can get pads for area rugs. I have a thin waffle pad under the one in my living room.

In our bedroom, we have wall to wall carpet. I hate it because it is so filthy in the high traffic areas - which is why I suggest area rugs. My DH doesn't know it yet, but we are replacing that next year!

Comfy shoes are a great idea! I'm in shoes almost all the time because of inherited neuropathy and pain; they help with balance as well. The shoes protect my feet from injury and infection. So far, I still have all my toes...

Tothill

My two bits:

No to tile floors, unless you are putting in heated floors. Heated floors are lovely, a friend has them in her kitchen and bathroom (her house is on a slab) and they are nice and toasty. But everything that gets dropped on them breaks, or cracks a tile.

I put vinyl plank floors in the main bathroom about 15 years ago, they are only now showing a bit of wear. I like that the vinyl is soft underfoot. One day I will gut the entire basement put in a subfloor and lay down vinyl planks.

I have oak hardwood, original to the house (51 years old), upstairs, living, dining, 3 bedrooms, hall and foyer. It needs refinishing, but is in great shape. I have 5 pets, dust bunnies galore, and it is easier for me to sweep than vacuum.

There is one basement room with carpets, it is the family room and on a slab. We put down carpet when the kids were little and it helped make the room warmer. We had a flood 14 years ago and it was replaced. The 'new' carpet has been a pain, it is a Berber type and the critters claws catch in the loops. It will go when I redo the basement.

I grew up in a house with 4 flights of stairs 3x8 steps and 1x16 steps. It was my job to vacuum them. I decided when I had my own home I would not have carpets on stairs.

I do have rugs inside the doors to catch the worse of what gets tracked in. I do not ask guests to remove their shoes.

Jingle

I think what Cathy said makes more sense. I don't like going barefoot except in the shower and bed.

Jane Quilter

I have hardwood, and some wood laminate. Why did I wait? I put it everywhere....kitchen bathroom, closets, won't look back. So easy to clean. We go barefoot all the time. All shoes are on the porch (except visitors). I do have area carpets in hall, and in some rooms. Never tile...too cold, and breakage and cleaning/maintaining grout is no fun. If you have animals or any dirt to track in, I would put hardwood in. Carpet "Hides " the dirt by letting it settle in the bottom of the fibers...so great, your house looks clean, but the dirt/ dander / fur / fleas / ants / spiders etc are still there, and you can't see what you have left behind. And the Smell is always left behind. Just because you live there, you may not smell the carpet odors, but visitors can smell it. One downside to wood floors is the grandkids can't wear socks only. Kids tend to run, and socks on wood slip. But they learn. LOL As for grit scarring, the wood laminate comes with a polyurethane finish so hard, I don't think that is an issue anymore. Good luck.

QuiltE

You need to go what works well for YOU!
I think you already have the answer, but perhaps are listening too much to what others are telling you.
It may be what they think is right ... but you have to do what is right for YOU!

Yes, consider all the negatives, but factor in how to counter them while keeping your carpet.
The Roomba could be your secret weapon! I know a lot of people swear by them.
Likewise, perhaps another consideration would be air filters or air cleaning systems,
to minimize what is being propelled through the air.

quiltingshorttimer

Wait, Garden Gnome, do we live next door?? Same issues--dogs that come inside to main living area, lots of gravel dust when windows open, or not open; lots of issues with allegens, wanting something that is super durable, easy to clean and looks nice--and doesn't break the bank! We just (last month) replaced the entry tile & library carpet (yuck) with vinyl click together tiles that look like stone, are seamless, waterproof, feel good underneath, and are guaranteed for life in residential settings. LOVE it!
We had replaced the original linoleum (sheet) in the kitchen/eating area and the living room carpet with a wood looking laminate 6yrs ago. Our installer said that laminate holds up better to dog nails and grit. Our only issue with it has been water can damage it so we have to be super careful. We also put it in the bedroom that I use for sewing.

Right now we have installation of a blonde wood looking laminate going into the basement rec room/quilting studio. I can hardly wait (especially since I can't LA until it's done!). Choose the laminate cause it's better about moisture than it was 6 years ago; thicker so will give more warmth when I'm working down there (over the vinyl) and we don't have to worry as much about any dips in the concrete as much as the vinyl.

We do use a roomba and the laminate, vinyl tiles are perfect. We do have carpet in the bedrooms and on the stairwells--I like the carpet to help me keep stable on the stairs (knees replaced).
I do wear shoes (Alegria, new Brands, Finns, Merricks) when I am going to stand (cooking/LA, etc)