Well, I've always said "I love the look of Wood Floors, but prefer living on Carpet" the warmth of Carpet just keeps my buying it. Plus, with wood you'll want to go out and buy a bunch of area rugs to ground the space and warm it up, right? I would suggest a really tight weave, nubby almost like sisal, neutral beige, not too light. Tweeds can be great for hiding dirt, but keep it all of one color pallet would be my suggestion, and remember your carpet is only as good as your pad, buy the best pad available. I would skip the Carpet on the entry area, since that's always dirty...doing a slate or wood entry, if that would work to make a walk off area by the door. Good Luck.......think about what you like, more than what's "current trend". I know "they" say always think about resale, but me......I think about now and what I want.........I may never move:)

I would not spend the money on carpet. Wood is the way to go.Consider an engineered wood. Dining rooms with carpets just make me cringe. I always imagine how dirty they must be in that area with food getting dropped or spilled .Also carpet on stairs -No.
Tile in entry area where it gets a lot of wear is the better choice there.
You can create area rugs out of choosing a wall to wall style and color you like and they can fairly inexpensively bind this in the size you need. Make sure all your furniture sits at least the front leg on the carpet. A big mistake is going too small.
Best of luck!
If you speak to an expert in a flooring design store, they can help you with the different choices.

Hi- If you have allergy issues, I would consider hardwood. It is easier to keep clean and is less likely to harbour allergens. The spaces you want to cover are all high traffic areas and hardwood would simply stand up better than carpeting. Also, clean up would be much easier, especially in a dining room. Another option you might want to consider is cork. It's environmentally friendly, will give you a look that is clean like hardwood but will be softer on your feet and easier on your joints. Clean up would also be easier than carpeting.

I agree about the Dining Room, bad area to carpet! I don't have one so.......was really just speaking about living rooms and bed rooms..........

Have you looked at cork? We did the family room, hall, foyer, kitchen and dining room in cork and LOVE it. Thanks to dogs our carpet was a mess...I don't like the noise factor with wood (the echo drives me crazy) so we went with cork and love it.

I'm a definite fan of hardwood. However, I think that stairs should at least have a runner down the center for safety. If you happen to slip and fall, carpet will cushion the fall and the friction will tend to minimize the distance you travel before stopping.

Go with hardwoods! We just had our entire house installed with hardwoods and we love our new floors. They are much easier to keep clean than our old carpet and it's comforting to know that all those nasty allergens don't have a home with us any longer. We had originally planned to purchase a couple of large rugs for the master and living rooms but the floors are too pretty to cover up! I know that hardwood floors are the current trend but they are a timeless choice and they increase the value of your home. Good luck with your big decision!

Thank you for your help! Eileen

Great and helpful info from all of you. I think I'll go with carpets, except for the entry and maybe the dining room. This site is so valuable! Thanks, all.

Pick what goes with your lifestyle and ease of upkeep. Got dogs, wood floors look bad quickly, dog nails scratch, are you prepared to redo your floors every few years? redoing wood is a big project vs. replacing cpt. The longevity of either carpet or wood is similar. While they say wood lasts longer I have seen it look really bad after 6 months due to dogs. If no dog issue wood can look good, but make sure you put furn. caps under legs of everything anything you move can scratch. In all honesty carpet is an easier upkeep, yes it can stain (get the protection of stainmaster) but this is az and the dust on wood or laminate is a real chore to upkeep if you want the floors to look and be clean. Most vacuums don't fit under couches or most furniture, be prepared to dust mop or use a similar type of cleaning alot. In all reality give this one alot of thought, you have to live with the decision a long time. PS-Yes with wood you usually have to use area rugs to give it some warmth or to protect high traffic areas, take off your heels in the house, LOL.

angelkat.. I understand what you mean about dogs' nail.. though I have always had dogs, up to three at a time and I have always had wood in all my houses and it was not an issue.. unless maybe the dog had nails that weren't getting groomed. To be honest, it is even more of a point for wood from my perspective as the dog's hair on carpet is an issue and carpet can smell like dog after a while.. or cat for that matter. I think it is a personal decision. They are also making some very good looking laminates these days and if this isn't a "high end" house, and it is right for their type of house, they might consider that. It does not show scratches like wood does.Very, very easy to maintain.

I put wood in the home we just renovated and for me it just seems like more work, you are right a personnel decision. I have a number of high end clients in the arcadia area, they all have wood. Maybe it's me but most of it looks scratched, dusty the day after the housekeeper comes and in general dirty (expecially the lighter ones that show every spot. One clients designer talked them into an eclectic kitchen table on rubber wheels and the wood under the wheels is ruined after only months. For me the biggest issue with wood is all the dust that shows under every open piece of furn. Running the vac. over cpt is just easier, no smell if you have it cleaned; lastly refinishing floors vs replacing cpt. is alot less mess. I am probably more anal than most I hate to see any dust it is just dirty looking to me and I do notice it. Twice a week with the vac was fine, everyday with the swiffer (at the least) is just too much work to me. PS-carefull with laminates, unless you buy higher end don't spill anything wet, the less expensive ones warp if they get wet, and don't or drop anything heavy they do chip

If allergy is the dilemma , opt for silken rugs or art silk ! they have negligible shedding.

Have you thought of putting tile easier to maintain than wood and carpets are a Pain ,as there are Allergies and Cleaning issues .

It has been great reading everyone's comments so far as I am currently facing the same dilemma. I was originally looking at wood but they all failed the "high heel" test - even the hardest "Tasmanian Oak" (I don't know if that is available in USA but it is in NZ and Australia). I personally cannot see the point in putting down wood for "upmarket" purposes if you have to ask all your guests with heels to take their shoes off! I have been looking at a variety of laminates and they now come in a huge range, both in terms of appearance and quality. The ones I have tested so far certainly out perform wood in the high heel test - they are really tough. Some also come with a solid plastic backing instead of MDF so they can be safely used in wet areas. Has anyone found such flooring to be cold underfoot though? Wall to wall carpet is pretty standard in NZ although the wooden flooring trend has taken off here too.

all of your comments have been tremendously helpful in our decision-making process. We have decided (finally) to go for wood floors in the entry and dining room; carpet in the livingroom and stairs. Thanks a million, it;s been fun! Eileen