I went from plush to frieze and altho it took me awhile to get used to the different look, I love it.
We first ordered a plush to replace the old, but after the headache of seams showing due to dye problems, we decided to go with the frieze.
IMO, some Frieze have a formal look and others have a more casual feel. DS/DIL put the multi in their home and it did hide a multitude of problems from toddler and dogs, but when I tried a sample of it in my house it just didn't work with my style. I went with a more solid color since I feel the multi has a casual look.
Some friezes have a shorter, tighter twist and others are long and loose. You'll also find some are much softer than others.
I suggest you bring home several samples and walk on them barefoot to see which you prefer.

One tip: we discovered after ripping out the old plush and installing the frieze that the areas where carpet met other types of flooring needed ramping in order to correct height differences. Frieze is not a thick and dense as some plush carpets so make sure your installer checks for the problem and that he has the materials to fix it.
Also, go with a retail company that will work with you and the manufacturer if there are any problems with the carpet. We had to reorder the plush twice, deal with a manufacturing rep coming to the house, and a total of 3 visits from the installers. Fortunately, we were dealing with Karastan and they backed their quality 100%, plus our installers played a huge part in communicating with the company and the manufacturer about the problems with the plush seams.

In the link below, click on each color block and an image of it in a room pops up. Just a visual for you........

Here is a link that might be useful: Frieze

We had plush in a previous home for 10+ years, and at the time that's what I thought I wanted even though it showed all the tracks because of the velvety nature of the nap--but it was a vacuuming ball and chain. Then DD got a very light multi-colored frieze in her home, and we had carpet envy from her ease of care. Hers had very few thread colors--mainly off white with charcoal and perhaps a light brown flecks, but it was enough to hide a multitude of sins, including cat hair.

So when we installed carpet in our last two homes, ease of care won, and we went with frieze--both using shorter tighter dense yarns, fairly light tan background and slight multi-color flecks. Extremely forgiving, long enough to still feel good, and looks great if you have a dense pile. As also said, it's not necessarily casual looking, but can be--depends on the color & pattern I think.

We also have decided that hardwood floors and area rugs are even more carefree than carpet, and love the feel, too. But in our bedrooms, we do have carpet--in our new house, it will be all one color, but with square woven patterns throughout which I hope will distract from footprints.

Thank you all for your feedback. As mentioned we are looking at the Smartstrand line and at first I thought I would go with the shorter version but the slightly longer version is so soft...I don't know now. Also, anyone have this installed on stars? i am beginning to think it is my fear of "change" that is holding me back. Obviously a nice beige plush would be a safe bet but the multi colored frieze....just keeps catching my eye.

I love our frieze carpet. We have it on the stairs and throughout the 2nd floor. I don't remember what brand it is, but it's soft to walk on, hides lint, cleans like a dream and is easy to care for. Ours is 6 years old and when we can finally put rugs down on the first level, I'm going to have frieze remnants bound and use it in our living room too!

I have the Smartstrand by Mohawk in our upstairs loft and 2 BR. I researched it quite thoroughly. It's very soft, somewhat casual (since I have the multi-colored beige/tan.) It should be great on stairs, since it doesn't mat down at all. And here's the kicker. Was caring for Granddog with a sinus tumor near the end of her life. She had not gone upstairs once in the week we had her; but when we went out for the evening, she had one of her (bloody) sneezing attacks and apparently ran around in total confusion. In the upstairs landing was a horrible mess. I borrowed DIL's rug cleaner, and you'd never know it today. I'm sold! Love that it's made from recycled material, is so soft, and hides a multitude of sins.

I was debating over a loop carpet or freize, mostly to hide footprints. I picked a freize and am glad, I think loop carpet smashes down and doesn't look that good over time. I've heard the Smartstrand is a great product, but I got a great deal on Shaw anso nylon and I am very happy with it. I picked the shorter fibers and its still soft.

Thank you all for your feedback.
@katrina_ellen, you said you had the shorter frieze...do you have it on stairs, is it a multi color and do you think it looks to casual for the whole house?

@jab65, so sorry to hear about your Granddog but happy to hear that Smartstrand cleans so well. Do you have the longer or shorter version of the frieze? We are also looking at the multi colored (I think it is called natural grain? It is the second to the lightest in that grouping) and my biggest fear is that it will be to casual for the entire house. Any thought on using it in the whole house?

@lukkiirish love your idea about using the remants. Where do you even go to have that done?

We put a freize in our master when we bought this house. It looked great for a while, but it started showing traffic paths -- a dark one from the door to the bathroom. We tried steam cleaning and dry cleaning and nothing cleaned it -- and I was worried about untwisting the strands and winding up with fuzz. We got it because we heard raves about the ease of care, and we wanted a light carpet. It may have been the particular type we bought, but I never thought of it as easy. We had it about 9 years, but that was too long. It was nice at first, it just didn't stay that way in the traffic areas.

I put Freize in my master bedroom - I can't remember the brand but it had a designers/models endorsement. It was rather expensive. It is light colored and mine does show foot traffic. I was just tired of plush or very low decorative pile. I like it, but it does show the marks.

I have the frieze in my living room only - no stairs. It is a beige, with very subtle flecks of different shades of beige. I have a casual style, so I like it with my style, I think the short fibers are pretty versatile. A friend has the longer freize and it looks similar to a shag. I would think a longer fiber would also show traffic patterns. Of course the quality effects the wear of the carpet - I know Lowes has a great price on the Smartstrand whatever type you decide on. Freize carpets are generally known to wear like iron and good for high traffic areas, because of the twisted yarn. If you have to have seams in the carpet it also seams well according to the installer I used. After having a chocolate brown loop carpet in the room, that showed every piece of lint, this is so much easier. I would make sure I like the look though before you commit, my friend with the long frieze hates it, she thinks it looks messy. I don't care for the longer style either.

we put in a mutli plush from lowes, stain master called barefoot manor, in my daycare playroom it is wonderful, very soft and does not show foot prints or traffic pattern yet, we have had it for month and a half now so can't tell you how long it will hold up. It is a shorter tight twist type that is nice and thick and we bought the upgrade pad.

Once again thank you all for the feedback. Rtwilliams, very cute play room. If i may ask another question, what color is that wall to the right of the little yellow house? I would say if the frieze holds up in a daycare it should hold up just about anywhere.

ksue53 - Thanks, we love the playhouse it is finished now except for house numbers. The kids keep entertained mailing letters and ringing the doorbell! My always dirty westie model posing. : )Oh but you asked about the wall color it is SW Urban Putty.

rtwilliams, your westie is a cutie. He/she must have been the inspiration for the westie on the wall. Is the Urban Putty the color I see inside the house and on the wall outside the door to the left? I know I am getting off track from this thread but I have been looking for a nice neutral forever for the main part of my house. Please tell me there are no pink undertones in the Urban Putty. If that is Urban Putty inside the play house I guess I would have to say I see green undertones...just don't want any pink undertones. Thanks!

ksue53 - yes, there are green tones to the inside playhouse paint because it is a pastel green! The urban putty does not have pink undertones at all. If you click on the picture you can see the urban putty in my photobucket album in the laundry/mudroom pictures. The color in the rest of the house is SW khaki shade a shade darker than the urban putty. I love the khaki shade.

Just thought I'd clarify -- my carpet wore well. The fibers and twists were in tact -- they just held on to the dirt and showed a dark path. The one with the playhouse above is a much darker color. It might wear a lot better -- I don't recommend an off white or cream.

rtwilliams, I just love your house! Are you a decorator? I looked at maybe 25 pictures...the server stop responding!! You said the rest of your house was the SW khaki shade...I really like that color. It appears to be a warm neutral, does it have any undertones and do you know what the LRV of that color is? Again thanks!

@lascatx, glad to hear that the carpet wore well. I have heard that light carpet shows the dirt quicker. Even though the Smartstrand is suppose to clean well I don't think I would like looking at a dirt path until I had it cleaned. I am looking at more of a medium light color. Thanks!

ksue53 - Thank you so much for the nice words. No, I am not a decorator just a daycare provider : ) I do not know the LRV, the color looks different in every room but always looks nice. The Khaki shade is a darker shade than the urban putty but both are good neutrals. I used the urban putty in the rooms that were smaller and do not get as much natural light.