I went with a wool blend sisal in bedrooms. I know it's not a new idea, but to me it is a great alternative to wood. And I am someone who loves wood -- i have a soaking tub on a wood floor in my bathroom!

But sisal is a great choice for bedrooms.

Here's why - like wood, it is neutral, can be modern or antique, male or female, kids or adults. Like wood, it has texture instead of color for visual interest. Like wood, you can put area rugs over it (especially delicate ones like kilms or needlepoint or the Dash and Albert cotton stripes and plaids).

In our old house we had almost the same carpet as a runner up the steps and in the hall way (high traffic). The oldest was a baby when we put that carpet down, and it looks good 10 yrs later. That was all wool, which really does clean well. This time I tried a wool blend.

The colors range from oatmeal to camel. I love the way area rugs look with a sisal reveal, and the continuity that I get by using one color carpet throughout.

Here is a link that might be useful: what i used

Hey, my DH says "Blah blahblah" too.

I love these area rugs over sisal (see link). They are very reasonable priced, and you can even reverse them. They do not wear that well (I had one in our lakehouse and the furniture legs wore through it ... not great but you cannot see it unless you rearrange furniture)

Here is a link that might be useful: area rugs

We used different carpeting on our stairs and upstairs hallway then the carpet in the bedrooms. For the stairs, I like something with a short pile and a bit of texture or pattern to help hide any dirt and wear. The one we used still looks great after 3 years (hard to get a good picture - the footprints don't show up IRL - must be the flash.)

We used different carpet in each of the 4 bedrooms, letting the kids pick theirs (within reason). The difference in carpet doesn't bother me a bit -- this is on the 2nd floor and mostly seen by us.

We noticed that padding can make a really big difference, so I'd recommend getting really good padding - it can make even less expensive carpet feel more plush.

Finally, if you don't mind different carpet in the rooms, you can check the remnants. DS's room and DH's office are each small enough (~ 13x14 or so) that we used remnants and got really nice, practically "luxurious" carpet for DS and really cool commercial grade for the office. There were some really big remnants at the place we used, at about half price.

Here's the (darker colored, textured) hall/stair carpet leading into the MB (lighter, less textured carpet.)

{{!gwi}}

look into the newer "Smartstrand" and similar products. Made from corn I believe..they are extremely stain /soil resistant. Lots of colors-they've been out a few years now and the feedback is good.

Stay away from any type of berber if you have pets. Yes, it's hard wearing, but it snags like crazy from pet claws. I would also pick a light commercial grade light pattern in something like a tough wearing polypropylene or olefin for the stairs. For bedrooms, something softer, in a stain resistant nylon will be inexpensive and wear fine for light traffic. Do not choose polyester, as it tends to shed a lot and create dust bunnies of fibers.

We had trouble finding a nice silver/gray carpet for our bedroom because the carpet industry makes way more beige/gold, green, blue and even, red, choices. I saw a few nicer carpets in gray but the kinds we liked had crazy price tags.

We finally got a simple low pile carpet from an independent installer. His price was good and he had 2 samples that fit the bill for what we wanted. We felt like we were choosing something that should work for a decade or so and then we will find something nicer when we can better afford it.
I'd steer clear of a solid color if it does not have much of a pile. Any solid expanse will show wear or a spot much more obviously than something with a pattern or blend to it.

We prefer carpets in the bedroom because of bare feet and cold floors, esp in the winter when getting in and out of bed. We also like that they are quieter and since one does not track in dirt to a bedroom, carpets last longer there. For our main living spaces, we'd never do carpet. Too much potential for damage.... I'd rather have something easier to keep looking clean. I am glad that we see dirt or dust more on the wood floors, because they get cleaned more often and don't have stuff lurking below the surface....

You guys came through again! thank you all for your advice!
mtnrdredux, I love the look of the carpet you linked to- I always thought sisal was more strawy feeling. I will look into that- and love the idea of the color rugs to go over it! I think you are exactly right- it is a good alternative to wood.
Chicagoans,
thank you so much for the picture. I was wondering how it would look to do the stairs and hall in one type and then bedrooms in another. I think your hall and bedroom look great-

HI Joan,

We just got smartstrand from Beer's hardwood floors. That was where we got our hardwoods. We probably would have gone hardwood throughout but just couldn't afford it. The smartstrand is great. Its made by 3M and everything is supposed to come out with handsoap and water (or something like that). Anyway, the workmen tracked in mud (despite my signage about removing shoes) before I could put paper down. The mud came right out. The carpet has a tone on tone pattern which we really like and the install went very smoothly. HTH.

Joan,
Thanks. "Sisal" has come to be used very broadly. True sisal can be uncomfortable to walk on, IMHO. They now make all types of variations on "sisal" out of a variety of materials. The key to the look is that it usually is sort of ribbed and it is not closed loop, not plush, in neutral colors.

Good luck.

Thanks Joan for posting! I am about to start shopping for carpet, and YES! I have come to trust the posters here a lot. Sisal is a great option for stairs and one I have not considered. If it were just me, I would put sisal in our bedrooms, but DH would not like the feel of it, even with rugs down. Married for 19 years and don't even have to ask :o)

I went out rug shopping today...then came home and read brianadarnell's post about smartstrand. I heard a lot about that today, and think it will be a good choice. Now the problem is which one, and how much to spend! seems there is quite a range of pricing.
I also looked at wool sisal, like the look of it, but that was pretty pricey- I guess b/c it is wool? anyway, Mohawk Smatrstrand looks like good stuff-
Still looking...may do the stairs and hall in one and bedrooms in another type.
Capegirl- let's stay in touch and see what we come up with!
It is probably true for a lot of us who have finished kithens: now have to do the rest of the house.

i just ordered the Mohawk smartstrand. There's much more about in in the flooring forum, if you're interested. We went with one of the carpet companies in Dalton, GA, and their price on it was unbelievable compared to Home Depot. They all have different names, and you have to do some detective work to figure out which HD ones are the equivalent to the carpet/flooring store ones. The internet stores from Dalton are quite helpful. I went with Owen Carpet, which has been bought by a larger place. My parents actually went down there just to check it out, and said it was fine, just like all the other places in Dalton. Shipping was about the same as tax for me, but the pricing difference per sq yard was approx. 30%.

Basically you figure out how much you need, and which colors you want, and they then call Mohawk, and find out how much Mohawk has in stock of that carpet in that color. You can either wait for *your* color, or if you aren't too choosy and are pressed for time, then give them several colors, and they will figure out which one will ship the soonest. if you need a roll vs getting a 'cut' piece, then the price goes down, since they don't have to cut it. It usually comes in 12 ft length rolls, and are different lengths, since other people have had pieces 'cut' from the roll.

I didn't go with the carpet padding that would increase the Mohawk warranty, but just went with their generic 9lb pad with a moisture barrier, and it was also much less expensive than HD, at under $3/sq yd.

Now, if only my contractor would actually get it installed, so I can see it!!

Just spent an hour at the flooring place while we placed an order for some bamboo flooring. It took a while to call the supplier to find out about shipping schedules, blah, blah, so amused myself by looking at everything else. This is a smallish flooring dealer with an excellent reputation, so they don't have everything, but everything they have is first rate. Anyway, there was a largish display of sisal carpeting that wasn't scratchy at all. The tighter loopings were stiff, but not scratchy. The less tight loopings were softer. Had I been looking for carpet, I would seriously be looking at it.

P.S. This dealer is way smaller than most big box and big retailers, but their prices on Eco Timber bamboo flooring was the best around. Might get .50 per foot less online, but then you pay shipping. Bet the story is the same for carpet, and the personal care/advice is *much* better. They also had some rather unusual things I don't think you'd find at monster retailers.

I love the look of a runner on hardwood stairs and area rugs on wood. When we put hardwood in our house 40 years ago, I wanted wall to wall carpeting. I'm so glad my husband was adamant. I love the wood now. It's classic.