We have hardwoods throughout our home and use area rugs. Hardwoods throughout has always been one of my "must haves" when looking for a home.

Hardwood

I like carpet in the bedroom, but the house we are working on now has oak floors throughout. We will refinish them and use area rugs as well. What type of floors do you have in the rest of the house? Do you need to match those?

Thanks all! We currently have per finished hardwood on the fist floor except for the foyer which is stone,

I love hardwood and area rug, but a beautiful patterned carpet is nice too.

Hardwood with area rug(s). Timeless, beautiful, easy to coordinate with your decor, and better for allergies.

Since you already have pre-finished hardwood you should be able to match it fairly well I would think.

Guess I am different. I like carpet in the bedrooms, especially in the winter time! Hardwood is great if there is insulation underneath it or using an area rug. I think it depends upon what the weather is like where you live.

Hardwood for sure just did this in my master and love it!

Mollythecollie, I agree about the warmth of carpet on in cold climates.

Area rugs warm a space up nicely!

Typically we see the majority of people sticking with carpet in the bedrooms, and then hard-surface everywhere else. It is simply more comfortable and cost effective.

Personally, I would go with a porcelain tile that has the look of wood. There's absolutely no maintenance as there is with hardwoods. Also, if you're looking for warmth, use a Nuheat Mat underneath, controlled by an auto-thermostat. One of the porcelain wood tiles I love is the American Naturals collection. They are made of sustainable materials that also gives them percentage points toward LEED certification if that's what your architect or designer is trying to achieve. I LOVE THE PORCELAIN WOODS after having hardwood floors. We have cozy rugs on ours...and the best part is that the animals don't scratch the floors because they're made of a hard-glaze, durable porcelain clay!