DIY Painting? The walls will get dinged up when being carpeted. Personally I would use hardwood, laminate or LVT and area rugs before full carpet. Need to pretty much settle on wall color, flooring colors and furniture obviously so they all time / work together.

plaidpine, you may want to mention in your post that you have decided on carpeting vs floors (unless you have changed your mind), otherwise this will just go round and round again about carpeting.

After a lot of resistance to the idea, we are now considering wood floors for the main area of the home. Not because we want them, but because it makes a lot of other things easier. We'd still do wall-to-wall carpet for the bedrooms, one of which we're going to use as a den.

What wood floor would look good in a home with this style exterior? --

Remove all the creepy carpet, padding and staples.

PRIME and paint all walls, ceilings and trim(s)

I would definitely paint first. You can always touch up.

Best to see what the rooms look like BEFORE you select the carpet.

the flooring always looks darker than you thought. The choice has little to do with the exterior. What do you want it to look like finished. I like a light to medium tone floor, dark shows dust, QUICKLY.

not to mention darkens the room.

Choice depends on how much natural light you have.

you can always add an area rug to change the look, either subtle or colorful.

wood floors, meaning hardwood or wood look?

@Lyn Nielson real solid wood, not vinyl or engineered.

This is our stair rail, which I actually like, so maybe a wood floor in a similar tone?

you may choose to paint the railing.

Once you choose your flooring source (a local supplier) They will have available options.

Make your choice in your home, with the lighting and wall colors.

consider the furniture, whether light or dark against it. Not matching.

Furniture should compliment the flooring, not match.

Is that the tan color on the walls?

Without having a plan, it’s going to make things difficult and results may end up feeling haphazard.

1. Consider the features you are keeping/your style (forget the outside) and how to incorporate. Advise your style/needs if interested, so people can make suggestions.

2. If painting the whole interior, select a light neutral to allow for more choices when accessorizing rooms. Using the same color makes it easier and less expensive as you can buy pails of paint. I’d wait to paint though as the flooring will have a big influence (just lay large tarps).

3. Flooring..decide on the type: hardwood, engineered, etc. Then bring home samples with different shades and looks (take into account your future decor and furniture).

4. Carpeting in bedrooms..basically do the same: decide on content, durability, etc and do all rooms the same.

5. Before you start furnishing, what have you done regarding research: have you measured rooms, worked on a to scale plan re layouts/what will fit and where. Have you saved pictures of rooms you like.

6. Budget might be a driver, so prioritize. Furnish with essentials and take your time accessorizing which will also give you a chance to make good decisions.

You’ve got a lot on your plate, but the more thought and time you put in will be worth it. Good luck.

@Lyn Nielson I am not going to use that brown paint color you see in the photo. I've tested a LOT of colors. Right now a couple we're considering for the main space are SW Muslin and SW Dirty Martini but the paint color selection is not finalized yet. I have a paint color in mind that I really like for the den, which is SW Tarnished Treasure. The other paint colors I mentioned above coordinate well with Tarnished Treasure.

If you want to paint before the flooring then IMO you choose all the furniture you will be adding to the spaces tell us those colors then see what pops up for wall color. I use this color often where clients have to either choose for the builder or like you before anything else . I cut it up to 50% for just a hint of color it works with all woods and IMO a true neutral.It is a BM colorI hate beige IMO never neutral and that Dirty Martini is so yellow it will drive every choice you make .

If you actually post a decent image of the interior of your home we can test various flooring materials to see the final appearance. Time to try to stay out of your own way so you can make good logical decisions.

Have you considered replacing the treads on the stairs and just adding a runner rather than re carpeting the stairs?

@BeverlyFLADeziner I will make a discussion thread to work through the design of my home, and I'll include photos of every room with floorplan, dimensions, etc.

My intention when I started this discussion topic was to learn about the general process / order of steps.

Funny you happened to post those photos with a wood ceiling because that is something we're talking about doing.

Here are a couple pictures of the main space in my home, taken this past fall when we first moved in (before we learned the correct way to test paint...)

"Have you considered replacing the treads on the stairs and just adding a runner rather than re carpeting the stairs?"

@Lyn Nielson - Now that we're considering wood floors for the main space including the foyer where the stairs are, yes I'm considering wood stairs with a runner rather than "wall-to-wall" carpet on the stairs... but I'm also still very open to covering the stairs with carpet. This area of the house is really the only part with any architectural point of view, and it is obviously an 80s contemporary look. I want to work with that style rather than against it for the stairs.

Choose furniture first.

Choose carpet based on furniture fabrics.

Choose specific paint color based on overall scheme last.

Why? Because upholstery on the furniture you choose will be the most limited availability unless you go custom.

Carpet, particularly a single carpet, usually plain in that case, will be chosen based on your upholstery scheme.

There are thousands of paint colors with dozens of very similar shades to fine tune what works best.

Then paint first. Install carpet, touch up paint, and then bring in furniture.

I think a carpet installer who bangs up your walls and woodwork is not a good installer. There should be some rub marks on the baseboard that can't be avoided and maybe a couple other incidental things but not damage or major marks on wall paint

If I have any covering on the stairs I prefer full coverage carpet because it's easier to clean something that goes from wall to wall (excluding exposed treads under the railing and on an open stair) than it is to clean a runner and then a narrow trough of exposed wood down each side. We vacuum our stairs every day. Every single day. And we both have jobs, I have two. Takes ten minutes and it's a three story house.

If you are choosing wood flooring chose a single classic wood flooring in a uniform color that will work with anything. My house was built with dark walnut oak strip flooring and was refinished as the same. There is nothing that doesn't go with it. It's never on trend, it's never out of style, either. (Contemporary house).

I am sure you have probably realized this but you could ask a question about how big to make a two car garage if you want to be able to open doors on both cars, and someone will chime in to tell you how much they hate carpet and that your entire project is suspect because you want carpet. Gardenweb is a microcosm. People still do install wall to wall carpet. Not in all the places they used to but there is nothing the matter with it in bedrooms, if you are a good housekeeper and have a normal immune system.

You are just wonderful @palimpsest, I so enjoy reading your posts. Is there a vacuum you recommend for stairs? We have a Riccar Deluxe and a Sebo Airbelt and neither is well suited for stairs. Also if you are willing to share a photo of your wood flooring I would love to see. Your description really appeals to me: "goes with everything, never on trend and never out of style."

I am definitely still doing wall-to-wall carpet in the bedrooms, one of which is on the main floor and will be used as a den (TV will be in this room.)

I would say at this point I am 75% leaning toward wood floors for the main space but 25% still open to keeping a mix of tile and carpet. If tile and carpet, the question is am I keeping the existing tile or replacing it. The undertone of the current tile is ruling my life so to speak. And pretty much everyone on Houzz agrees it is unacceptable and has to go. I have the impression that a wood floor would be far more versatile and easier to work with.

The way you outline the process makes perfect sense palimpsest. The key is choosing the furniture but not actually bringing it into the home until paint and flooring are done. I just hope I can time everything correctly. And I hope I can evaluate furniture correctly without having a wall color or flooring finalized yet. I fear selecting furniture that will end up trapping me into a wall color I don't like.

The other thing is there is one very important area of the home - the living room side of the living/dining room - that's super challenging for furniture layout. No one can figure it out (meaning I'm not satisfied with any of the options so far.) I guess in order to select furniture I need to first know the layout, so that's going to cause a big delay. The den design is very easy and straightforward in isolation, but I feel I can't move forward with actually getting it done until the wall and trim colors are decided for the main space.

@plaidpine Yes, you wanted order of install and this diverged into order of color selection, but here we are.

It honestly doesn't matter what anyone on here tells you as far as the order of color selection. You are a person who has really strong feelings about particular elements that most people don't. You will find a dead end to most any advice anyone gives you on here about your space. And you are back here again at square one. (Takes one to know one, I'm quite the same.)

SOOOOO - Unless you want to live in indecision forever, use a process based on YOUR very particular likes instead of using someone else's process that dead ends based on your dislikes and needs.

You have a family of colors you like for this large space - beiges with yellow undertones. You have had 3 designers in here to try to convince you otherwise, but you love it so own these preferences. You live here, not them.

You are ever so close to saying yes to hardwood throughout the first floor so just bite the bullet for god sakes and do it.

You love the color of your railing. You want to keep it.

So pick a floor color that will look ok with your railing stain, and a yellow based wall color that will look good with the railing and the floor. Surely you can then find furniture that works within these parameters - greys, blacks, plums, cream -- whatever!

Just pic now without figuring out your furniture because you are NEVER going to find a furniture layout that you like unless you can figure out how to defy space and gravity. You should paint yourself into a box that forces you to choose furniture. Otherwise you will be stuck here FOREVER and never get this project off the ground.

Look at living rooms in the wall colors you like. You never are going to find an inspiration pic that matches your tastes. So find ones that have elements you can tolerate or maybe even like. Then add your plaid throws and enjoy!

Here are the SW coordinating colors for Muslin and an image from SW with almost a green black piece of furniture against the Muslin wall, a terra cotta planter. Can you imagine furniture in a leather the color of the terra cotta planter? Can you imagine a green black upholstered piece?

Here is a living room in Muslin and a night view of Dirty Martini in the same room. Of course your light will be different, but still, look at these wood floors. Is this color wood flooring amenable to you? To your staircase? (Ignore the furniture, I know is not your style.)

There are a lot of color ranges in this floor. (Too many for my taste.) .Could the mid tone look nice with your railing?

We have an Oreck compact canister that we use on the stairs and on drapes only. Our stairs are woven wool velvet so we don't want to use anything with a beater bar. We do not wear shoes upstairs including the stairs themselves.

Our floors are mostly covered, room sized wool upstairs with a small margin (5-6") and a near room sized persian in the LR, so I will have to find a picture when first finished. It's essentially Minwax Dark Walnut color but that may not be the actual brand.

Armstrong has a plank ceiling product that can be installed instead of wood on the ceiling.

Is available in all different finishes.

@Kendrah I want to address a few sections of your post and hopefully clarify:

" @plaidpine Yes, you wanted order of install and this diverged into order of color selection, but here we are."

No, I actually wanted to know order of selection. I know my preference for install order - paint first, then install flooring, then furnish. The preference of painting first especially applies to rooms with carpet; it's not as much of a concern with wood floors. And certainly it will be far easier to paint and replace flooring while the home is empty not furnished.

It seems the wise thing to do is select everything before doing anything, and that's why nothing is done yet. Even though in theory this is the "safest" approach, there are potential issues with that strategy.

What I wish I could do is establish the "base" of my home and then gradually add furniture. Meaning pick flooring and wall colors I like and then buy furniture that works with that backdrop. I am afraid to pick a wall color that ruins my furniture options and I'm afraid to pick furniture that ruins my wall color options. Afraid to pick flooring that ruins both my wall color and furniture options haha!

"It honestly doesn't matter what anyone on here tells you as far as the order of color selection. You are a person who has really strong feelings about particular elements that most people don't. You will find a dead end to most any advice anyone gives you on here about your space. And you are back here again at square one. (Takes one to know one, I'm quite the same.)"

I think I do resist pretty hard when I'm not thrilled with an idea, but ultimately I am super receptive to the advice I get here as evidenced by my completely starting over with my design based on Houzz feedback. This forum broke me and got me to reconsider wood floors for crying out loud! I think I come off like I'll never listen, but I actually read and re-read every word addressed to me here and sincerely mull it over.

Please try to give me a blank slate as far as your assumptions and perceptions about me. I am starting fresh with my home design and I hope you will start fresh regarding your view of me. A few times I have felt like you've misunderstood / misinterpreted things I've said and subsequently posted stuff about me that wasn't really accurate. At best it ends up causing more confusion and at worst it has caused other posters to dismiss me and not want to help me anymore.

"So pick a floor color that will look ok with your railing stain, and a yellow based wall color that will look good with the railing and the floor. Surely you can then find furniture that works within these parameters - greys, blacks, plums, cream -- whatever!"

Wood floors in the main space would open up my wall color options I think. For example I could never do an off-white wall color for the main space if I keep the existing foyer tile (foyer and living/dining connect and really need to be the same color.) With wood floors on the other hand, I could do an off-white type of color for the main space. I'd still want warm and creamy not stark and true-white, but I'm just giving an example of an option that becomes available with wood floors as opposed to keeping my current tile.

That white-ish sort of wall color of course suits the contemporary architectural style, but if I go too light in the main space I feel like then maybe I can't do my Tarnished Treasure color for the den (LRV 38 so a medium-dark color.) I could finalize selections for the den very quickly. I have a carpet I like, a wall color I like, I know the furniture layout. But I can't move forward with getting it done because I don't know yet what the main space will look like. It just keeps happening that every time we think we have a plan for something we realize we have to go 10 steps back and figure out a whole bunch of other stuff first. So that was kind of the point of this thread - where do we really start and what is the correct order for each step of the process.

We chose furniture first, then the wtw carpet, took the paint color from the lightest speck in the carpet. In cold climates nothing beats wall to wall. It's soft under foot as we get older and when you don't wear shoes there's not cold feet. Wood is acoustically a huge issue for me. I am just not a fan of the tin can effect. Area rugs are liberally used when buying wood so you get to purchase flooring TWICE! That just makes no sense to those on a budget. I am also not a fan of the 'patina' i.e. wear and tear as it scratches and water marks. Different rooms call for different types of flooring given function of the rooms.

@arcy_gw Thank you for your post. Did you have all of the furniture in the home when the carpet was installed? Or did you just pick it out but not bring it home until after the carpet went in? Did you paint trim after the brand new carpet was installed? I have the same concern about the acoustics with wood flooring vs carpet with our very high ceilings in the living/dining room by the way.

- What I wish I could do is establish the "base" of my home and then gradually add furniture.

Why not do this? This is actually a pretty easy thing to do if you choose a neutral enough base, and thus far, everything you have suggested is in the realm of neutral. This seems like it would be the least stressful and most natural choice for you. It isn't what others recommend, but that is ok.

What is stopping you from doing this? So many furniture pieces can be upholstered in a vast array of fabrics. I don't think you will be locking your self in by not picking furniture first.

I have always started homes by selecting a base first and then gradually adding furniture because I like a collected look.

- we are now considering wood floors for the main area of the home. Not because we want them, but because it makes a lot of other things easier.

This feels sad, like you could potentially regret your hardwood decision. You want carpet, I think you have all along. You are open to placing new tile in the entry. Why not select a neutral-ish tile and carpet combo and then a wall color you like that goes with them. Then gradually add furniture. The paint colors you have provided are neutral enough that a vast number of tiles and carpets can go with them.

I have the same concern about the acoustics with wood flooring vs carpet with our very high ceilings in the living/dining room by the way.

With high ceilings and hardwood floors, it is common to get area rugs and to add extra padding under the area rugs. That plus window treatments usually makes for fine acoustics.

My SIL in her previous living room had a large wall-to-wall style rectangular carpet inlay in the middle of hardwood flooring and it was quite effective and practical. So the carpet was streched and tacked in and with the pad was the same level as the wood floors surrounding it. As I recall it was like 4-6 feet of flooring something like that.

She had it replaced once and it was no big deal at all.

For the living room, an L shape for the main conversational seating such as the sofa and loveseat facing the view and the TV wall. Assuming the TV wall is to the left in your photo. Then place two swivel chairs on the window side so they can face the TV, the view, or the conversation.

Then install the inlay carpet so all the seating would be on it. .You could then have an area rug for the entry and a small area rug in front of the fireplace with two club chairs at an angle facing it.

I’d paint first, then install the carpet once the paint’s dry. After that, I’d bring in the main furniture pieces, then add rugs, curtains, and decor last. Starting fresh is exciting—good luck!