For the Love of Flooring

It's an age-old dilemma.  Even the cave-folk of yestercentury struggled with it, I'm sure.  Go with the lush shag carpet or the timeless hardwood flooring?

Before we begin, let's consult an expert.  When I first met my husband he was working as a carpet cleaner.  When he quit, as an inexpensive form of therapy, he wrote this:

Lessons I Learned as a Carpet Cleaner:

• Your dog is more destructive to your house than you will admit.

• Your cat is worse.

• Yes, the offered protector (Scotchguard, etc.) helps- if you clean your carpet at least once a year. 

• Please vacuum before your carpet cleaner shows up.

• A good carpet cleaner can remove food-based red dye, wax, blood, tar, and most rust.  There is nothing he can do about wood stain, bleach, ink, or burns.

• 90% of renters expect their full security deposit to be refunded.

• 30% deserve it.

• 70% will intentionally deceive their landlord to get it.

• Shag carpet with a deep pile is nearly impossible to keep clean, and will wear out faster than others.

• The deeper the pile of the carpet, the more likely it is that I will find coins and goldfish crackers in your carpet.

• The dirtiest, most worn out carpet in your living room is where you put your feet in front of your couch or easy chair.

• Re-arrange your furniture frequently.

•   If you don’t want me to clean a room, that’s fine.  Just don’t say, “No one ever goes in there.”  Yes they do.
•  Carpet does not belong in high traffic areas (halls and entryways.)
•  Kitchens and bathrooms should have carpet....NEVER.  Do you really want what goes on in these two rooms to stick around under your feet forever? 
• If you want me to clean human waste, please just tell me it’s from your pet.

Our floor is one of the few things about our house that is still original.  It's a light-colored pine that tints orange in some lighting.  It gets scratched and dented very easily, as was shown in this post.  It was covered by carpet for decades, probably during the carpet epidemic of the 1950's.  Wall-to-wall carpet throughout, really people?

This is a photo of a different old house that Jonathan visited.  This is what we imagine our floor looked like at one time.  When we moved in, the carpets had already been taken out and the original floor refinished (thank goodness.)  It was one of the first things we loved about the house.

As with many old houses the floor has a lot of curves.  The kitchen cabinets were actually cut to fit the curve of the floor!  When my daughter rolls a ball across the kitchen it goes all different directions before it settles in the same spot every time. 

As our addition gets closer, our anxiety over the flooring is increasing.  We don't know what to do.

Hardwood is beautiful and is all the rage in modern housing.  It is so much easier to keep clean than carpet!  I clean my floors every other day and am always amazed at how much disgusting filth accumulates in two days' time.  I can't imagine how gross it would be if I had carpet everywhere and this nastiness were hidden in the fibers.

Two days worth of floor mess... and do I really lose that much hair?

The downside, however, is not being able to get down and play with our kids on a wooden floor.  Believe me, we tried.  For the first year after we moved in we had nothing but hardwood.  It was so uncomfortable.  We finally broke down and purchased an area rug on clearance at the good ol' Home Depot.  We suddenly felt like we had a living room!  When my daughter walked in for the first time she wouldn't stop sitting on it and rubbing it with her hands.

Before

After

We've concluded that the recipe for a perfect floor is to use both.  We'll put hardwood in our high-traffic or messy rooms such as entryways, hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms.  We are hoping to find wood that matches the original floor, but a little more durable.

Bedrooms will be carpet, but we're considering hardwood with a padded carpet rug in the middle.  Then when the carpet wears out we can just throw it away and buy a newer, more updated style of rug without having to call the install guys.  We love install guys, don't get me wrong.  But every time we call them all we hear is "old house...lead poisoning...death and destruction...pay us more money..."  Thank goodness I have a husband who doesn't mind lead poisoning and can install most things.

And when we're buying padding for carpet, we won't skimp.  It means the difference between walking on pure happiness or torturous misery.  Our feet will thank us.

No matter what type of flooring we put in, we know it will get messy.  Our main goal is to get the mess back out again.  And if we do decide to hire professional carpet cleaners we'll be sure to vacuum before they come.