Here are the facts:
- We live in a 120 year old Victorian home
- The upstairs has all hardwoods under the carpet
- These hardwood floors whisper to me late at night that they are beautiful and lonely and need to be exposed
- We made the mistake of putting down cheap carpet 2 years ago, and now its horrible and I scream everyday about how I hate it, and how its ruined several vacuums and how its trying to ruin my life. (slight exaggeration)
- The hardwoods will probably need some wo$rk if we want to have them
- New carpet can get pretty expen$ive too. Especially now that we know cheap carpet really stinks.
My husbands defense:
He thinks all bedrooms should be carpeted. He doesn't want to walk in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and have cold feet. His whole argument is based around how his feet feel when they first get up. He thinks we should just replace the carpet, and even called empire to come out ( We had to cancel for a dr's appointment, but now they call every night like an x boyfriend who just wont give up.)
My argument:
My husband never gets up in the middle of the night, but I do, and I don't mind cold feet. Our carpet is ugly, and hardwoods are beautiful. If you have hardwoods that you show them. We can get area rugs so when our feet touch the ground they go the rug instead of the wood ( in this imaginary scenario where my husband uses the bathroom at night)
Here's a picture before we moved in.
And here's so pictures of the carpet
Alright ladies- Its your turn, give me your wisdom, your opinions your amazing a ha moments that will make my husband come around! He's one of those super easy going, nothing ever bothers him kind of guys. But he hates hardwood floors in the bedroom, I've never seen him so passionate about an issue. I need help!
Carpet is a gross, dust-mite harboring health hazard! It should be outlawed! Haha, no, but seriously, it IS a great place for dust and dirt to hang out. Just *thinking* about all the dirt that I cannot get to with carpet is enough to make me swear it off. We have hardwoods throughout our entire house, and I do have large area rugs with low pile to warm up the rooms. Ikea's faux sheepskins might be just the ticket for your tender footed hubby. Check this out: http://thediligentone.blogspot.com/2012/01/faux-show.html
ReplyDeleteI am a HUGE fan of having hardwoods throughout the house - especially in older, character-filled homes likes yours. 120 years ago, that house did not have wall to wall carpet. It's not meant to. Let those floors shine! It'll probably boost your resale value too!!
ReplyDeleteHave you gotten any quotes for refinishing the floors? Maybe, just to appease your hubby, you could see about getting a qoute for refinishing your floors and a quote for new carpet. I wouldn't be surprised if the cost was comparable. And a little tip, we have a long time family friend who has done carpet for 30+ years and he has told us time and again that the quality of the carpet is no where near as important as the quality of the padding. So if you get a carpet quote make sure you add in the beefy, high-quality padding. Good luck!!
Our new house has hardwood thruout the first floor, including our bedroom and we love it! We bought a few floor rugs for the several different areas, including our bedroom. Let your hubby know that I step on the rug when getting out of bed... a soft and warm rug! But still have the beauty of the wood floor all around!
ReplyDeletedee dee
We have a new house so we have a lot of carpet. I don't mind carpet really but hardwood is certainly much prettier. Get area rugs and suggest that your husband put some nice slippers by the bed. I have "cold" feet and even with carpet, I wear slippers or socks around the house. Good luck : )
ReplyDeleteHardwood redone and large fabulous cushy rugs. Rugs can go around with 2' exposed...
ReplyDeleteI have the large shag rug from Home Depot under my bed and comes out 3'on sides and at foot. I like to step out of bed onto something... Works for us! Good luck!
Hardwood is beautiful and a good carpet is also nice. I was on the hardwood bandwagon until we were at my mom's for a week and I realized how often I'm on the floor doing stuff and how hard that floor really was/is. I think the best you can do is compromise. So now we plan on having carpet in the bedrooms and the den. The rest of the rooms will eventually get hardwood to replace the yucky laminate floors.
ReplyDeleteI'm going through something very similar, we just don't have the hardwood underneath the carpet. The one thing that drove me crazy before we moved into this here first house of ours was the carpet. Brand new but "cost efficient" (looks identical to yours). We're looking at putting in 1000 sq ft of hardwood at some point....but on a budget for the thrifty gal I am and I've literally lost sleep. I am begging you for my sake, and all of us on a budget desperate for hardwood, to use those beautiful floors under that carpet. You can always get a plush area rug to cover a good portion of the bedroom(s) that will be cheaper than better quality carpet and let your hubby choose it (with your design approval that is). Hardwood is easier to clean (I'm potty training a puppy and the carpet isn't my choice) and you can always change the stain/finish of the wood to suit your changing tastes over the years. That and I think a house that old looks best with hardwood. Thank you for letting me release that!
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of your Blog Followers who anxiously await photos of the wood floor refinished ~ Please, Please, PLEASE do the hardwood floor/area rug combo! Oh and of course tell your hubby that hardwood floors SCREAM "I AM MAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!" HAHAHAHAHAHA!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with your husband with the warmth factor of the carpet, but if you have to keep replacing a carpet, it isn't worth it. I agree with the Ikea sheep carpet! Maybe he can help with refinishing the floors? It'll make him feel like a man I'm sure. Try to get him involved in the project, although maybe he won't like ..? Or maybe buy him a warm pair of socks. :). KLM
ReplyDeleteGo hardwood and get him a pair of nice shearling slippers from LL Bean. Or tell him that every time he gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he has permission to wake you up and complain about his cold feet. ;)
ReplyDeletehere is what i think.... get your husband some slippers and set them by the bed every night for him. because wood floors are so worth it.
ReplyDeleteI love hardwood floors. Yes, your feet get cold, but design wins over comfort every time. Ha! I'm sure that argument won't win him over... :) One one hand, I always feel bad when my hubs "puts his foot down" about something because he really doesn't ever care what I do. But on the other hand, I always end up wearing him down anyway. ;) Hardwood floors are so classic, and they're a great investment even though you'll spend $ upfront. And like people are saying, rugs and/or slippers might help? Good luck; keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteHardwood wins every time with me! I'd rather have shabby looking hardwood than carpet any day! We have carpet everywhere except our dining room. I have never hated our dining room floor but hate the rest! Even the vinyl in the kitchen-ugh!
ReplyDeleteMy vote is rip those carpets up! It will add value to your home (in my opinion :)
Sherry's Bees Nest
I love hardwood floors, but in the bedroom, I actually like carpet! I totally get what your husband is saying! For me, they just cozy the place up and create warm spaces. But, your the girl and girls rule and boys drool, so tell him I took your side and go for the hardwood!
ReplyDeleteWe had this same debate for years in our home. Hardwood finally won out because once refinished (about the cost of installing good carpeting one time) it never wears out or has to be replaced. It never goes out of style. There is nothing short of taking a chainsaw to it that can't be fixed with a bottle of Mop and Glo and a sponge mop. It is best for children because you can get it very clean-no allergy issues. You can bleed on it, throw up on it, spill on it and draw on it and it comes right off. When we took up our carpeting, my dusting chores went from every day to once a week. Think of the time saved! Also, as a side note of curiosity, why do men insist on covering up wood on the floor but cringe and balk like a twelve year old exposed to soap and water at the thought of painting wood on the wall? Hmm.
ReplyDeleteWe live in an OLD farmhouse with OLD hardwood floors throughout too. I. LOVE. THEM. Yes...several rooms STILL need to be refinished....but who cares? I have rugs for the hubby (who has always wanted carpeting and who also never gets up in the middle of the night). We have rented the big sanding machines before and refinished the kitchen and bathroom floors which needed the most work. I painted one of the little bedroom floors because the wood was in horrible shape...otherwise I would never have painted them. Refinishing floors is a lot of work...but it's a fantastic feeling when it's done and you can say YOU DID IT! It's not impossible to do...just hard work and that's what DIY'ing is all about. Ours may not be perfect..but I've seen so called "professional" jobs that didn't look half as good as ours! Plus professionals are expensive and we have more willingness to do it ourselves than cash. We even installed the bare wood, 1/2 inch thick wood floors in our new addition...installing, then sanding and sanding then staining then coats and coats of poly! WHAT. A. JOB.!!! BUT SOOO WORTH IT! All these years, I've NEVER been sorry that we had old, hardwood floors and with 5 children, dogs, cats, farm animals...it holds up great! Rip out the carpeting!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have been having this debate too! But he lucked out because we dont have hardwood floors already in our bedrooms. It would have been WWIII!
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