Carpet or laminates?

[bluebunny]

We need to replace the carpet in our upstairs (bedrooms). We plan on selling our house in the next two years, maybe as soon as six months. As a buyer, would you rather have carpet in the bedrooms or laminates? Which do you think would help us sell the house?

[houseblend]

I personally prefer carpet in the bedrooms. We have wood floor in the rest of the house, though.

[Aimee]

I'd prefer laminate. Carpet, to me, is gross. I have it in my bedrooms and I hate it - I just don't trust my vaccuum to get everything up.

If I were buying a house, even if there were relatively new carpet, I'd probably rip it up anyway. I guess because you never know how the previous owners treated it. And, even when carpet is clean, IMO, it's still dirty.

[kiddo]

I would prefer carpet over laminate, but hardwood floor over carpet.

[BethElena]

For bedrooms, carpet. I like that soft, welcoming feeling in the bedroom.

[Sabrina]

I would prefer carpet over laminate, but hardwood floor over carpet.

ITA with kiddo.

[Etoile]

My order of preference:
Hardwood
Bamboo
Laminate
Carpet

[ManteoChik]

I'd have to agree....carpet over laminent

BUT, hardwood over carpet.

[Delaney21]

I think carpet is better in the bedroom, but I wouldn't not buy a house because there was laminate in it.

[Lindsan]

I would never want carpet in any place in my house. I think carpet is unsanitary and unhealthy. So laminate it is.

[villanelle75]

I hate laminate since it's basically fake wood. Ick. That makes no sense to me; either get wood or don't, IMO. I'd go with hardwood, then carpet, then laminate. I would (and have) decided not to purchase a place for the sole reason that it had laminate throughout the house and I didn't want the expense of replacing all of it.

[BethElena]

I guess you won't want to buy our tacky condo! :D

No, I understand. To each his own.

[looch]

I can't stand carpet, and no matter how new it was or looked, it's coming out! I would go for laminate.

Yes, it's fake wood, but for those that might be allergic to carpet fibers, it's a good alternative.

[jessied1025]

I would perfer carpet in a bedroom. We have carpet in our bedrooms and then laminate flooring in all our hallways and the kitchen. The carpet is nice to have in the bedrooms, especially here in Wisconsin when the floors get cold.

[villanelle75]

Hey...I certianly didn't use the "t-word"!! I don't think it's tacky, I just don't like it personally. *shrug*

Another thing you might consider if your motivation for gettign new flooring is to help sell the place: you could not replace the floors and offer a flooring allowance as part of the deal when you list your place. That way, the person buying the place knows that get whatever they want, which is th emost attractive option of all. Just figure out abotu how much you would have spent fo rmoderate flooring and offer them that.

[BethElena]

Vill - I guess I got "ick" confused with "tacky".

[Aimee]

I can't stand carpet, and no matter how new it was or looked, it's coming out! I would go for laminate.

Yes, it's fake wood, but for those that might be allergic to carpet fibers, it's a good alternative.

It's also a good alternative if the property just isn't worth hardwoods. I'm not in love with the fact that I've got a fake wood floor, but I'd never get my money back when I sold if I put hardwoods in.

Anyway, carpet is usually an acrylic fiber, so it's "fake" too in a sense. I'd rather something that's clean and fake, than something harboring all sorts of nastiness and is still a fiber not found in nature.

[bluebunny]

Well, I'd prefer hardwoods, too, but it's a cost issue. Aimee hit the nail on the head with this: It's also a good alternative if the property just isn't worth hardwoods. I'm not in love with the fact that I've got a fake wood floor, but I'd never get my money back when I sold if I put hardwoods in.

That's it exactly.

Thanks for all the replies. It's still a toss up. ;)

[Tanya]

I think opinions will depend on where the person lives. In TX, carpets are very common and people spend a lot on them. I was just in a design store the other day and was shocked at all the carpets for $7-9/sq foot--w/o install! I asked the guy about them and he said he sells a lot of that type. We don't have houses down here that are 100 years old and have the beautiful old hardwoods like they do in the north/east. The oldest houses are from the 70s. I prefer carpets in the bedroom and I think most people I know here would agree. We lie on our living rm carpet all the time, so I would miss that. It's very comfy with a cushy pad. And yes, we vacuum them all the time and had them thoroughly cleaned when we moved in, even though they were less than a year old.

My parents are in MD, and every place they looked at had hardwood, so it is very popular there.

And I understand why people don't like laminates, but for us, it would totally depend on the price range of the house. In the house we're in and about to sell, we would not put laminate downstairs since it would devalue it, but were considering it for the media room upstairs. We have ceramic tile downstairs everywhere but the bedrooms and living room, which is pretty common. But, in our old townhome, we could have put in laminates and buyers would have been very happy--we put bamboo down instead for the same relative cost. Plus, lamintes hold up better to pets/kids.

[kiddo]

I would say if you sell in 6 months, wait and speak with a realtor. They will be able to give you a better idea of what sellers in your area are looking for.

Personally, when we were looking at homes, if a house had new laminate floors, I would think they changed the flooring just to sell the house. And since I kind of view putting laminate down as 'cutting corners', I would wonder what else they did in the house that was just a quick fix to sell. I guess I would also feel the same way about new cheap carpeting.

However, if you're going to be in the house closer to 2 years, I would go with whatever you like the best. Chances are, someone moving into a house would just rip it up and put down what they like best anyway.

[jellybeany]

I would prefer carpet over laminate, but hardwood floor over carpet.

ITA! :)

[craftgenius]

I prefer carpet for the bedrooms. I have carpet in my bedrooms but hardwood and ceramic throughout the rest.

[lml41981]

I have bamboo in my bedroom and I really love it. The nursery and guest room have carpet (because they're upstairs) and I don't love it so much. I am paranoid and won't let the dogs up there because I'm afraid of dander and hair getting in the carpet...or that they will go to the bathroom on the carpet (despite the fact that in the year we've had them, they've never gone to the bathroom anywhere in the house). It is much easier to clean dog mess off laminate/hardwood/bamboo than carpet.

That said, we put carpet down in our new house in all the areas except water areas or entrance areas. Our reason is that in a few months, we'll have a crawling child...carpet is much more gentle on the knees than any type of wood. We do, however, plan to rip out the carpet in a few years and put down hardwoods.

[andy's di]

I say go with whatever you like - in the sage advice of my realtor do reno's because you'll love them and get enjoyment out it and don't focus on the resale or added value, since everyone's personal taste is different. 9 times out of 10 whoever is buying your home will change most things anyway. If you're planning on selling really soon I wouldn't worry about replacing the carpets anyway - the new owners will do that for you :D

But if you plan to stay for a while I'd say it's best concentrate on making it you're home and put down what's best for you.

When my FH and I bought our condo we put down laminate throuought, carpet in the bedroom and ceramic tile in the entry, kitchen and bath, and that's all we wanted to invest in our first home.

When we buy our 10-15 year stay home it will be harwood throughout all the way.

So I guess my answer would be hardwood if it's worth it to you :)

Good Luck!!

[ceaserbride]

I would have to say laminate over carpet. As many have said, I find laminate much more sanitary and healthy than carpet which can hide dust and be a breeding ground for mold etc. Also when your realator shows the house with laminate he can always stress the fact that area rugs can be put down if the "lookers" seem cold to the laminate, but with carpet there is no two ways about it...its carpet (you can't just through laminate floors over top!)

[Asha]

i would prefer carpet over laminate in a bedroom. here's my order of preference for flooring.

-hardwood/bamboo
-tile
-carpet
-laminate

[Asha]

also, bluebunny, consider where you live. if you live in a cold climate, carpet is much better than laminate in a bedroom bc laminate is pretty cold.