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This might be an unpopular opinion, but I like carpet. I like it on my bare feet. I like that it feels soft and isn’t as cold as tile. I like how it absorbs sound, how it can make a room feel cozy, and its affordability. Indeed, I have heard it said that you can replace carpet five times for the initial investment of wood or a natural stone floor.

This past week, we replaced several rooms of carpet in our own home. Oh my! What a pain that was. I felt like we had to move out of our house to get the work done. I can’t imagine doing this five times!

We replaced the carpet in our bedroom – which meant all the furniture had to come out including our fancy adjustable and incredibly heavy bed.

We also had carpet in our walk-in closets. Seems simple enough to replace – right? Wrong! On the floor of our closet were lots and lots of shoes and dressers. The bottom row of hanging also had to be moved. Yes – we have way too many shoes and clothes.

If only we had opted for the higher quality, stain resistant carpet that can be cleaned professionally multiple times before having to be replaced. Well worth the investment.

We had several rooms in the house where we replaced the carpet with luxury plank vinyl. The most significant was the carpet on the stairs. I thought I was making such a smart choice 9 years ago. Of course, good vinyl stairs weren’t an option at the time. It was either oak or carpet. The only plus side of carpet on the stairs is its ability to absorb sound. But it also absorbed everything else including coffee, wine, and God knows what else.

Now we have beautiful dark mahogany color treads that match the existing handrail with white risers. The contrast between the dark wood and white is very dramatic. And when my son spilled coffee on it this weekend, it was no big deal! The dogs are still getting used to it, and you know when they are going up and down. The key to selecting a vinyl for the stairs is the availability of the nosing. Many lines of vinyl didn’t have the matching nosing in their offering. The white risers were actually painted – which added an extra step but, but worth it in my opinion.

We also put vinyl in our bonus room which has a bit of everything in it including our exercise equipment. The carpet had faded, and the vinyl seemed a better choice for sweat (Guy – not me of course).

The only downside (so far) to our new vinyl is the dark color shows dust. Turns out our dogs have dusty feet. The Swiffer wet jet comes in handy. I guess we should have selected the color of dirt! Our upstairs bonus room is a bit reverberant, but with an area rug and lots of pictures on the wall, it’s better.

What are your thoughts about carpet? Love it or hate it? How about luxury plank vinyl? Do you have an unpopular design opinion of your own? I would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences.