Help me choosing carpet...with a dog
January 24, 2022 11:19 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for online resources that talk about how to choose carpet, carpet styles, anything that's going to make our apartment look clean and stylish...but also we have a dog.
We have been in our current place for 15 years and finally have the chance to change out our carpet--yay! We're really excited about the prospect of having nicer flooring and of course, we could just get the same brown short cut pile carpet we have, just newer. However, we went looking at the carpet store and I realized that maybe we could have something more modern? Instead of cut pile, maybe something shorter, berber....I don't know. There were a million choices. Also, of course, the one I liked had little loops, which of course is out because our dog would either catch it with his nails or he'd work on it as a fun toy to chew on. For reference, I love the look of this carpet which of course, is hand loomed wool, but is there anything similar, dog friendly and without loops?
Are there design blogs, articles, or personal anecdotes that you can share that can help us decide? And, yes, we have no choice but to get carpet. We are on the second floor and are required by the building to keep it carpeted.
We have been in our current place for 15 years and finally have the chance to change out our carpet--yay! We're really excited about the prospect of having nicer flooring and of course, we could just get the same brown short cut pile carpet we have, just newer. However, we went looking at the carpet store and I realized that maybe we could have something more modern? Instead of cut pile, maybe something shorter, berber....I don't know. There were a million choices. Also, of course, the one I liked had little loops, which of course is out because our dog would either catch it with his nails or he'd work on it as a fun toy to chew on. For reference, I love the look of this carpet which of course, is hand loomed wool, but is there anything similar, dog friendly and without loops?
Are there design blogs, articles, or personal anecdotes that you can share that can help us decide? And, yes, we have no choice but to get carpet. We are on the second floor and are required by the building to keep it carpeted.
Having installed carpet and living with a dog (a German shedder) I am pro multi-color carpet. The carpet we picked has individual cream, tan and, grey fibers. It’s really hard to see dog hair on it versus the blue carpet it replaced. Blue carpet even after I just vacuumed it would look dirty in about an hour. The new carpet I could get away with vacuuming once a week.
In addition to pet fur I read a housekeeping book that recommended matching your flooring to the general dirt color of your area. So if you have reddish dirt go for a terracotta brown vs black dirt you’d want a grey/black flooring.
posted by MadMadam at 11:48 AM on January 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
In addition to pet fur I read a housekeeping book that recommended matching your flooring to the general dirt color of your area. So if you have reddish dirt go for a terracotta brown vs black dirt you’d want a grey/black flooring.
posted by MadMadam at 11:48 AM on January 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Wool is really durable. Are you allowed to get big rugs, to go nearly to the walls?
I was a small-time landlord; I'd tell tenants they had to have room-size rugs. A 5 x 7 rug is not room-size, sigh. But there are stunning rugs available; I am partial to vintage hand-woven rugs from Persia and thereabouts. Right now they can sometimes be found on craigslist, etc. Sisal or something underneath could work, but if they're on carpet, they want to 'walk'.
One dog was thrilled to discover how fun it is to rip out sections of hooked rug, but bitter cherry spray helped.
posted by theora55 at 12:24 PM on January 24, 2022
I was a small-time landlord; I'd tell tenants they had to have room-size rugs. A 5 x 7 rug is not room-size, sigh. But there are stunning rugs available; I am partial to vintage hand-woven rugs from Persia and thereabouts. Right now they can sometimes be found on craigslist, etc. Sisal or something underneath could work, but if they're on carpet, they want to 'walk'.
One dog was thrilled to discover how fun it is to rip out sections of hooked rug, but bitter cherry spray helped.
posted by theora55 at 12:24 PM on January 24, 2022
Seconding Ruggable! I was skeptical but was persuaded to try it and am now budgeting to buy two more. Super easy to keep clean, and you could put padding underneath to help deaden sound as necessary.
posted by mccxxiii at 12:25 PM on January 24, 2022
posted by mccxxiii at 12:25 PM on January 24, 2022
Are you sure even short-pile looped carpet would be a problem with your dog? The three dogs that have lived in my house have never had trouble with snagged toenails or chewing the carpet, so I don't think that is guaranteed to be a problem. The type of berber carpet I had most recently looked a lot like this and I thought it was great. It was super easy to clean, durable and looked decent for MUCH longer than regular texture carpet.
posted by mjcon at 12:27 PM on January 24, 2022
posted by mjcon at 12:27 PM on January 24, 2022
Response by poster: Sorry, meant to say, we are required to install wall-to-wall carpet. Ruggable looks great and I'd much prefer something like that but we're in an old building so I'm sure they the padding and the carpet to dampen the noise.
posted by biscuits at 2:59 PM on January 24, 2022
posted by biscuits at 2:59 PM on January 24, 2022
What color is your dog? If white, don't get too dark of a carpet. Black? Get something darker. And so on.
Also, if you don't have a roomba: this has made a huge difference for me with my dog and cats, even with wood floors and area rugs.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:03 PM on January 24, 2022
Also, if you don't have a roomba: this has made a huge difference for me with my dog and cats, even with wood floors and area rugs.
posted by bluedaisy at 3:03 PM on January 24, 2022
Ahhhh! Sorry for my misunderstanding. This is just a Google shot in the dark, but it looks like there are a couple of carpet lines designed for pets: Mohawk SmartStrand, Stainmaster Pet Protect?
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 6:02 PM on January 24, 2022
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 6:02 PM on January 24, 2022
Investigate getting a seagrass carpet. It's a kind of woven grass. Very durable, easy to keep clean, and feels gentle on the feet. We've got a wall to wall seagrass carpet and it's the best with pets. Also smells nice, a subtle scent of dried grass in the sun.
posted by Zumbador at 7:28 PM on January 24, 2022
posted by Zumbador at 7:28 PM on January 24, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, as a downstairs neighbor - thank you for actually following this rule! Many people do not. You are doing your fellow apartment-dwellers a solid.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:26 AM on January 24, 2022 [5 favorites]