Hi I need advice on a few things:
1) What's your opinion about darker carpeting? I visited a few model homes last week and noticed they had darker carpeting on the upstairs level (stairs, hallway and bedrooms). It was a chocolate brown. One had a dark grey carpet. I have most often seen the lighter carpets in model homes (cream or beige) but we have two cats and it might actually be soemthign to consider.
2) If I get stained cabs (dark most likely), and my main floor is an open-concept area, would it be weird to have a white mantle on my gas fireplace? I keep seeing white mantles and they look awesome.
3) For those of you who have stone backsplashes, hwo easy/difficult is it to keep them clean? With ceramic or glass backsplash, it seems much easier to wipe down every so often but there's a stone backsplash I like and I'm just thinking it might be a PITA. :-)
Thanks for any and all replies!
Anita
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Thanks ladies-you've all made some good points! In fact, I have one black cat and one grey-white cat, so it's a problem no matter what I do. I cannot afford to upgrade to hardwood on the second floor (the stairs alone would cost about $7000 and I can't do that right now either). I'll just go with light carpets and in a few years when they need replacing, I should be able to replace with hardwood (if I am well behaved and continue to save money lol).
As for the backsplash, I'll probably just go with a glass mosiac, something along those lines.
My design appointment is not anytime soon (not before this summer) so I still have time to ponder. :-)
Thanks again!!
When we had a black cat, the cat hair showed very well on our dark clothes. I don't think a dark carpet is going to hide cat hair. I agree that dark carpet requires more frequent vacuuming-crumbs and lint stand out so well on it.
I have developed a liking for dark carpet though, and i"m thinking of considering it when I replace the only installed carpet in my house. It's on my stairs, and I have to vacuum my stairs often anyway due to it being a high traffic area in my house.
I would stay away from dark carpeting, I've had it and it does show every speck of anything.
The fireplace doesn't have to match anything.
I've often wondered how easy those stone backsplashes would be to keep clean myself. They are so porous I would be inclined to seal them immediately. I suppose that is an ongoing thing remembering to seal them. They do like lovely but not for me, I'm afraid.
I'm guessing your cats must be black? That is why you are concerned about hair showing on light carpets? If they are light at all, the hair will show terribly on dark carpets. I've had dark rugs. Not a great plan unless you love to clean. That said, light carpet makes me fear, as I've had light rugs. That didn't work out so well either (see above re lots of cleaning!). I'm a big fan of a hard surface floor with a patterned, predominantly light coloured area rug.
Your cabinets and fireplace do not have to match. Even kitchens don't have to match. I have white cabinets and a dark island. Looks great, if I do say so myself.
I have a stone (crema marfil marbil) backsplash. I am a fairly lazy housekeeper. So far no problems with it wiping up easily, even if I don't get to it right away. I suggest you wipe on a sealer to repel stains, and just don't use Windex or anything like that on it.
Thanks DBD! I will have to take a look at those kinds of carpets...hadn't even thought about that! :)
How about a carpet with a mix of colours? Any solid, dark or light is going to show a lot more than one that is a mix/blend. My SIL had two dark cats that were mixes of black, grey almost white and she put down a dark grey carpet that had a blend of colors (greys to black) just because of those cats. She said it was easier to live with and besides she loves black and has painted out her walls in blacks and grey/silver and it looks fantastic as it all works together.
I suppose you have to debate whether you would be more interested in having the hair be less noticeable or investing in a good vacuum cleaner you don't mind using more often. Meanwhile it's the rugs with more colours/tones blended and more texture that will be the easiest to live with regardless of being dark or light.
I wouldn't worry about being all matchy on the mantle unless visually the cupboards were very close. Besides some contrast can be nice when it comes to a feature piece and you can bring in something else with the same wood tone with accessories.
Thanks PearlG! As for the carpet, I too like the look of the lighter one best. I'm just trying to figure out whether or not I should go darker because of the cats. But you made a good point, everything will show on the darker carpet too. In my case, it's a no win situation: I have one black cat and one grey-white cat! :rolleyes: I
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Have yourself a great day. :)
Anita