I know you all are waiting for this post! We just had new carpet installed in three upstairs bedrooms including the kid’s rooms and guest bedroom. The rest of our home (besides parts of our basement) has hardwood floors throughout. Our kids wanted to keep carpet in their rooms and we decided to just keep all the bedrooms besides the primary with carpet. We have lived in our home for 12 years at this point and the builder grade carpet had seen better days! Here’s our new neutral low pile carpet.
*I have not edited these photos in any way. I wanted to keep the original photos taken during the day so you could see the exact color. Obviously tones and shades will look different in different homes, lighting, etc., but I wanted to provide unedited photos in this case. *
Thinking About a Carpet Style
Let me start off my saying there are approximately 1 million carpets to choose from. Oh my gosh! As someone who likes to see things and someone who doesn’t make rash home decisions, I knew this was going to take a minute to figure out. I knew I wanted to choose a low pile carpet to help hide high traffic patterns. We wanted something neutral and soft with a slight patten to give it some dimension. Lucky for me, my mom and sister had both recently put new carpet in their homes prior to me making my decision. This helped tremendously because I was able to see their carpet in person and get their opinions (which I trust)!
The Process of Choosing Carpet
I was getting my hair done and my stylist and I were talking about home stuff, which we like to do. In rattling off my home to-do list, I mentioned replacing our carpet. She told me she had a friend that works in the carpet business and gave me her info. I contacted her and we met to discuss what I was looking for. She came to the house to measure the rooms. Having photos to show her was super helpful here! She pulled some samples for me to bring home and I continued to do my own research and spilling over photos, asking my readers on Instagram, etc.
It is important to bring home samples and lay them down in every room. The lighting is different in different rooms, the sun hits differently, and the colors look different at all times of the day. Once you have a few sample narrowed down, it’s super helpful to scour the internet for photos too. That’s what I’m trying to help people with here!
The woman I worked with (message me if you’re local to Kansas City and need someone) was helpful in determining which samples were high quality carpet (nylon/polyester) along with a quality pad. I have to mention that some of the samples I picked out looked SO different in our home. Some pulled really yellow/gold, some were way brighter than I expected. My mom and sister both warned me of this. Even if you think you want something light, it will look extra light when all laid out on an entire floor. This was such helpful advice.
Our Neutral Low Pile Carpet
We ended up choosing Shaw EA 824 Making Memories in the color Need a Hug. This is the same color my sister chose for her basement carpet. She has a different pattern on the rug, but the color is the same. My mom also has an almost identical color in her basement, but it is a different brand. In the end, they both convinced me that even though the sample looked darker than I originally wanted, it would turn out to be the most neutral and perfect shade! It literally goes with everything. It’s the perfect mix of being warm and neutral without being stark. The color feels modern and goes with our aesthetic. It kind of just goes away, which is really what I wanted.
The pattern of this carpet has a subtle stripe which helps mask any imperfections, spills, dirt, etc. We chose to go with the highest level of pad we could as well. It’s a really soft carpet and so pretty. My kids are just in heaven with how soft it feels underfoot.
This is a perfect example of how what I thought I wanted was not really what I wanted when looking at the small samples! I was originally leaning towards Clean Linen but I think it would have been way too bright. Champagne Toast pulled really yellow. It’s absolutely crazy! This is why I do my due diligence!
The Carpet Install Process
We have lived in four homes in our lifetime and have never gone through the process of choosing carpet or having it installed so this was all new for us. First, you decide on and pay for the carpet/pad. Next, you set an install date. For our case (3 small rooms), it would only take one day. The woman we worked with to help source the carpet, etc has her own install team so that is who we used. I found this process to be super helpful. We paid separately for the install the day of. This fee included tearing up and throwing out old carpet, moving large pieces of furniture in and out of the rooms, and installing the new carpet.
The day before the install, we moved all smaller items out of the bedrooms and stored in the primary bedroom. This included lamps, decor, small rugs, items from the closet floor, etc. We left the beds, dressers, desks for the installers to move in and out.
Here is my son’s room with everything moved out, with the before carpet.
Here is mid-install with the carpet pad down.
One thing to consider if you choose a carpet with a linear pattern is to decide which way the stripe will be laid. In this case, we chose to view the lines horizontally when you walk in the rooms. This follows the way the beds are placed in the rooms too. I think it helps makes the rooms look longer.
Neutral Low Pile Carpet After Photos
Our kids will be heading off to college in 3 and 4 years, which means it won’t be long until these rooms sit mostly empty. I’m so happy we decided to do this now. My kids are loving the new carpet. It honestly feels like brand new spaces. I’ve already told the teenagers, no shoes, food, or drinks! The photos below are of the guest bedroom because it stays the cleanest and it gets the best lighting.
This photo is the visual difference between the old and new. The old carpet is still there because that is getting replaced with new tile, which I’m currently trying to figure out! With the new carpet up next to the old, the old almost looks peach and gold. So happy with the tone of the new. *These photos have no edits so you can see the true color of the carpet.*
What do you think of the look, texture, color, and pattern? I hope this was helpful to see our new neutral low pile carpet. These kinds of posts are ones I wish I could have found when I was looking! Please pin and save and share for future reference. Send me a note in the comments or on Instagram if you have any additional questions.