Our Stainmaster carpet was installed earlier this week and it’s even better than we imagined it would be! We talked about it in this post, but wall to wall carpet has kind of gotten a bad rep in the last decade. And while I understand the appeal of hardwood floors, there is an undeniable coziness with carpet that, ooo!, just absolutely made the downstairs.
Our previous carpet (photo below, taken during our walk through) was your run of the mill, oatmeal colored, cheap, medium-to-high pile carpet. I’m sure you know it well, too. Often times people think that a higher pile carpet automatically means it is cushier and then skimp on the carpet pad, too. At least that is what happened here and in our last house and in our apartment before that.
And then you end up with stringy carpet that’s not very soft on top or underneath. When choosing our carpet pad, we really had our girls and Charly in mind. While the Stainmaster carpet has a lot of warranties and characteristics that repel stains or make them easy to clean, we worried about what happened below if something did spill. You can clean your carpet, but you can’t really clean your pad.
We went with a PetProtect carpet pad that has a breathable moisture barrier which keeps common household spills out of the cushion while allowing water vapor from below to evaporate–which is also important considering our basement is concrete. I don’t know how they do it, but it won’t trap moisture and spills won’t soak through. It even has a special treatment applied that resists mold and mildew in the cushion!
We removed all the old carpet ourselves (with the help of some amazing young men in our ‘hood) so the actual installation took a crew of 4 guys one day.
After the pad went down, which was quick!, they started with the carpet which the lead guy later told us was one of the hardest carpets he had ever installed. All those checks! The wanted to make sure they all stayed level and square, even on the seams and stairs. That attention to detail–it looks fantastic!
You can read more about our carpet choice in this post, but as a refresher, we chose the Stainmaster Medford Line in Fizz meant for active families. It’s a low pile looped carpet (my favorite) with small checks made with a color variance. It retails at Lowe’s for about $2.98/sq ft.
While the lower pile feels so smooth and soft under foot, I also think it is the most ideal type of carpet for layering rugs on top (which we’re doing down here). I imagine if we picked a darker color, it could pass for a sisal or natural fiber rug, but we really wanted to keep the floors light and bright, knowing it would have the same effect on the entire basement.
On the initial rug post, we had a few readers concerned about choosing such a light colored carpet, and some even strongly warned us to go with something darker. We felt confident with moving forward with our choice and have no regrets or concerns. Our downstairs is pretty low traffic and while we don’t mind shoes on the wood tile upstairs, we do take off shoes to come down here. Also, we want to give this Stainmaster carpet a run for the money! Haha! We’ll keep you updated on how it wears over time.
This weekend we’re installing the wood shelves in our entertainment built-ins and hopefully enjoying a family movie night, even if it will be on the floor–it’s that soft. Happy Weekend!
Proud to be partnering with Lowe’s and Stainmaster on this project.Â
Great read, you have a beautiful carpet. Thanks for sharing this.
Hello, I have a quick question. We have been trying to have this exact carpet installed and twice now the installers are saying the seams are off. Lowe’s told us it was not possible to have this carpet installed!!! What are the dementions off your room so I can take this to Lowe’s?
It’s probably 18x30ish
Thank you so much for getting back to me!
Now that its been about a year since installing your new carpet, I was wondering if maybe you could share an update on how its held up to family life with kids and pets. We are currently researching options to replace the carpet on the second floor of our home. I’m leaning towards a lighter color Stainmaster carpet and everyone looks at me like I’m crazy! Everything I read on the internet suggests that people regret choosing a lighter colored carpet – but it seems like you guys are still really liking yours and don’t regret your decision!
Also, I am wondering what the maintenance on the carpet has been like for your and your family. I’m sure you regularly vacuum – but am wondering if you’ve use a carpet cleaner or any other regular maintenance to keep it looking clean? Also wondering if you’ve had any mishaps and needed to use any special treatment to avoid a stain.
I’m actually working on a post covering all of this. But in short, we still love it so much. We have had it professionally cleaned once (after 6 months) and will likely get it cleaned again after our bathroom renovation is completely downstairs. There are no dark marks or stains, but I heard you are supposed to get your carpet cleaned every 6 months and I found a good deal in my area–haha. I will say, our dog rarely goes downstairs and we always take our shoes off when we do.
Julia, did you ever keep that kitten? I’m looking at getting the same carpet in my basement but I have 2 cats with nails. I was wondering if you thought the carpet was cat-friendly with the loops? Thanks!
Oh, no we didn’t. My daughters were both very allergic unfortunately.
wonderful great
Would also like an update on how it’s doing? Thanks!!
Doing great!