Pets and Carpets (and Spouses)

My wife dislikes — okay, hates — the basic idea of carpet. She finds it “gross,” focusing on what the carpet may or may not be gathering in its fibers over the course of its life. And that’s for carpet in our own home. Carpet in hotels? Forgedaboudit. In my experience, this is definitely not an opinion exclusive to my wife, and is more prevalent among women than men.

In our case, having pets in the family makes the prospect of carpet even more tenuous. Our dogs spend the majority of their time in the garage and outside, but we let them in the house on occasion. On two specific occasions, within days of each other, our black lab, Elka, decided she’d assist my wife in accelerating the demise of carpet in our home.

The first instance involved an “accident” of substantial volume — comparing it to a Gatorade shower for a football coach is only a slight exaggeration — on a carpet inset area in our upstairs living room. It was clear that the thought of trying to clean the area was a non-starter. Carpet removal began within the hour, as well as the process of selecting laminate flooring to replace it. We decided on a weathered brown laminate with a darker plank for a border between the inset area and the existing laminate flooring.

Elka’s second effort at Operation Carpet Bomb involved a “refund” of substantial volume on the carpet runner of the stairs from the living room to the front entry. Carpet runner removal began within the hour, as well as planning for what would replace it.

The treads were already finished with the same laminate flooring installed in the living areas of the main floor and basement. The risers, however, were plain white planking, which produced a stark, unappealing contrast with the treads.

We decided on installing the same dark laminate flooring on the risers that was used for the border in the living room inset area. The result is a color that ties in with both the darker grains in the existing flooring, as well as the border planking on the main floor.

The next battles in the war against carpet in our home will be enjoined in the upstairs bedrooms. The days are undoubtedly numbered for the carpet in these rooms. I’m sure my wife and Elka (or Matilda) have a plan.