I have gray carpet in my bedrooms. It is a flat weave from Karastan with a tone on tone stripe. I think it is the most forgiving carpet I've ever had. I do have an Irobot (recent purchase) because of the vacuuming. I have a long haired blond tabby that sheds like crazy, so I have to vacuum all the time. Of course, he sheds on the hardwood too. If I didn't have the cat, the vacuuming would just be maintenance.

Hi anne, that's what I was originally thinking, my issue is what colour I use for the 'pop' :) I keep coming back to a teal/turquoise colour (it's one of my favourite colours!!), I love blues, purples, teal/turquoise - many on here have suggested yellow but I'm really not sure about it. Here in New Zealand we're in Autumn, nearing Winter so uncertain about the yellow. I found these cushions that I've fallen in love it, and wondering how I could make these work.. do I try teal and mustard together, as an interior designer suggested?

We are a little biased, but wood floors are versatile, durable, clean, and timeless. Whereas carpet will eventually need to be replaced, high quality wood floors can last forever. You can install radiant heat under the wood floors if you are worried about them being too cold during certain times of year, and you can easily install area rugs over the flooring. Wood flooring is also more versatile than it has ever been so you can create any look. As an added bonus you can easily sweep and mop your wood floors, whereas with Carpet you don't always know what is lying below the surface. Good luck!

Wowzers! What a transformation.