HI Emily Carpeting bedrooms is only dictated by your budget. The only variable is the price of the carpet, all other costs (installation, smoothedge, underlay) will be the same no matter what you choose. When you say remove wooden floors....do you know what is already installed? If you are only wanting to take the wood from the bedrooms but leave it in hallways etc, then the cost to remove wood planks (laminate?) may be around $20 per m2... A lot depends on how the timber was installed, so I think it's best to get in a professional and get a free quote. Good luck.

If the flooring guy doesn't have any suggestions, he's not a flooring professional. Fire him and hire a real contractor who can deal with subsidence and settling issues.

HI Madison There are pros and cons for every situation, but you need to work out what is best for your lifestyle. Personally, I agree with the carpet in the living room, and hard flooring in the kitchen/dining areas. All you need to do is work out your demarcation points (where carpet will meet hard flooring). A great retailer should be able to visit you at home, discuss options, give you pricing and away you go! (Us if you are in Auckland :) ) With littlies, I'd suggest a vinyl plank.....other posts will tell you I'm a big fan of it, but with kids, toys, mess, liquids etc, vinyl planks will give you the best wear over time. They are very hard wearing (Karndean have lifetime residential warranty), easy to keep clean, and waterproof - can be installed in all wet areas. Timber flooring, depending on which you choose (real wood, engineered wood, laminate), may not be the best "fit for purpose" products in your situation. Whilst I'm not trying to champion one product over the other, having had carpet with little kids, and putting drop sheets over carpet, under highchairs, why wouldn't someone not put in vinyl planks?

I'd love help picking a couch and rug color for our living room! As much as we would love white, it's a high traffic area with kids so we're leaning toward gray but I'm not sure what color rug would go with that... Also light gray or dark gray? Any help would be appreciated!