11. Go for Patterned Carpets

When I think back to the time I decided to have light taupe carpet installed in our newly remodeled home, I wonder why I didn’t have my head examined. It was the mid-eighties, and the taupe and gray and off-white carpets were a fashionable rebellion against the dark brown and orange shags of the seventies, and possibly even the sculpted greens of the sixties.

Yes, the light, low plush carpets are fashionable and, if well maintained, look beautiful, but simple they ain’t. They show every spot, every fleck of dirt, every cat hair, every crumb of toast, and every slosh of coffee that ever passed over their supposedly stain-resistant fibers.

When we moved from our house into the condo, I replaced the light carpet that was there with a multicolored flecked carpet that looks like sand. It was the best decorating decision I ever made. There are many such patterned carpets available today, and if you find yourself changing carpets, I strongly urge you to consider one. Or, consider a multicolored Persian or Oriental rug that will achieve the same results. It’s not that they stay so much cleaner, it’s simply that they don’t show the spots, the specks, the drips, the dust, and the smudges as easily as the plain light-colored ones, or even the solid-colored dark ones, for that matter. If you want your carpets to look good without having to spend a lot of time on them, a speckled or patterned or multicolored carpet will hide a multitude of sins and will make your life a whole lot easier.