Carpet colour for letting

thestens

We have just had fitted a man made fibre carpet with low loops - very close and low so won't get caught and pulled, in brown with flecks of grey and beige. It looks good, is wearing well, very easy to hoover and doesn't seem to show any bits! I think it cost about £7 a metre plus underlay but there were cheaper similar ones, but as it is in our own home we liked this one better.
In our rental houses, we have fitted a brown office type felt carpet which is scrubbable. This isn't very luxurious but boy, is it hardwearing!! Also comes in a grey I think.
We are "up North" and use Franks for Carpets - cheap and helpful.

*~Zephyr~*

I'd go for seagrass or sisal. It's neutral, it's very hardwearing and fairly easy to clean.

That being said, the last time I changed the carpet in my rental, I took the tenant shopping and she picked out the colour.

agrinnall

Any potential tenant who declines to rent because they don't like the colour of the carpet is no loss as they are likely to make your life a pain during the tenancy with constant requests to do things. Carpet colour has certainly never bothered me when I've rented.

dirty_magic

agrinnall wrote: »

Any potential tenant who declines to rent because they don't like the colour of the carpet is no loss as they are likely to make your life a pain during the tenancy with constant requests to do things. Carpet colour has certainly never bothered me when I've rented.

Just because they're renting it doesn't mean tenants don't care! It would definitely put me off, if it's not to my taste it wouldn't feel like home. Surely it's better to pick a neutral colour so that it appeals to the widest market!

I'd pick a colour like this:



This colour goes with most accent colours so the tenant can put their own stamp on it. I definitely wouldn't pick blue! It's my least favourite colour in terms of decor, I think it's cold!

AdrianC

*~Zephyr~* wrote: »

I'd go for seagrass or sisal. It's neutral, it's very hardwearing and fairly easy to clean.

That'll be a different seagrass/sisal to the ones that you cannot get wet, I hope?

Innys1

dirty_magic wrote: »

Just because they're renting it doesn't mean tenants don't care! It would definitely put me off, if it's not to my taste it wouldn't feel like home. Surely it's better to pick a neutral colour so that it appeals to the widest market!

I'd pick a colour like this:



This colour goes with most accent colours so the tenant can put their own stamp on it. I definitely wouldn't pick blue! It's my least favourite colour in terms of decor, I think it's cold!

From a landlord's perspective, a navy blue is less likely to show the inevitable grime than the colour you have suggested above.

Odds are there will be at least two sets of tenants during the life of a carpet in a tenanted house. A landlord doesn't want to be replacing the carpet any more than they have to so darker colours are generally better.

If the house is in a good location and competitively priced, most tenants aren't going to quibble about the colour of the carpet. I certainly wouldn't be changing the colour of the carpet to suit their taste, even if they paid for it.

*~Zephyr~*

AdrianC wrote: »

That'll be a different seagrass/sisal to the ones that you cannot get wet, I hope?

Really? I've cleaned sisal carpets before and that definitely inolvevd getting them wet. Or am I thinking of the wrong stuff?

AdrianC

*~Zephyr~* wrote: »

Really? I've cleaned sisal carpets before and that definitely inolvevd getting them wet. Or am I thinking of the wrong stuff?

Every time we've looked at the natural-weave carpets, there's been dire warnings that've put us RIGHT off...

Callie22

*~Zephyr~* wrote: »

I'd go for seagrass or sisal. It's neutral, it's very hardwearing and fairly easy to clean.

It's vile stuff. I used to work for a heritage organisation and they insisted on putting sisal in the cafe. It was a sod to clean, you couldn't get the bits out of it and you couldn't get it wet. After a year of spills and muck it absolutely stank and looked a real mess.

HappyMJ

Sisal carpet is also quite expensive.

Just go for the cheap stuff. Darkish colour. I've got green (tenants's choice) in my property. At just £8 a sqm. Ask the tenant what colour they'd like. Give it 2-3 years minimum and expect it to be replaced at the end of existing tenancy. Brand new it looks fine and tenants like a bit of brand new carpet no matter what the price.

A owner occupier would have higher standards as they are going to be living in the property much longer it's worth spending more but the tenant with an average 2-3 year tenancy anything will do.