For older members (gen x'ers and boomers) why did you hate hard wood floor?

[NotHardUp1]

I thought peanut shells or sawdust were the floors to dance on.

On the federal house, is that bandsawing at the ceiling line of the 2nd story balcony, or some kind of drapery or gathered awnings.

 

[Latimer]

Carved wood. Beautiful house, interesting history.

 

[Dominus]

Here is another example. This house was occupied by an elderly woman. Her husband passed away a couple years ago. She passed away last year. We bought this house from her family. We already signed a lease with a young couple for it.

Took out the nasty old carpet and found the solid oak completly intact. We don't even have to refinish. I'm just going to put a coat of lacquer over it.





The young couple been doing some of the work themselves. Earlier today, they said after seeing the difference between the carpet and the wood underneath, they will never have carpet.

 

[Alistair]

I don't know why Gen X was added to this, we're the ones that started ripping out carpets and refinishing the original hardwoods.

 

[rareboy]

I notice that the there is cupping in the hardwood floor.

If you ever lay hardwood, shellac or varnish the u/s of the planks to ensure that you won't have this problem.

 

[me203]

I don't know why Gen X was added to this, we're the ones that started ripping out carpets and refinishing the original hardwoods.

I wondered that, too. At most, I'd think my generation is at most guilty of just replacing carpet that was laid over a wood floor. And it's very possible that might get done before realizing there is a good wood floor under the carpet.

And for that matter, I question if the boomers were necessarily heavily into carpeting over wood floors. But I have limited observation to work with. But I can recall my mother having decorating books in the 80s that talked about having wood floors (and I'd guess a good chunk of the readers of those books were boomers). My parents owned a house at one point that had wood floors. They were horribly worn, but they had planned to refinish them. I think my mother said that would have been the next project if it hadn't been for us having to move because of a job my father took. I think they planned to eventually install wood floors in parts of my last childhood home.

I'd argue the worst generation for carpeting wood floors was my grandparents' generation--but that is just based on limited observation and memories of people I knew. But I definitely know one grandmother carpeted her house, and talked about how hard it had been maintaining the wood floor. I also know that last childhood home I mentioned was built by someone of my grandmother's generation in the 50s, and as far as I know, the floors were all either tile or carpet from day 1.

 

[me203]

I'm perfectly happy with my avocado green refrigerator

Bonus: even though it's old, it will probably will outlast most modern refrigerators!

 

[Dominus]

So, straight answer. Was there an anti-woodfloor movement at some point? Almost all the older houses we have gotten with carpet have beautiful thick oak intact flooring underneath nasty carpets and lenoleum.

 

[Cormac135]

Styles come and go.

Carpet in the living room and bedrooms for the warmth.

Lino in the bathroom for wipe down ability.

And tiling in the kitchen just so every plate or bowl you drop can smash into a thousand pieces.

 

[spunkfunker]

Like others have said they were a PITA for most people, especially if you had kids or pets. My mom has said thatthey had to be polished and cleaned every Saturday morning of her childhood in the 50's and 60's . That along with getting the coal dust off of the woodwork was the girls job. The boys had to actually shovel the coal into the pit in the basement off of the truck! Thus why they all bought homes with carpet, and furnaces in the 70's. I also know that you could never sneak inside because they creaked, and my grandma knew where the creak was and they got busted every time. In the modern day for me the sound of heels on a hardwood floor is annoying as hell. Both my mom and grandmas put in carpet in the 70's and never looked back. Though my grandma had those plastic runners everywhere, thankfully she didn't have plastic on the couches. It was on the lampshades though I'm fine with carpet as long as it's not the kitchen or bathroom that's just gross

 

[EddMarkStarr]

One of my favorite teachers in middle school, who loved chatting about anything except that day's lesson, was asking us kids if we had "wall to wall" carpeting at home.

There was a time when only the truly wealthy had interior carpeting in their homes. People of lesser means had hard floors. If you've ever seen photos of royal palaces the beauty of carpeting is astounding.
"Carpeting", just like "White Bread", became aspirational for the masses. If the working class can afford carpeting, then every home would have it.

Without doing a google search - betcha the rise of man-made fibers and fabrics, plus the rise of plastics after WWII made the dream of wall-to-wall house carpeting a reality.

 

[me203]

"Carpeting", just like "White Bread", became aspirational for the masses. If the working class can afford carpeting, then every home would have it.

Likely true. I certainly suspect that at least the grandmother liked carpeting at least partly for this sort of reason.

Without doing a google search - betcha the rise of man-made fibers and fabrics, plus the rise of plastics after WWII made the dream of wall-to-wall house carpeting a reality.

Seems likely. Also the era after WWII was a time when ordinary people were apparently doing better and better economically in the US.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

The world of home furnishings is Fascinating! By the 1920's the Oriental Rug Craze had left an indelible mark on popular culture.
Interior carpeting became an obsession for some people and the idea of "affordable" carpeting would be a goldmine for the manufacturer that could make it happen.

In my own lifetime the name, "Karastan Carpet", became the gold-standard for fine interior decor. Mohawk Industries, maker of Karastan, revolutionized residential carpeting.
But it didn't take long for the competition to sell to people looking for status on a budget.

Home decor fads like wall-to-wall carpeting and Shag carpeting blazed a trail to the Holy Grail of interior furnishings - Carpet in the Kitchen!

 

[me203]

^My other grandmother had carpet in her kitchen. It must have gone in when I was very young at the latest--I can't remember a time pre-carpet. I do have a sense it wasn't very good looking by the time I was a teenager--although it probably aged better than it might have in other houses (with kids living there full time who regularly made a big mess in the kitchen, etc).

 

[me203]

And I don't know much about Karastan--or carpet in general--but, even so, I sure recognize the Karastan name.

 

[ShadowCat]

I have hardwood floors in my bedroom during that Polar Vortex it was FREEZING!!!! I couldn't afford carpeting during my renovation so I opted for a rug it is only on like 30% of the floor but it makes such a big difference! I'm looking to do the whole room eventually!

 

[Araucaria]

I grew up in a house that had terrazzo floors, which presumably had none of the drawbacks of hardwood floors, but my parents still carpeted the place. I think they did it because carpeting was the fad back in the 60s and 70s. Several years ago I tore the old carpet out of the living room, that floor is beautiful, and visitors have commented on how great it looks. I still have carpeting in the bedrooms, but I think I won't replace it when it wears out, opting instead for the terrazzo underneath.

 

[Rickrock]

I do remember that wood floors were cold and hard and carpeting was warm and soft to walk on. It also hid some problem floors, perhaps floors that needed refinishing. Before wall to wall carpeting there were area rugs with wood floors around the edges. I don't think it was a major concern, but there was some chance of tripping on area rugs. Wall to wall carpeting became popular and accessible, probably in the 50's. I also remember shag carpeting coming into style in the 60's or 70's.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Photo from the Retro 70s living room catalog


Thank goodness people today have an appreciation for hard flooring and mixed flooring. There was a "Mod Furniture" store in the town where I grew up. Used to love looking through the catalog and see how designers were being more creative with colors and patterns in flooring.

The carpet in the kitchen craze of course found its way into the bathroom. That may have been the moment cooler heads prevailed and the "carpet everything" insanity died down.

Photo from the Retro 70s living room catalog

 

[Dominus]

The carpet in the kitchen craze of course found its way into the bathroom. That may have been the moment cooler heads prevailed and the "carpet everything" insanity died down.

When we found the first ktchen with carpet, we both thought this has to be a fluke. Then we found another one. And another. And another.

It still boggles my mind why in the world would anyone cover this up with nasty carpet? Currently putting lacquer layer on.