inexpensive carpet for kids' rooms?

PepVeroni

My husband and I are tearing out the wall-to-wall carpets in our kids' rooms and are looking for an inexpensive option to replace them... hopefully, inexpensive yet still fairly soft and somewhat durable.  Any suggestions on brands or designs?  We want a neutral color and are looking to take advantage of Home Depot's current deal for free installation with the purchase of carpeting for three rooms.

Thanks! 

Sue-n-Kevin

If it were me, doing a young child's room, I'd probably go for the carpet squares that are available now. That way, if something is spilled, or there's an "accident" on one of the squares, you can swap it out for a new square.

I haven't looked into these, but understand they are common. May not be soft, but they will be fairly durable.

dalm0m

You can often get a better deal on carpet from a local mom & pop store than Home Depot even with the "free" installation. 

If the "free" installation applies, Home Depot sells what I call cash & carry carpet off these giant industrial rolls in the back of the carpet section near the construction materials.  You only get about 5-6 choices.  All are pretty neutral.  My parents actually had it in the living room & it was fine. 

wealldeservepretty

i second the PP with the carpet squares (google "FLOR" -- they are a big manufacturer of them, lots of cute ideas)  I just love that you can switch them out, as PP said, and you can really customize your carpet by getting it as big or small as you'd like.  

PepVeroni

Thanks for the suggestions.  I have actually thought about carpet squares but know nothing about them.  Looking at the FLOR site, it looks like they're very thin - not too cushy - and still pretty pricey.  Does anyone know of any brands that are less expensive?  We're really hoping to go pretty cheap for the kids' rooms, whether we do wall-to-wall or a carpet square design.

nikip6454

PepVeroni:

Thanks for the suggestions.  I have actually thought about carpet squares but know nothing about them.  Looking at the FLOR site, it looks like they're very thin - not too cushy - and still pretty pricey.  Does anyone know of any brands that are less expensive?  We're really hoping to go pretty cheap for the kids' rooms, whether we do wall-to-wall or a carpet square design.

FLOR will be one of the least expensive options as they are marketed more residentially while must are marketed commercially.

Carpet Tiles are a commercial carpet, designed to handle commercial wear and tear and to be installled without a pad.  They are durable and replaceable but they are thin and rough.

The major carpet mills (Mohawk, Shaw, etc.) tend to have "builder" lines of carpet that are value priced yet soft ad cleanable.  I would check your local flooring store and not assume that Home Depot will be cheaper, it tends not to be.  The Big Boxes often charge more for pad, measuring, tear-out, moving furniture and odd things like tack strip.