Carpets

Or, Make a Compelling Argument For Them. Carpets are one of the strangest interior-decoration mainstays there is, and I don't use that designation lightly. Why would you cover the floors in your house with carpets? Especially wall-to-wall carpets? Not too many good reasons. Maybe if you want a colorful floor, the only way to achieve that is with rugs, but come on. Nobody wants a colorful floor. A good interior decoration scheme lifts the eye up, away from the floor, and towards the majesty of God.

The most popular answer I have received is, carpets keep your feet warm. Walking on a bare wood floor is cold! That is probably true, if it's a cold day out. But that fact cuts both ways. Carpets keep your feet hot if it's a hot day. Your floor, that huge heat sink, is inches away, but you are covering it up with the thickest insulation you can find.

Moreover -- keep your feet warm? What the heck? Wear socks. Wear slippers or shoes. I get cold feet too, but I also don't lose much heat through them. With socks and shoes on, I lose practically none. Yes shoes track mud, but you could wear slippers inside, like the Japanese. Or, since you don't have carpets, you don't really have a problem. Bare floors are easy to sweep, and bare feet are gross. They're ugly and the best times of my life have been spent with socks on. Try it. I am sure you will love wearing socks.

Are there any other benefits to carpets? I am accepting nominations. You already know what's wrong with carpets. They trap grit and dirt and smells, they get stained and burned and soaked, they conceal thumbtacks, they are attractive places for cats to pee, and they are just generally not useful, because your feet are not going to get any warmer. It's a blood circulation problem, you know.