I have a rather nice honey coloured carpet throughout my house, well nearly all the house.  In the kitchen & family room leading into the hallway & downstairs cloakroom it is solid wooden floor with ceramic tiles in the kitchen itself.  I just cannot imagine having carpet near the food prep area.   I also had the carpet taken out of the washrooms upstairs – that too seemed a really odd thing – to move into a brand new house that had carpet in the bathrooms.  Cleaning carpets is not difficult but it is definitely best to keep them well vacuumed as often as possible to stop dust and muck from getting ingrained.  This is especially the case with pale colours like my very own.  I keep the mess in check with a regular scrubbing of any patches of grubbiness, so it’s not one great big job.  As soon as any mishap occursk, I get it cleared up with a small bowl of carpet cleaning solution frothed up.   Amazing how effective this spot cleaning regime can be!