Matching LVT w/ existing wood

[Stephen Lynch]

Hello all,

I have a short-term summer rental in VB with carpet upstairs (light tan) and engineered hardwood downstairs. I didn't pick the carpet as it was a new construction home (primary residence) prior to it being a short-term rental. The problem I've been having as you would expect is constant stains and damage to the light tan carpet. The somewhat positive news is that for the most part the tenants who stained it have always had to pay for the carpet replacement costs.

I'm now at a point where I absolutely need to swap out the entire carpet for new carpet (or LVT). I'm thinking a gray carpet to better mask the dirt and stains. However, I really want LVT because I love the fact that it's waterproof, scratch proof, no maintenance etc.

The problem is I have engineered hardwood downstairs that is basically brand new (<less than 5 years old). I can replace boards fairly inexpensively where water damage occurs (near the kitchen sink, fridge etc.). I don't know whether to go with the gray carpet and get another 5 years and get the life of the wood floor downstairs or somehow try to match the LVT with the engineered hardware.

Any thoughts?

See pictures: 

http://bookings.anchorvirginia.com/Unit/Details/126252