I think charcoal grey is the most popular carpet colour at the moment. I've recently been trying to make the same decision between a more "beige" carpet and a "grey" carpet. I ultimately decided to go with beige. I think it will still show up lint and fluff, but less so than charcoal which I've seen in other houses and which seems to show almost everything. If I had a larger budget, then I would have gone with a woolen carpet in beige with specks/flecks of colour throughout. I was unable to find any non-woolen carpets which had specks/flecks of colour. As you're not looking to spend a lot, I'm guessing that a woolen carpet will be outside of your budget also. I think whoever regularly does the vacuuming and cleaning in your household should get to decide as they'll ultimately be responsible for cleaning the carpet whatever colour is chosen.

I like the idea of hardwood flooring and as previously said you can add nice rugs for comfort and texture, they can be changed out at any time for a different look or fashion, I found light carpet shows all spills and marks and as also previously said here dark colours show lint, animal fur and anything lighter like fluff ...I do think hardwood floors in the long run keep you from having to re-do carpet especially as you have no idea how the renters will treat your investment. I also find myself having hardwood flooring with rugs it is all so easy to keep clean.

Hi Cloudpants, it looks amazing, lucky girl. I'am going to go against the dark carpet only because of all the very large windows it will fade badly around the edges, even the lighter will do the same, this is from personal experience. Tennant's won't close the blinds to keep the sunlight off the carpet, or are they auto, if it was mine I would use the same tile throughout to avoid this plus it's easy care good luck

I'd avoid a light overall colour - we inherited a fairly new pure wool in a light beige and it's a nightmare to keep looking good. I'd give anything for my old house's slightly mottled berber, but I'm not sure that would suit the style of your house/room. I'd go for something that you like and which would go well with the type and colours of your bed linen. Don't go too dark either - I also lived with dark grey in a bedroom and it showed every minute light fluff from clothing (not to mention the white underbelly fur of the cat we acquired.)