Seams are a point of failure, and especially for a high-traffic area like a family room, best to avoid them.

I do not agree that the seam needs to be in the doorway. Scan a diagram and you should post it or email it to me! Seams are not a point of failure....very very poor definition. A good seam you will never know is there! My stores have never installed a seam in the doorway unless it way meeting a hallway.

floortech - here is the layout

I would use a 15 wide if it was a carpet that I liked.... It appears to be a beautiful room. a 15 wide does place the seam in a preferred area, but a good installer will have no problem installing smartstrand without it being any issue. I would pull the carpet to the giant archway opposite wall to the fireplace. Then have one t seam...and yes it will run to the double doors. A 15 wide would run the seam one foot in front of the bookcases and fireplace. Though decision for you. it all depends if they have an excellent installer!

Why wouldn't you start the carpet on the fireplace side and have the seam 12' (or 15') away from that wall, towards the left side of the room?

Alternatively, can you turn the carpet 90 degrees so the seam goes left to right instead of up and down? I'm assuming, of course, that you don't have an adjacent room that the carpet is flowing into.

With either width carpet (12' or 15') you are going to have a seam, period. I would go with the Smartstrand and do 1 of the following 3 options:

1)Run the carpet from the bookcases/fireplace wall to the opposite wall so the seam falls roughly in the middle of the room running left to right in your diagram above.

2)Run the carpet from the exterior door wall to the double door wall and position the first run on the bookcase/fireplace side of the room so the seam should fall just beyond the doorways on both sides of the room

3)Run the carpet from the exterior wall to the double wall and position the first run centered to the exterior door. This option does mean 2 seams as carpeting will need to be added on either side of the first run.

I have the Smartstrand in the Paper Moon color (just barely off-white) and I cannot see my seams at all even though there is 1 seam in each room I have it in. My girlfriend has the Smartstrand in a brick red color with 1 seam in her great room and I can't see hers either. And let me tell you, if a seam was noticeable, I would be the one to see/find it.

Hope this helps!