Picking flooring is challenging enough these days with all the endless options, but narrowing down those choices for a kids bedroom can seem even more daunting. A child’s bedroom offers up a set of totally different requirements than some of the other rooms in your home and definitely different than other of your other bedrooms as well. We are going to look at some of the top option for flooring in a kids bedroom.

Before we jump in, one factor that will impact what flooring to choose is what is the flooring going over. Do you have new construction? Is the sub floor concrete, old wood, or perhaps just old flooring that’s out of style but still in good shape? All of these scenarios have pros and cons when it comes to picking individual flooring options and your budget. The more prep work and removal of the old floor will add dollars to your bottom line costs.

In addition to picking the flooring, how long the flooring will be needed is something else to consider. Generally, if your kids are infants or toddlers, the flooring you choose now may be considered temporary. Hence a parent is confused as to which flooring to select? Wood flooring? Laminate flooring? Carpets? Vinyl Flooring? etc. The list is endless. Here we have discussed some kid friendly flooring options, parents must consider before buying flooring for their house.

Carpet

Carpeting for your child’s bedroom floor is always an initial thought and choice. High on the comfort level but lower on the clean-ability scale, wall-to-wall carpeting has long been the classic choice for homes with children. There is no better surface than wall-to-wall carpeting for children to run, jump, play, read, and fall down on. For safety reasons and wanting to keep our kid’s safe, having flooring that can soften the blow in the case of a fall or accident is a major consideration. Another benefit of carpeting though is also its ability to better insulate the room, too. Nobody likes to see their kiddo’s with the sniffles.

Carpets are also great choices due to their compatibility coming in different shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns. Carpet is also some of the least expensive flooring options available, is super easy to install over concrete, and is also a quick installation in general.

However, there are also some disadvantages. Kids are messy, and the carpet is notoriously difficult to keep clean. It stains easily and retains dirt, which means that lighter, solid colors are a bad idea in these spaces. At the same time, the fibers in carpet tend to attract and retain dirt and dust, which can contribute negatively to the air quality of the area. If spills happen and aren’t dealt with quickly you can also end up with mold issues.

Hardwood Flooring

Our friends from Simple Floors Portland had this to say when it came to hardwood and we would tend to agree:

The one consideration that rises to the top for many parents when deciding on flooring for a child’s bedroom is how easy it will be to keep clean. This is no doubt a top advantage of having hardwood floors in a kids bedroom in that they are much easier to clean and don’t collect the allergens or pet dander that carpets can.

There are many choices to consider when deciding on hardwood floor for a kids room. Of these choices, oak is the most popular, especially red oak. Red oak has a stronger grain which means it can hold up well when hiding scratches and dents. Consider floor aesthetics and anticipated wear and tear when making this decision. Some tones are much better than others at camouflaging the work of our young Picasso’s.

Cork Flooring

Over at The Spruce, Joseph Lewitin recently posted an article highlighting some benefits of Cork Flooring. This is what Joseph had to say:

Cork is a fairly unique choice for a children’s room, that can provide many of the qualities of carpet, without most of the drawbacks. When installed, cork is naturally soft and yielding beneath your feet, and it can be made even softer by purchasing thicker tile materials. This is despite the fact that it looks quite a bit like more solid hardwood.

However unlike carpet, cork floors are anti-microbial, and the material will naturally repel the growth of mold and other microorganisms. It is also anti-static and will repel dirt and dust, making a room cleaner and healthier naturally. When installed and sealed properly it can be made nearly impervious to stains, and maintenance is usually just sweeping or vacuuming periodically.

There are also a few drawbacks. Cork is very soft, which means that it can be damaged relatively easily. If you have pets, especially large dogs, their untrimmed nails can scratch and destroy the surface of a cork floor. The pointed edge of hard plastic children’s toys can also cause rips, tears, and gouges in the material. This can be offset to some extent by using cork tiles, which can be spot replaced as needed.

Vinyl Laminate Flooring

When deciding on the right flooring for your children’s bedroom, it’s always a good idea to put together a list of key items that you are looking for in flooring as well as the canvas you are creating within your child’s bedroom. For vinyl laminate flooring, it is a good bed that many items on your list just happen to also be benefits to having this type of flooring.

Let’s look at what these benefits are:

Unaffected by water
Easy to maintain
Stain resistant
Inexpensive
Durable

Laminate flooring is one of the popular kid friendly flooring options and is perfect for parents who are budget conscious and want a luxurious look for their home. Laminate flooring is cheap, easily available and easy to clean. It has a protective overlay due to which spills can be easily cleaned. It is also scratch resistant unlike wood flooring. Laminate flooring is available in a variety of designs and patterns of wood, stone, or custom made designs.

Laminate flooring is very easy to install. It consists of the core made up of HDF or MDF, which is softer as compared to natural wood. Hence, accidental falls will be less hurtful. It is to be noted that laminate flooring is very slippery when wet. Also, it is known to emit VOCs which are harmful to humans. Alternatively, low VOC laminate flooring is also available. – From Garpedia Home Blog

Rubber Flooring

Now, rubber flooring comes up a lot when discussing flooring options for kids. To me, unless you are doing a nursery for for a school or day care, I wouldn’t put rubber in my home. But, to some its a great option.  Not only is it extremely durable, but it can help reduce sound by as much as 18 decibels.

There are actually a surprising number of options when it comes to rubber flooring. Most recognizable are the interlocking squares that you see at home centers. To me, that is more for a home gym or as an over lament on an existing floor.

Over at The Spruce, they brought up Resilient Vinyl Sheets. Vinyl is a resilient flooring option that is resistant to virtually all staining agents. It is easy to clean, and it can be sanitized with any standard cleansing agent without fear of damaging its surface. Vinyl sheets can also be installed over a padded cork underlayment layer that will give it a soft springy feel, making the room safe for kids. However, the price of underlayment can as increase the cost of the flooring by as much as double.

Some people are hesitant to use vinyl in a commercial children’s location because it is known to off-gas small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These are toxic elements that are released from the material after installation. But higher-quality products may off-gas significantly lower levels of VOCs, and even the amount given off by even the worst offenders is minimal and diminishes as the flooring ages. However, there is evidence showing that VOCs from vinyl can irritate children who have respiratory sensitivity.

We only scratched the surface when it comes to choosing floors for a child’s bedroom. We always like to take a lot of information to offer you are best advice. Fell free to call, email, or stop by anytime and let us help you with your flooring needs.