From the Floors Up

How To Choose Flooring For A Kid’s Room

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Flooring choices today seem nearly endless. There are products made of nearly every conceivable material in both hard and soft surfaces. Homeowners installing new flooring in a room of their home have a lot of choices to consider. These choices become even more important when the flooring is going into an area predominately used by kids.

Kids’ Flooring Considerations

While style or sustainability may be factors that you look for in the flooring used through the rest of the house, there are several other considerations that need to come to the forefront of the decision for kids’ room flooring.

What How the Room Is Used

A room that is used for crafts and playtime will need a very different floor than a room used mostly for sleeping or reading. Consider how the kids will use the flooring when making your choice. Will the kids be down on the floor playing? Will the children be doing activities such as painting and drawing? up above it?

Clean Up

Whether you are looking for flooing in a playroom or a bedroom, most parents are aware that kids’ floors tend to get messy. Spilled paint from a craft project or an overturned cup can quickly create a stain that requires some attention. That’s why choosing either a product that is stain resistant like luxury vinyl or a product that can be easily cleaned like stain-resistant carpeting make better choices than something that could absorb the stains. When possible, eliminating things like grout joints and other places that stains can settle is also a wise move in helping to keep the flooring looking great over time.

Resiliency

Some kids like to play rough. Others like to wrestle, and some occasionally are known to drop things. When considering the flooring, take its resiliency into consideration as well. Carpet, luxury vinyl, linoleum, and cork can all be softer underfoot cushioning falls and making for a more comfortable play surface. Bamboo and hemp flooring, on the other hand, will be harder—but more resistant to dents and scratches. Plus, they’re often more eco-friendly flooring choices.

Color and Style

Kids’ rooms should be a reflection of their personalities and things they do there. Consider choosing flooring that can be laid in a variety of colors or patterns or that comes in bold colors that can complement the rest of the kids’ décor.

Choose Wisely

The flooring in your home should last for as long as the room you put it into does. Make a wise choice considering the flooring in a kid’s room to help ensure it outlasts their activities. 

Kid Friendly Floors

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If you have children, you know that they can be tough on your house, especially floors.  For a kid’s playroom or bedroom, there are plenty of flooring options that will please your style and stand up to the daily rigors of life.  If your kids don’t have a designated playroom, having the right flooring in your living room and family room is even more key.  Once the toys and games are put away, you’ll want to feel like you are sitting in your room and not a play zone.

If you are putting in new flooring, talk with your retailer about the best options for kids. There are many stain resistant and stain repellent carpets on the market. This means you can put carpet in a kids’ area and not fear every time something spills it will stain forever. Another option for carpeted rooms is to put a large area rug over the carpet to protect it.  As the kids get older, you can remove the area rug or swap it out for a new pattern or color. With this same idea in mind, carpet squares can be used and replaced if they get stained.

Hard surfaces like tile and stone are durable but might be too tough on little knees and elbows. Hardwood is good as is cork, which has a soft feeling under foot. Again, area rugs are your friends when it comes to protecting floors.

Your kids and their favorite toys can be hard on your floors.  Work with your flooring person to choose the best option that will be durable and stylish for years to come.

 

Choosing the Best Flooring for Kids

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The flooring in your child’s room has to be versatile: safe, easy to clean, and hopefully durable enough to withstand all the jumping, scraping, and playing that is bound to happen. Luckily, there’s a wealth of choice available—all you need to do is pick the one best suited to you and your child’s needs. Some of the pros and cons to consider: 

 

Carpet

 

Crawling toddlers and active kids will appreciate the soft surface. Easy on knees and elbows, carpet also helps cushion falls. Children with allergies may want to stay away as carpet can breed mold and mildew if, for example, a drink is spilled and left there for too long (as is prone to happen in kids’ rooms). While carpets are vulnerable to stains, certain types are available that are stain-resistant.

 

Hardwood

 

Hardwood can be made to be scratch-resistant and more durable with protective coatings, or by choosing particularly hard species on the Janka scale. However, the downside is that it can also be less comfortable to play and take tumbles on. Thicker boards allow for several refinishings, which can minimize marks of wear and tear. However, boards may swell if exposed to excessive moisture. Solid hardwood flooring requires more environmentally-controlled conditions for these reasons. However, engineered hardwood floors can compensate in areas where higher moisture levels are more common.

 

Bamboo  

 

Eco-friendly and high-replenishing bamboo offers a trendy floor that is easily refinished if scratched or marked. Unfortunately, the softer, carbonized bamboo floors are more susceptible to scratches. The harder ‘blonde’ or ‘natural’ bamboo may be your best bet. Natural anti-bacterial qualities make it a good choice for kids sensitive to irritants.

 

Laminate

 

Spills won’t leave a trace and are easy to clean up. The slippery surface can be a concern for small ones learning to walk or kids running in socks, although zoning a kids room with brightly colored area-rugs can help to minimize slippage. Individual boards can be replaced, with laminate offering the look of wood but requiring less surface maintenance.

 

Cork

 

A good option for kids with allergies or sensitive to irritants, cork is hypoallergenic and resistant to bacterial growth. This antistatic surface is a plus for playtime, while the softness is a good shock-absorber for clumsy toddlers. Heat-retaining floors make it comfortable for kids to sit and play on. Unfortunately, the softness also means the floor can be more easily gouged or scratched than a choice like hardwood might be. However, Cork absorbs noise more than a laminate or hardwood floor, keeping parents happy as well.

 

As with any flooring decision, there are trade-offs that need to be made. Harder floors are typically easier to clean, but are not as comfortable for playing or falling on. Soft floors are comfortable, but are also more easily dented or scratched up. Ultimately, your flooring choice will be decided by the needs of your child, such as their age, allergies, and level of activity.

 

Alexandra Wong is a writer for BuildDirect, leading online supplier of wood flooring and other quality building materials.

 

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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