What is the best child friendly flooring?

Refurbishment projects linked to playroom flooring – and creating wooden flooring and herringbone laminate flooring in kids’ bedrooms – often involve a visit to a wood flooring London showroom.

However, having some idea of what you prefer and need ahead of time can make your home improvement shopping much easier and quicker.

In fact, with so many choices available, having clear ideas for the most resilient and child-friendly flooring is vital before you start to decorate.

Why not carpet?

It could be that wood flooring is not the first thing that comes to mind when planning a refurbishment of your house. Carpets and carpet tiles can look and feel great in bedrooms and playrooms.

However, they tend to be easily stained, dragged and damaged by the normal day to day activities of children and teenagers.

They also present tough cleaning problems and need to be replaced regularly. This can sometimes happen ahead of schedule if they suffer a minor catastrophe when used for playroom flooring or in a child’s bedroom!

Hardwood flooring is tough, resilient and hygienic. If you buy good quality materials, you can put aside all the myths and misconceptions about splinters and cracks!

Sourced from a responsible supplier, and installed in your house correctly, solid wood floor can last a lifetime.

There are also more inexpensive options available, such as engineered wood flooring and laminate flooring. These can look like a solid wood floor and share some of the benefits. Though they are not the “complete package” when it comes to floors in children’s rooms.

Let’s look at some child-friendly flooring tips in more detail.

Children with allergies and asthma

Wooden floor and laminate – such as herringbone laminate flooring – are great for children’s bedrooms and playrooms due to their hygiene and health benefits.

They are sealed by specialist oil and wax formulas and manufactured to create a flawless finish.

For this reason, unlike carpet they don’t trap dust, pollen and other foreign substances.

Think about it. Bedroom carpets can be a constant source of the allergens that get breathed in during the night to trigger allergies. No matter how much you hoover.

Wood floors in your house don’t encourage debris or fumes to linger, nor do they support the formation of mould spores.

Wooden and laminate floors are also quick and easy to clean, often needing a simple brush, vacuum or damp mop to remove pet hair, dust mites and pollen.

As 1.1 million children in the UK suffer from asthma (source: Asthma UK, 2017), this means fitting light or dark hard wood floors in playrooms and bedrooms make sense.

Heat efficient and comfortable

Wood flooring can be a great way to keep children’s rooms heated without clocking up large energy bills too. Wood is a great natural insulator.

Fitted correctly, wood floor patterns trap a layer of air, creating further energy efficiency benefits.

This also makes wood the best flooring for underfloor heating.

Why is this the best flooring for underfloor heating? It holds warmth well and makes your heating system more cost-effective. It’s also the best flooring for underfloor heating because your child can potter around barefoot, even in winter.

This is a clear indication that your interior design impacts on your bills!

Long lasting and good looking

Another great thing about using wood floor materials for playroom flooring and children’s bedrooms is their durability. They will also never go out of fashion. Your wooden floor will still be doing its job in your family home many years later. It works great as a floor covering for teenagers’ rooms, or for any other purpose in the years after that!

If your flooring does lose its glow after constant wear and tear, or gets damaged, wood floor patterns can be restored easily and quickly too. Your wooden floor can be professionally restored or you can buy UV oil, tools and equipment to refinish your wood floor yourself.

Wood or laminate child-friendly flooring doesn’t need to be unimaginative either. You can still have fun with interior design for your refurbishment project. Laminate, engineered wood and solid hardwood floors all come in a great choice of designs. For example, add chevron flooring or eye-catching herringbone laminate flooring for an attractive effect.

This article features some more great interior design ideas for children’s bedrooms.

Easy to care for

Though kid-proof light or dark hard wood floors in your home are relatively low maintenance, there are things to keep in mind.

Wood and laminate floors often require no more than regular brushing or vacuuming, using a tool with soft bristles. There’s an article here on how to hoover this type of flooring.

If there is an area of floor that is likely to get a lot of wear or tear it’s a good idea to protect it using non-slip, foam backed rugs.

Though wood and laminate floors of the right quality are warm and comfortable underfoot, rugs add extra sensory stimulation for children too. There is a huge choice available to decorate a child’s room, though something plain can look best if you have selected patterned wood, such as chevron flooring.

It’s best not to cover your quality laminate or wood floor too much. Also, you need to move rugs around regularly. This will avoid variation in flooring colour qualities particularly if direct sunlight falls on to the floor.

If you’ve invested in this durable and beautiful child-friendly flooring, then it also makes sense to introduce a few simple rules to limit scratches and scuffs.

For instance, you could provide an alternative solid surface for toy cars and other equipment that could potentially gouge the surface of wood floor patterns.

Use of products containing harsh or abrasive chemicals should also be restricted to craft tables or the kitchen!

Also, your child needs to be encouraged to tell you about spillages, as standing moisture on any kind of flooring can cause damage.

Do you need more tips on coping with minor damage to wood or laminate floors? This article helps, though you could also get in touch with us.

Ready to buy family-friendly flooring?

Are you planning to decorate a child’s room, or looking at home renovation for your family? Hopefully you are now ready to visit a wood flooring London showroom to get even more helpful advice.

ESB flooring is a specialist in wood and laminate flooring. We are also passionate about making sure homeowners get the best flooring solutions to match their lifestyle and preferences.

Staff at our wood flooring London showroom are always happy to chat about the topic.