When you’re designing your bedroom, the floor is likely the last thing on your mind. There are so many other things to focus on, so it’s understandable that the question of flooring may slip through the cracks (so to speak).
Despite that, the feeling of the bedroom floor beneath your feet can have an unconscious impact on your mood. The right materials can have a huge impact on your day!
What Matters Most to You?
Like anything, choosing materials for your bedroom floor starts with an assessment of your priorities. What is your style aesthetic? How do you want your floor to feel? What level of effort are you willing to put into the upkeep? Do you care about sustainability, or its potential to be recycled once you’re done with it? Does it matter how it’s made, or if it’s ethically sourced?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before diving into the wide world of flooring textiles. The overwhelming number of options might make your head spin, but knowing what you’re after will really help you narrow it down. There are pros and cons to every choice, but knowing how much weight to give each category will make all the difference.
Let’s compare some of popular options for bedroom flooring.
1. Carpet
In days gone by, wall-to-wall carpet was the top pick of homeowners everywhere, and especially in the bedroom. The logic was that a bedroom should be cozy, and having the warmth of a carpet on your toes in the morning was the best way to wake up. Then, carpet went out of style. Way, way out of style. It was, for a time, shunned by designers, but now it is making a triumphant return.
There’s no denying that carpet is comfortable and welcoming. Although it can be difficult to clean, the good news is that the higher fabric density a carpet has, the more resistant it is to stains.
Carpet Pros: Soft to the touch, insulates your room and keeps it warm, helps to block the transfer of noise, potentially more cost efficient.
Carpet Cons: Prone to staining, can be more difficult to clean, non-recyclable, may harbor allergens and microorganisms that impact air quality.
2. Hardwood Flooring
There’s nothing quite as posh as the look and feel of elegant hardwood flooring. As with any choice, there are tradeoffs, but many homeowners are willing to deal with the downsides to get highly-favored, super-durable hardwood.
Hardwood Pros: Refined and beautiful, relatively warm feel, recyclable, non-allergenic, easy to clean, resistant to stains, can increase the market value of your home, a little bit of effort and it will last for decades.
Hardwood Cons: Very hard to the touch, no sound or thermal absorption, when stains do happen it can be difficult to fix or replace, can be quite expensive.
3. Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is extremely adaptable, and is beloved for its variety of options and cost-efficient nature. If you can keep it in good condition, it will serve you well for years.
Laminate Pros: Extremely versatile, lots of styles to choose from, simple installation, very affordable.
Laminate Cons: Not as durable as other materials, no sound or thermal absorption, non-recyclable and environmentally unfriendly production, can look and feel cheap, extremely difficult to repair one damaged segment and will likely need to replace the entire floor.
4. Cork Flooring
Cork is a unique alternative to more familiar choices like laminate and carpet. We personally think it’s criminally underappreciated! It’s got a lovely look and feel, and has its own personality. Although it has a shorter lifespan than hardwood, that doesn’t matter to many homeowners. Even though cork doesn’t last ‘as long’ as hardwood, it can stay in great condition for 25 years with a bit of TLC.
Cork Flooring Pros: Soft and spongy underfoot, good sound and thermal absorption, non-allergenic and anti-microbial, stain-resistant with proper sealing, easy to replace sections if needed.
Cork Flooring Cons: Easily scratched or punctured, shorter lifespan than hardwood, typically non-recyclable due to the adhesives used during installation, can be expensive.
Bonus Round: Area Rugs
The nice thing about hard, solid floors is that there’s always the option of softening them with an area rug. That way, you can get the best of both worlds – and you can change it up as often as you like without any trouble.
In conclusion, no matter what kind of bedroom flooring strikes your fancy, J.T. McDermott can make it happen. With almost three decades of industry experience and a reputation for excellence in the St. Louis area, our design-build team will deliver a result that you’ll truly love. Reach out today, and let’s get started.
