Bedroom Flooring FAQ's
What Flooring Is Best for Bedrooms?
When it comes to bedroom flooring, there are a few things you’ll want to consider to determine the best bedroom flooring for your home including:
Thickness & Underlay:
Choosing thicker boards or opting for underlay is a great choice for bedrooms or upstairs apartments because it helps create a sound barrier between floors. When paired with underlay where possible, it also helps with heat insulation, which can be particularly important for some homes during those cold winter nights.
Cost:
If there’s any room where you can save some money, it’s the bedroom. Since it’s unlikely that most of your guests will see it, we advise putting more budget towards your kitchen, hallway, or living room. Due to this, it can be a good idea to opt for a cheaper material such as laminate or vinyl, especially when working with a limited budget.
What Is the Cheapest Flooring for a Bedroom?
The cheapest flooring you can buy is often laminate flooring. However, LVT flooring closely follows, with a price tag that’s not much higher and some great advantages such as built-in underlay.
Do Bedroom Floors Need to Match Hallway Floors?
Whether or not you match your bedroom flooring to your hallway is completely up to you. It’s not necessary that you do, however, we do advise ensuring both floors are of a similar thickness.
Best Bedroom Flooring for Dogs?
If you’re looking for pet-friendly flooring, then you’re in the right place. We’ve covered everything you need to know in our pet-friendly flooring blog. From scratch resistance and slip resistance to the general durability and maintenance of our flooring options. Discover the pros and cons of each and find the best solution for your home here.
How Much Does It Cost to Put Flooring in a Bedroom?
The cost of your bedroom flooring will depend on a few factors such as the flooring type, size and shape of the room, installation type, and the state of your current subfloor as well as any other prep work required. For accurate pricing, we suggest using our calculator. You can find this on each product page. However, if you do not know your measurements, or what product you want yet, it may be worth getting an estimated price from HomeHow.
Is It Better to Have Carpet or Hardwood Floors in Bedrooms?
The answer to this question comes down to personal preference. Carpets are often preferred in bedrooms for their warmth, comfort, and sound insulation. However, decent underlay can provide the comfort and sound insulation required if necessary. Plus, rugs or underfloor heating can often accompany your flooring for additional warmth and cosiness. However, it’s important to note that underfloor heating cannot be used alongside solid wood flooring. So, if you plan on having underfloor heating, you’ll want to consider our solid wood alternative, engineered wood flooring. Engineered wood flooring has a wear layer of hardwood, so it offers the same appearance but with additional durability and heat resistance.
Or, for a soft underfoot, you could opt for luxury vinyl tiles. LVT flooring (also known as luxury vinyl tiles) offers the same appearance as wood but with built-in underlay. LVT flooring is also well-suited for underfloor heating since it features thinner boards that can conduct and transfer heat more easily. LVT flooring is also a better option when it comes to children or pets. Carpets are often quickly destroyed by pets, particularly cats. This can often be a pain when carpets take such a long time to properly clean too. Whereas LVT flooring is highly scratch-resistant and easy to maintain. Solid wood and hardwood flooring can often be damaged by pets too but can be protected better when finished with lacquer. Both solid wood and engineered wood can also be sanded and refinished if they do become damaged, whereas carpet will need replacing.
Whilst carpets tend to be less expensive than hardwood flooring, they also offer a generally lower lifespan in bedrooms as well as the added drawback of collecting dust, hair, and dirt. As well as this, cheaper carpets with glued backs can cause allergy issues, resulting in a worse night’s sleep.
Is Laminate Flooring Good for Bedrooms?
Laminate makes a great bedroom flooring choice for those on a tight budget. However, it should be installed alongside suitable underlay so that you can get the most from your flooring. This will add some well-needed sound and heat insulation to your bedroom.
Is Vinyl Flooring Good for Bedrooms?
Yes, vinyl flooring makes a great choice for bedrooms, particularly children's bedrooms. We often find that a lot of our customers prefer to opt for vinyl rather than hardwood in kids' bedrooms. Not only because it’s a cost-effective alternative, but it’s also easy to repair small areas and 100% waterproof.
Where To Start When Decorating a Bedroom?
For an efficient bedroom renovation, follow these steps:
- Decide on your colours & design. We suggest ordering as many samples as you can for this step. Moodboards and blogs help too if you’re not sure where to start.
- Empty the room. This may take some time, but it’ll make any ongoing work much easier.
- Prep & paint the ceiling. It’s best practice to work top to bottom so you don’t end up ruining your walls or flooring.
- Prep & paint your walls. Always make sure you fill any holes or cracks, before sanding and painting your walls for a professional finish. Shaky hands? Use masking tape to create clean lines.
- Windows & doors. If you plan on painting or replacing your windows or doors, then now is the time. Remember to allow plenty of drying time as these often use thicker paint.
- Lay the flooring. Whether you’re hiring a professional, or doing the work yourself, now is the best time to lay your floor. However, most floors will need to acclimate in the room beforehand. Always make sure you know the acclimation time for your floors before proceeding.
- Add accents & accessories. From skirting boards and scotia beading to bespoke handles and doorknobs. Add your personal touch with the smaller design elements before moving any furniture back in. This will make it easier to clean any remaining dust or debris.
- Clean everything. Carefully clean everything. Start by dusting and vacuuming the whole room before wiping down any accents and flooring. Now would also be a good time to dust and clean any furniture that will soon be returned to the bedroom.
- Furnish & decorate. Return all your furniture and furnishings to their rightful place (or have a play around with where they look best). Sometimes a new layout is all it takes to dramatically change the look of a room.
- Finishing touches. Add some personal touches that make it feel homely to you such as photographs and throw out any unused items such as old clothing to create room in your new space.
How To Lay Bedroom Flooring?
The installation process for your new bedroom flooring will depend on what type of floor you choose. However, a general rule that you can follow for bedroom installations (regardless of floor type) is to lay the flooring in the same direction as your main light source. If you can, make sure it is in the same line as the entrance as well, starting in the left corner of your longest wall. However, if you have more than one door or window this may be trickier. In this case, you should choose whichever direction is easiest to install.
For more information regarding the installation process, please check the flooring manufacturers' guidelines, or keep an eye out for our installation guides.
If you are still unsure, consider hiring a professional, or contact us for further information.
What’s New in Bedroom Flooring?
While it’s certainly not a new concept, hardwood flooring is increasing in popularity as bedroom flooring with more and more people deciding against carpets. This is due in part to it being easier to maintain and clean.
Parquet flooring is also becoming more popular as it offers an added level of design to an otherwise plain room.
How To Soundproof a Bedroom Floor?
Depending on the floor type and thickness that you choose, it may be necessary to put some sound insulation in place. If this is the case, then you’ll want to choose a floor that can be placed with underlay. For soundproofing, we suggest a thicker underlay such as our 5mm underlay which offers great acoustics, insulation properties, and a damp-proof membrane. However, for a fully soundproof room, more drastic measures may need to be put in place. For example, if you are trying to create a fully soundproof room for drumming, then you’ll want to consider soundproofing curtains, secondary glazing, or acoustic caulk. However, for most homes, our 5mm underlay will provide more than enough sound insulation.
Bedroom Flooring Alternatives to Carpet
Let’s face it, carpets are becoming outdated. So, if you’re looking for some better alternatives for your bedroom flooring, here are some ideas:
Engineered Wood Flooring: Extremely durable, ideal for underfloor heating, and can be refinished.
Solid Wood Flooring: Aesthetically pleasing, long-lasting, and adds value to your home.
Laminate Wood Flooring: Budget-friendly, scratch-resistant, and easy to install.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles: Comfortable, durable, and fully waterproof.
Parquet Flooring: Stable, durable, and offers a unique appearance.
Bedroom Flooring for Allergy Sufferers
If you suffer from allergies, choosing flooring such as carpet will not help. Carpets are renowned for accumulating dust, hairs, muck, and debris. Plus, the thick fibres allow something for the dirt to cling to or hide under. Therefore, regular cleaning and vacuuming is a must. However, hardwood floors (and their alternatives such as engineered wood) offer no place for allergens to hide. So, while they’re not hypoallergenic, they are often much better for allergy sufferers.
