Setting Up a Nursery? Here Are 5 Tips to Choose the Best Flooring

When you’re expecting, designing and setting up a nursery is one of the most joyful experiences. You get to pick paint colors, the crib and all the cute decor–all in anticipation for your little one. But have you ever stopped to consider the best flooring for a nursery? 

Your nursery’s flooring can play a significant role in how well your baby sleeps and their overall health (after all, fingers crossed they’ll sleep there a lot!). Nursery floors also need to be easy to clean and, as they grow, it needs to withstand a toddler’s temper tantrums and the occasional thrown toy.

But what makes the best flooring for little ones? When setting up a nursery for your new little one, here are some tips to consider and suggestions for flooring types. 

Nursery Flooring Features to Consider

When setting up a nursery, not just any flooring surface will do. Here are some important features to consider before you choose or install flooring for your child’s nursery:

• Easy to Clean–Kids are messy, plain and simple. So, make sure it’s a flooring that’s easy to clean and offers low maintenance. 

• Soft and Resilient–Children take tumbles, which is why you should consider a softer and safer resilient flooring to combat those bumps and bruises. Resilient flooring also holds up to playtime and hard toys. 

• Quiet Material–Babies and children tend to be light sleepers. Choose a flooring with acoustical value and noise-softening qualities to soften your footsteps out of the room.

• Healthy and Natural–Make sure your nursery flooring is antimicrobial, allergen-free and constructed of a clean and natural material without dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that could harm your child. 

• Budget–As your new baby grows, your nursery will shift into a child’s bedroom, where they will play and get messy. Not only is this a reason you want easy-to-maintain floors, but you want the flooring to last so you never have to replace it.

With all these features to consider, let’s now explore a few nursery flooring options to point you in the right direction. 

Best Flooring for a Nursery

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors make a wonderful surface for any nursery, while lending a timeless look and gorgeous visuals. They’re very easy to clean, allowing you to wipe up spills. This is especially true for waterproof hardwoods. Even better, hardwood floors don’t trap allergens or emit chemicals as carpet does. 

Hardwood floors do have a hard surface, which can be unkind to little knees and heads once the baby learns to walk. However, this can be remedied with a well-placed, soft area rug. 

While hardwood increases your home’s resale value, it does have an initially higher cost in comparison to other flooring types. Let’s explore some more nursery flooring options.

Laminate Flooring

If you love the visual aesthetic of hardwood, but seek something more affordable, laminate flooring is an excellent alternative for a nursery. 

Also, unlike hardwoods that need refreshing every once in a while, laminate doesn’t need wax or polish. Just a routine cleaning with a broom and damp mop is enough to make it last and keep it looking new. Not all laminate is water-resistant but the lines that we offer on Twenty & Oak are. This means if you have an accidental topical spill, like a tumbled milk bottle, you can quickly wipe it up with little worry. A laminate floor’s construction includes several core materials and some, like the Beauflor Hydrana laminate, offer a locking system that can withstand water up to 72 hours. 

Laminate is also scratch-resistant and can withstand playtime with hard toys. Unlike carpet, there’s no lurking dust mites or mold beneath the surface, which means it guarantees the air in your nursery is cleaner for small, sensitive lungs. 

Luxury Vinyl Plank and Tile

Pure by Beauflor, Columbian Oak Mist

While laminate flooring is a good budget-friendly option to choose when setting up a nursery, luxury vinyl flooring is another great option. Offering many of the same benefits, vinyl planks can resemble the look of genuine hardwoods yet offer an easy-to-clean surface.

Luxury vinyl flooring is offered in many lovely waterproof options, not just water-resistant! Plus, since many options have an underlayment, they offer extra warmth underfoot as well as a quiet surface that softens footsteps as you put the baby to bed. Check out Beauflor’s Pure collection for a nursery-friendly and 100 percent recyclable product that can be used over most existing floors. We also recommend Metroflor luxury vinyl products as they have UltraFresh protectant which prohibits the growth of mold. 

Want to find the perfect flooring for your new nursery? Take Twenty & Oak’s Floor Genius Quiz and be sure to check out our virtual flooring showroom.