The Best Flooring for Babies
Nursery flooring can bring a softness and intimacy to your baby's room. The choice of flooring for a baby's nursery seems simple -- a floor that is soft and durable. But in today's world, parents are concerned about allergens and toxic emissions from poor flooring choices. How can a parent know what is best? Balance practicality, style and easy-to-maintain finishes with a flooring choice that is as easy on dropped toys as it is on little knees.
Carpet
Carpet provides a soft play area for your child.
Carpeting and rugs are available in natural and man-made materials. Dense wool carpet contributes softness and stain resistance to your nursery floor along with cushioning for falls. Man-made carpets and rugs are more stain resistant, and textured finishes, such as Berber carpeting and rugs, will maintain their condition longer and will not show footprints and vacuum tracks. Bright colors are tempting, but become outdated quickly. Dark and highly patterned carpets can overwhelm a room and make it seem smaller. Lighter carpets open up the space, but will show stains more.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring installation is an easy weekend project.
Laminate flooring was invented in Scandinavia toward the end of the 20th century. Laminate is cheaper, as it is a layered product topped by a photographic veneer of wood. Laminate flooring is highly durable, easy to clean and inexpensive to replace if damaged. Laminate is widely available in snap-together planks for a simple do-it-yourself project.
Cork flooring
Cork oak bark can be harvested every 9 years without causing damage.
Cork flooring is harvested in Spain and Portugal from the cork oak tree and is one of the most environmentally friendly, natural flooring products. Available in a variety of natural tones, you can also purchase cork dyed blue, gray, yellow, charcoal and green. Unlike the soft cork used for bulletin boards, cork flooring material is rugged, durable, soft underfoot and has optimal acoustic and thermal insulation properties. Also, cork contains suberin -- a chemical that protects the flooring from moisture damage and makes it insect-repellent. Purchase cork flooring in planks or smaller, parquet-style pieces. Coat your cork floor with polyurethane every two years to protect is from water damage and stains.
Rubber Flooring
Chunk rubber flooring is made of recycled materials.
Long used in commercial applications, rubber is a soft and forgiving surface for a baby's nursery. Most often sold in synthetic composition, purchase rubber with a studded, dimpled or other textured surface to prevent slipping when wet. Rubber flooring is available in a wide array of colors and finishes.
Bamboo
Wide, bamboo planks are a composite of many pieces of bamboo.
Though it resembles hardwood, bamboo is actually a grass that is grown on regulated¸ sustainable plantations. Harvested every five years, bamboo is available in many colors and is attractive, affordable and durable, as it is denser than most hardwoods. Bamboo flooring is available in two forms: engineered planks or solid planks. Engineered planks are installed as a floating floor, meaning it is not attached to your sub-floor. The solid planks are attached to the sub-floor with nails and staples. Before installing your bamboo flooring, allow unwrapped bundles to acclimate to your room's humidity and temperature level for three days. Since bamboo flooring is made of organic materials, your floors should be protected from sunlight by window treatments.
Read more: The Best Flooring for Babies
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