1. Carpeting
Warm and soft to the feet, available in a nearly endless range of colors and even patterns, budget-friendly and helpful in dampening sound and controlling room temperature: it’s no wonder carpet is the hands-down favorite flooring choice for the bedroom. There are two major categories of carpet: cut pile and loop pile. As the name suggests, the tips of the fiber loops are cut with cut pile carpeting and left uncut and looped on loop pile carpets. Within these two major categories, there are several subcategories: Saxony, textured, and frieze are variations of cut pile carpets, while Berber and level loop are the main types of loop pile carpet. Textured cut-pile carpeting is the most popular type for bedroom use. It’s soft, has a casual look, and resists dirt fairly well.
2. Area Rugs
Although they can be layered over carpet, area rugs are typically used to soften hard flooring, such as wood or laminate. When it comes to choosing an area rug for your bedroom, there are nearly endless options of size, color, pattern, weave, and material. Your personal preference is the best guide to the right rug for your bedroom: choose one that feels soft and cozy to your feet, has a non-slip backing (if not, place a non-slip pad underneath), adds a dose of style to your bedroom, and complements the overall decorating theme. While there’s no need to break your budget on an area rug, it’s also true that a good quality rug will generally last longer, look and feel better, and shed less than a cheap bargain brand. In terms of size, if the bed is placed on top of it, the rug should be large enough to extend out at least two feet from both sides and the bed’s foot. Smaller rugs used at the base of the bed or along its side should be large enough to fill up most of the space.
3. Wood Flooring
It’s hard to match the natural appeal of real wood flooring—it has a depth and warmth that adds beauty to any style of decor. While there are dozens of types of hardwood used for flooring, some of the most popular are ash, walnut, oak, and maple. The two basic types of wood flooring are solid and engineered wood. Solid wood floors are a solid piece of wood from top to bottom, while engineered wood floors are manufactured using three to nine layers of different wood veneers. The three most common styles of wood flooring are strip, plank, and parquet. For bedroom use, strip and plank are by far the most popular. Both are traditional appearing, linear pieces of wood, but the plank is wider than strip, giving it a more casual vibe.
4. Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring (sometimes called Pergo although that’s a brand name) looks like real wood but is a printed photo of wood (stone is another option) covered with a protective plastic coating. Laminate flooring comes in a wide range of wood-tone colors and styles to suit any decorating theme. Less expensive than hardwood, you can lower the costs of laminate flooring even further by laying it yourself; it’s a reasonably easy weekend DIY project. Laminate holds up quite well to daily wear-and-tear but is susceptible to scratching and can also buckle if water or other liquids puddle on it.
5. Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo floors are made of grass—yes, bamboo is a type of grass—and are stronger and harder than hardwood floors. This is an eco-friendly flooring choice due to bamboo’s rapid harvest time and regeneration process. Bamboo flooring comes in strips and planks, like wood and laminate flooring, that fit tightly together. There are many grain and color options available.
6. Rubber Flooring
Rubber flooring is made of virgin or recycled rubber. It comes in a wide range of colors, patterns, and styles. This type of flooring is very durable, sometimes lasting for more than 30 years, and can be a great alternative for a child’s bedroom or playroom. Besides its durability, it’s also easy to clean and maintain.
7. Cork Flooring
It’s most often used in kitchens, thanks to its durability and comfortable support when standing for long periods, but cork is also a suitable choice for bedroom use, as it absorbs sound. When stepping onto cork flooring with heels, your shoe will make an indentation into the cork, but as soon as you release your shoe from the floor, the cork particles quickly resume their original positions. Heavy furniture, however, can leave permanent indentations. Cork flooring is eco-friendly, available in a wide range of colors and quite durable. It’s expensive, though.
8. Ceramic Tile and Stone Flooring
Ceramic tile and stone are rarely used in bedrooms, as while they are very durable and beautiful in other areas of the home, they are usually considered too cold, hard, and noisy for the bedroom. Still, tile or stone is a possibility with certain decorating styles, notably Mediterranean, Tuscan, tropical, Spanish, or Moroccan themes.
