Make sure your floors can stand up to that pitter patter.

Young couples or singles designing—or renovating—the home of their dreams may focus largely on aesthetics when it comes to flooring, paint, and other very visible features. And why not? The way your space looks is important, and there’s nothing quite like living in a home that’s decorated to your own tastes.

However, when kids enter the equation, the pros and cons lists for various flooring options may change significantly. That’s not to say that the way your home looks no longer matters when you have children—of course it still does. But practical considerations often have greater weight when faced with a lot of mess, endless spills, and many tumbles taken while learning to walk.

The following are a few flooring options which offer up some practical benefits to those with children, those currently expecting them, or those considering obtaining some in the near future.

Carpet

While this does not generally fall into the “easily cleanable” category that so many parents covet, carpet certainly has its advantages for particular rooms in a child-occupied house. It’s soft and warm, making it ideal for cozy living spaces where little ones will be spending time playing on the floor. Learning to walk is safest in a carpeted area (without too many hazardous furniture corners). Carpet in bedrooms can also help with insulation—in wintertime, a warm sleeping space is a concern for most parents.

Dirt concerns can be mitigated by carefully choosing a carpet colour that won’t show too much mess. This doesn’t necessarily mean dark colours, as these tend to show light-coloured dirt—and vice versa, of course. Find a happy medium colour with some speckling for disguise.

Garage carpet

Although this one comes under the category of carpet, it deserves a special mention for its utility in play spaces. Often laid in places like garages, rumpus rooms, and high-traffic areas, garage carpet provides some of the benefits of carpeting like slightly increased softness and warmth underfoot whilst remaining tough, hard-wearing and spill-resistant. It is easily cleaned, simple to install, and a fantastic option for play spaces that must stand up to rough-and-tumble.

Vinyl

Inexpensive and versatile, vinyl flooring is ideal for rooms like kitchens and dining rooms where a hard floor is almost a necessity—once kids arrive, anyway! It’s water-resistant, stain-resistant, durable, and just overall difficult to damage, which is what you need when you have small people eating and playing on it.

Vinyl is also a lot softer and more forgiving of a surface than hardwood, tile, or concrete, which is a major benefit when it comes to toddlers and babies. It comes in a huge array of styles and colours and can even imitate things like wooden planks or tiles, so you can enjoy the look you want as well as the child-friendly features of vinyl.

Kids floor mats

If you are finding your flooring choices, whatever they may be, to be unsuitable for your family, there are inexpensive and non-permanent ways to improve them. One of the best is kids floor mats—that is, those foam mats which fit together like big puzzle pieces to cover varied floor spaces.

To create a soft and relatively dirt-proof place for play, simply purchase as many of these mats as necessary and lay them down. They will protect the floor underneath, and if one gets damaged it is simple to replace. A fantastic solution!

Child-proofing a home goes beyond locks on cupboard doors—there is a lot to think about, right down to the flooring! And while it’s not necessary to change everything about your house to suit small people, having child-friendly features can make life a lot easier and less stressful.

Calbeni can provide and install carpeting, garage carpet, and vinyl. Call in to our Lower Hutt showroom to see the many available possibilities and talk to our knowledgeable team.