What flooring works in a playroom?

The floor is the part of a playroom you think about least and touch most. People stand, kneel and sometimes lie on it. Furniture sits on it. Things get spilled on it. A good playroom floor is level, comfortable, easy to clean and quiet, and it suits the look of the room.

No single floor does everything perfectly, and the one you already have may need only a rug.

What a playroom floor needs

• Level and sound, so furniture sits square and steady.
• Comfortable to stand or kneel on.
• Easy to clean, with a surface that can be wiped or washed.
• Quiet, so footsteps and movement don't carry.
• Warm enough to be comfortable underfoot.
• In keeping with the look you want for the room.

A hard floor with a good rug on top meets these well, though the right answer depends on the room and how you'll use it.

The options

Wood and engineered wood

Solid and engineered wood floors are warm-looking, easy to sweep and wipe, and suit a wide range of rooms. They can be marked by furniture and by grit underfoot, and they carry impact sound to the room below. A rug over a wood floor keeps the look of wood at the edges and softness where it's needed.

Laminate and luxury vinyl

Laminate and luxury vinyl tile or plank are hard-wearing, easy to clean and widely available in wood and stone looks. Vinyl is softer and warmer underfoot than laminate, and copes better with spills. Both carry footsteps unless laid over a good acoustic underlay. They suit a playroom that also needs to be practical.

Carpet

Carpet is the softest and quietest choice, warm and comfortable for kneeling. It's harder to keep clean than a hard floor, holds on to spills and is slow to dry. If you'd like carpet, choose a short, dense pile that can be cleaned easily, or use a washable rug over a hard floor instead.

Tile and stone

Tile and stone are easy to clean and hard-wearing, though they're cold, hard and unforgiving to kneel on, and they echo. They're better suited to a hallway than a playroom, unless softened with large rugs.

Rubber and foam flooring

Rubber flooring and interlocking foam tiles are soft, warm, quiet and easy to wipe clean. They look more like a gym than a bedroom, which may or may not suit the room. They can be laid as a removable layer over an existing floor where you need them.

Rugs

A large rug is the most useful single addition to a hard floor. It softens a hard floor for standing and kneeling, absorbs sound, warms the room and protects the floor beneath furniture. Choose:

• A size that extends well beyond the furniture on every side.
• A low, dense pile that's comfortable without being deep.
• A material that can be cleaned, or a washable rug.
• A non-slip underlay, so the rug stays put.

A second, smaller washable rug or mat that can be put down for scenes and washed afterwards keeps the main rug cleaner.

Furniture and the floor

Restraint furniture needs to sit square and steady. Before assembly, check that the floor is level where each piece will go. A floor that slopes, bounces or creaks needs looking at by a qualified tradesperson before any furniture is placed on it.

Our pieces are made in S235 steel and arrive flat-packed with printed assembly instructions. Assemble each piece where it will be used, and re-tighten every fixing before first use. If you're unsure about placing a piece on a particular floor, or using anything between the furniture and the floor, ask us first.

If any piece is to be fixed to a floor or wall, have a qualified tradesperson assess the floor or wall and do the work. Our furniture isn't designed to hold a person's weight off the ground.

Protecting the floor

Steel furniture is heavy, and moving it across a floor can scratch wood, laminate and vinyl. A rug under the furniture protects the floor and softens sound. When a piece has to be moved, take it apart following the assembly instructions rather than dragging it, and re-tighten every fixing before it's used again.

Cleaning

Choose a floor and rugs you can clean with ordinary household products, and keep those products off the furniture's finish. Wipe hard floors with a damp mop and dry them. Wash removable rugs and mats according to their makers' instructions. Keep a supply of towels nearby during scenes, so spills are dealt with at once.

Warmth

A cold floor makes a cold room. Rugs, underlay and carpet all help keep warmth in. Keep any heaters well away from furniture, rope, fabric and bedding, and never use an open-flame heater in a playroom.

Sound

Impact sound, such as footsteps and movement, travels through the floor to the room below. Rugs with a thick underlay are the simplest answer. Acoustic underlay beneath a new hard floor helps more. Structural changes to a floor belong to a qualified tradesperson. Our guide to soundproofing a playroom covers sound in more depth.

Underfloor heating

If the floor is heated, ask the installer or a qualified tradesperson before laying thick rugs or placing furniture over it, and ask us about a particular piece.

Upstairs and loft rooms

In an upstairs or loft room, sound and movement carry straight to the room below. Lay the thickest rug and underlay you can, and if the floor moves or creaks at all, have a qualified tradesperson assess it before anything is assembled on it.

Choosing for your room

• In a dedicated playroom, a hard floor with a large rug, or rubber flooring if the look suits you.
• In a shared bedroom, whatever floor the room already has, with a good rug under and around the bed.
• In a guest room or study, a hard floor with a rug that can be rolled away or a washable mat put down for scenes.
• Above someone else's home, a thick rug and underlay as a minimum.

Questions about playroom flooring

Is carpet or a hard floor better?

A hard floor with a large rug is the practical choice: easy to clean, comfortable where it matters, and quieter than a bare hard floor.

Do I need to replace my floor?

Often not. A good rug and underlay improve a sound floor a great deal. Replace a floor only if it's damaged, uneven or unsuitable for what you have in mind.

Will steel furniture mark a floor?

A rug under the piece helps protect the floor, and softens sound. For anything else between the furniture and the floor, ask us first.

Can furniture go on a carpet?

Check that the floor beneath is level, and ask us about a particular piece and floor before you assemble it.

For the wider picture, read our guide to turning a spare room into a playroom, or see our BDSM beds, St Andrew's crosses and BDSM cages, each made to order with a current lead time of 8–14 weeks.