Oak Wood Floors For Children’s Rooms

More and more people are choosing oak flooring for their homes, but many parents still ask, “is oak flooring suitable for children’s rooms?”.  Often worried about the hardness of the surface and gaps, which may appear thanks to natural expansion and contraction, parents question the suitability of oak flooring as an option for their children’s rooms.

There is no doubt that a good quality oak floor is ideally suited to a child’s bedroom or playroom.  In fact, in many ways oak flooring is perfectly suited to children’s rooms.  Easy to clean and particularly suited to anyone suffering from dust allergies, oak flooring in children’s rooms is a great solution.

Many parents worry about little fingers and toes getting stuck in the gaps which naturally occur in solid oak flooring due to its natural expansion and contraction.  This risk can be minimised by the use of engineered oak flooring which is much less susceptible to expansion and contraction.

There are two elements of oak flooring which need to be acknowledged when it comes to its use in children’s rooms.  The first is that the surface, by its very nature, is harder than carpeting.  As a result, if you have a very small child or a baby, you may want to incorporate some softness on the floor.  Play mats or rugs are ideal solutions and the perfect place for you and your child to share a moment together.  Do remember, however, if you introduce a rug or a play mat to an oak floor in your child’s room, to place a good quality, non-slip mat underneath.  Rugs and mats without effective non-slip underlays can be lethal on wooden flooring, no matter which room of the home you’re in, but especially in a child’s room.

The second consideration when fitting oak flooring in a child’s bedroom is to make sure you incorporate a strong, robust finish into your project.  Children, although small, can be somewhat unforgiving when it comes to play.  The rough and tumble of an oak floor in a children’s room needs to be anticipated and calls for a tough finish.  You need to make sure the floor is installed and finished well to withstand the spills and bashes and bangs it’ll encounter during your child’s day-to-day activities.

On the subject of finish, it is also worth seeking out a low volatile organic compound (VOC) option to avoid any risk to your child’s health.  There are various child friendly oak floor finishes on the market, so if you’re in any doubt, seek the help of your floor supplier.