Carpet or Hardwood in Bedrooms: Which is Better?

Bedrooms are our sanctuaries. They’re places where we want to feel comfortable and at peace – we spend roughly a third of our lives there, after all.

It’s difficult enough to pick a type of flooring for other “less important” rooms in your home, but choosing one for your bedroom can be a different animal.

When selecting bedroom flooring, most people’s choice boils down to two options: carpet and hardwood. 

There’s a good reason for that. Both of these options have different qualities to offer: 

Hardwood‘s unmatched beauty and luxurious shine is difficult to top, but carpet’s warmth and coziness make up for its lack of “prestige.”

When it’s all said and done, which option suits your bedroom flooring needs better? Let’s find out.

Comfort and Feel

• Carpet: The coziness of carpet in the bedroom is unmatched. It’s a soft material that feels very comfortable to walk on. You don’t have to worry about the temperature in the room because carpet’s softness and warmth always stays the same 

• Hardwood: Hardwood is, well,  hard underfoot, especially if you don’t use rugs. If your bedroom feels chilly, you’ll definitely notice it under your feet. 

Aesthetics and Style

• Carpet: When it comes to the amount of designs to choose from, carpet is far superior to hardwood. It’s available in a wide variety of colors, patterns and textures. 

• Hardwood: This flooring option brings a timeless and classic appearance to your bedroom. There’s a lot of different wood species to make a selection out of, each with a different, unique look. If elegance is something you’re aiming to achieve, then hardwood is the right choice for your bedroom.

Maintenance 

• Carpet: Keeping carpet floors in tip-top condition requires frequent vacuuming and occasional professional cleaning services. They are much easier to stain than hardwood, and cleaning them is not as simple as wiping away a liquid with a towel.

• Hardwood: Cleaning hardwood floors is a piece of cake. Regular sweeping and mopping will do the job just fine and you can rest assured that your flooring will remain looking fantastic for years to come.

 Health and Allergies

• Carpet: There’s no way to get around it, no matter how well you maintain your carpet, you’re still going to end up with allergens trapped in the fibers of carpet flooring (especially if you have pets). This makes carpet difficult to recommend to people with allergy-related issues. 

• Hardwood: Hardwood floors have fewer allergens compared to carpet. There are no places for dust to get trapped in, which makes hardwood a much better option in this category.

 Noise Reduction

• Carpet: Because of its softness, carpet can help reduce the amount of noise in your bedroom. This is because it’s harder for sounds to “bounce” off of carpet floors. 

Depending on what you use as your subflooring, you may end up with a room so quiet you can’t hear a pin drop! 

• Hardwood: Wood floors can be quite noisy to walk on. Again, it depends on the type of hardwood you’re getting, but if this is a big deal to you, you should look no further than carpet. 

 Cost Considerations

• Carpet: With costs ranging from $3 to $10 per square foot (including installation), carpet is a lot cheaper than hardwood. There’s a kicker though – you’ll need to replace it every 5 to 10 years.

• Hardwood: The initial cost of hardwood is much higher ($6 to $15 per square foot including installation), but they can last a lot longer. If you don’t plan on changing your bedroom flooring in the near future, then hardwood is the right choice for you.

Environmental Impact

• Carpet: Carpets are often made from synthetic materials or wool. Synthetic carpets may have a larger environmental footprint.

• Hardwood: If sustainability is a huge concern for you, then it’s hard not to recommend hardwood. It’s made of natural renewable resources, and it is generally one of the most environmentally friendly flooring options on the market. 

Should You Put Carpet or Hardwood in Your Bedroom?

The choice between carpet or hardwood in bedrooms isn’t one that’s easily settled by a salesperson in a flooring store. 

It comes down to personal preference and the features that are important to you. After all, you’re the person who will spend 8 hours each and every day in your bedroom.

There are some categories in which carpet is the clear winner, such as comfort, sound insulation and cost.

On the other hand, hardwood is a much better option for people with allergies, it’s easier to maintain and has a significantly longer lifespan.

At the end of the day, bearing all the different factors in mind, this difficult choice comes down to what you value the most, so choose wisely!