Are you building a new home, a first time or move up buyer, or simply renovating your current home? If you’re debating between carpet and hardwood for your bedroom, you’ll want to consider the pros and cons of each.

The bedroom is your personal sanctuary and should reflect your style and taste. Often, we are guilty of choosing the perfect paint color, bed, bedding and furniture, but overlook flooring. Technically, choosing your flooring should be one of the first choices you should make. Think of the process as building from the ground up.

Considerations for your flooring choices should include design, function and individual lifestyle needs. Think about your daily life, do you only use the bedroom for sleep, or do you spend a lot of time in your bedroom? Do you have small children? Do you have pets? Do you eat meals in the bedroom?

Keep in mind that in your bedroom, the first thing your feet touch in the morning is the floor, and the last thing they touch in the evening. What do you want to feel first thing in the morning and at the end of the day?

Carpet is still very popular for bedroom flooring. Carpet offers many color, style and pattern choices that can determine the overall look and feel of the room. Benefits or carpet include that carpet is soft and cozy with many styles, designs and color options to choose from. Carpet feels great underfoot and is an excellent choice for reducing sound, especially if the bedroom is upstairs.

When choosing carpet for your bedroom, keep the carpet cushion or padding in mind as this will affect how the carpet feels underfoot.

Some drawbacks for carpet are that carpet requires frequent cleaning to keep it beautiful and properly maintained. While carpet is less expensive than hardwood, it doesn’t last as long and would need replacing sooner than hardwood.

Hardwood is a popular choice for its inherent beauty and style. Hardwood offers many choices based on style, design and color whether traditional, pre-finished or distressed looking hardwood. Benefits of hardwood include the timeless look and feel, durability and easy maintenance. Another benefit of hardwood is that it is very desirable for resale.

Some drawbacks of hardwood floors are they can be expensive, can scratch, aren’t as soft underfoot and do not insulate against noise as well. If you have pets, you’ll need to factor in that pet hair can be more visible on hardwood on a daily basis depending on the color of the wood in relation to the color of the pet hair.

If you love the look of hardwood, but like the feel of carpet, there’s a solution to get to enjoy both! To soften the look and feel of the bedroom, place an area rug on top of the hardwood! This allows you to add an additional design element of color, texture and defines the space, especially for a large bedroom.

We hope this information helps you feel more informed about whether carpet or hardwood is right for your bedroom!