Best Flooring for Kids Play Rooms
Protecting the Floor (and your Kids) with Children’s Play Room Flooring Options
This page came about through a question. You might have already read my detailed guide to the best gym flooring. The question was whether interlocking foam gym floor mats would also be good flooring for children’s play rooms.
The answer – as always – is ‘it depends’.
It depends on the age of your kids, the area to cover and the likelihood of spills. It also depends on whether a plain grey or black floor covering (with padding) would work for you – or whether you prefer something brighter or even themed.
Best Play Room Flooring: The Main Options
I have divided your options into four categories. These are:
- Interlocking Tiles: Colourful, padded and spill-resistant. These are the go-to choice for many parents. Benefits include being able to choose the right amount for the size of your kids play room.
- Cleanable Mats: These come with various themes, and some are even washable. I have featured a village map, letters and a wildlife themed mat – though you can choose others (including a football pitch!).
- Rubber Flooring: If you want a versatile solution which can put up with taking a real battering, then a solid rubber mat (or a few smaller roll-up ones) will do this job perfectly.
- Interlocking Gym Flooring Tiles: These have more padding than the smaller children’s room ones and are bigger. If your play-room is big, or you want to work out there when the kids are in bed, then this makes a good option.
Children’s Play Room Flooring Option #1: Colourful Interlocking Tiles
A popular option that will suit most purposes is the Marko EVA interlocking foam mats.
I like that you get a selection of colours, and that these are super-easy to assemble. You simply lock them together, and you are good to go. They are 10mm thick, have a bounce to them and are soft enough to cushion any tumbles!
You get 50 square feet (that is 4.6 square meters) in a pack. That works out at a square with each side 7 feet. 2 packs should be plenty for the average room, though you might need more than that.
You can wipe them clean, and they are light enough to be loaded up and moved around for an instant area. The makers advise 3+ years for these.
A lot of positive feedback for these children’s room floor tiles at amazon. You can read this and see the close-up pictures on this dedicated amazon.co.uk product page.
Alternative Children’s Room Floor Tiles: Letters, Numbers and Animals
This pack of 40 tiles is the number #1 category seller at amazon – and you can see why. The build is the same as the Marko matts above. They are safe EVA moulded, and lock on all sides, creating a soft play area for any kid’s room.
What makes a difference here is the design. Each piece has a letter, a number or a cute animal picture on it.
Each mat is 32x32cms (and 1cm thick), giving you good coverage. My one complaint is that you only get one of each letter – so spelling many names is not possible (you can always get an extra pack!).
A lot of praise in the buyer feedback for these tiles, which have been put to good use many times over.
You can see that feedback; pictures and any current discount offer on this dedicated amazon.co.uk product page.
Children’s Play Room Flooring Option #2: Get a Mat!
You can find puzzle mats, road map mats and cartoon character maps. My personal pick is one that shows a football pitch (though I’m not certain encouraging football indoors would be the best move!). Here are two picks, if you follow this link to the category page, you’ll find a lot of other options.
Best-Seller: The Rug House Village Play Mat
With this mat, the play possibilities are endless. Not only that, you can pick from 5 sizes to fit your kids play room / bedroom perfectly. This is a best-seller for good reasons, and is wipe clean, soft and durable. It won’t be quite as soft at the interlocking children’s room mats.
The design features tree lined streets, many different buildings and roads.
Sizes start from just 80cm x 120cm and go all the way up to a huge 2 meters by 2 meters – with 3 mid-sized options in between.
The Rug House have a solid reputation and judging by the feedback from parents who already bought one of these mats, they are high quality too.
Check out the sizes, feedback and design for yourself on this dedicated amazon.co.uk product page.
Fun Alternative: Countryside / Wildlife Play Mat
There are more options on the theme above (you’ll see those in the ‘related items’), though I wanted to feature a mat which offers something a little different.
This foam mat features two huge giraffes, and a colourful countryside setting filled with animals. It works for babies and is foam – having that extra little bit of cushioning exactly where it is needed! There is only one size this time, 180cm by 200cm. That is almost as big as the largest Rug House mat.
Cotton is the primary material, though it does have a waterproof coating to make cleaning easy. You’ll also get a carry bag for this play room mat.
I’m only featuring mats with positive feedback, and this one has some glowing reviews.
Check out this dedicated amazon.co.uk product page for the close-up pics and full spec.
Children’s Play Room Flooring Option #3: Heavy Duty Rubber Mats
These mats are not pretty, though investing a little more in a slab of soft rubber is bound to last for years and take all the beatings that kids give it!
Rubber mats are ideal if you have one spare room where you work out after the children have gone to bed. They also work well as a soft and robust underlay for non-padded rugs or carpets.
There are two primary grades. One is a roll-up mat. These are smaller and roll up between use. The other is the commercial style mats. These would be overkill for a play-room. If you want to find out more about those, then check out my gym flooring guide.
Roll Up Rubber Mats from Ultrasport
These mats are solid rubber and are 0.6cm thick. They are black super-easy to clean and are designed with someone dropping dumbbells on them in mind. You can find them in 3 sizes, the smallest is about the size of a yoga mat. 3 of these side-by-side make for a formidable (and safe) floor, at a reasonable cost. Sure, they don’t have the play style designs on them, though for an all-action play-room, you really can’t go wrong!
Check out this amazon.co.uk product page for your different options.
Children’s Play Room Flooring Guide Option #4: Interlocking Gym Mats
For foam squares which are both bigger and thicker than those aimed specifically at children’s rooms, you can try flooring use by home fitness fans. These are also wipe-clean (someone has to remove that sweat) and are a lot more versatile than the other options.
I like the York Fitness interlocking mats. These are 1.3cms thick – and have a definite bounce to them when you walk. If you are doubling up your play room as a workout room, going for these will solve both at the same time.
What I like about these is that the packs are small. You don’t need to by 40 tiles at the same time and can get a better fit with your space that way. Each foam tile is bigger, coming in at 60cm x 60cm.
For a versatile solution, these 4-packs of gym floor tiles from York Fitness fit the bill perfectly.
Check out this amazon.co.uk product page for the details.
Wrapping Up: Best Flooring Options for Children’s Rooms
Two questions to ask for your final decision.
Firstly, how much of a battering do you expect your children’s room floor to take? You can go for a robust (heavy duty) solution or choose something padded but less durable as needed.
Secondly, do you want to include a fun or educational element, or is this for practical purposes only? This is not as simple as you might think, since many of us already have a ton of things to keep those kids entertained.
Whatever you choose, check the feedback from other buyers first. Makers of kids flooring will always put their best foot forward – that feedback from parents is where you’ll get the real picture.
If you would like even more options, then check the complete listing via this link.
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