The Ultimate Guide To The Best Tiny House Flooring

tiny house flooring options

NAVIGATION

The initial choice to build a tiny home is simply the first of many smaller, more detailed choices that follow. One of the most important design decisions that goes into building a tiny house is choosing the material used for the flooring. A good floor can easily make or break your home!

ryans tiny house

Hi, I’m Ryan

After helping build over 3,000 tiny homes, I’ve learned a lot about what works well and what doesn’t. Flooring is the foundation of every tiny house, so the material you choose can make a world of difference.

ryan mitchell simple living expert

Tiny House Flooring Options: Materials To Consider

tiny house flooring material options

When choosing a flooring option for my own tiny home, there were several considerations I took into account. First off, I sought out materials that were durable and would need limited repairs. Thinking this through on the front end helped me save huge dollars on excess floor repairs down the line.

how much does a tiny house weighI also knew I needed to keep the weight of my floor material in mind. Evenly distributing the weight of my own tiny home on wheels serves as a safeguard that keeps my tiny house from breaking down in transit.

Not only did I build my tiny house floor to be sturdy, I also wanted it to be easy to manage. I do a lot in a given day and make it a value of mine to work smarter, not harder. I like to devote more of my time to the things I truly care about, which doesn’t involve excess time spent cleaning. I knew I needed to choose a floor material that would be easy to clean.

Lastly, I thought through how difficult the installation process would be for the flooring material I went with. I was entirely new to any kind of construction when I built my tiny house, so I wanted a flooring material that was simple to install.

All of these considerations led me to a few different tiny house flooring options that I still recommend to many friends today.

build or buy a tiny house

Wood Flooring Options For Tiny Homes

Wood Flooring Options For Tiny Homes

Wood is a classic option for outfitting a tiny house floor, with many options of wood to choose from. In my own tiny house, I went with maple hardwood for the main floor of my home because it is sturdy, durable, simple to clean, and has a long life, and I can tell you I’m still happy with that choice.

There are many types of wood flooring that work well in a tiny house, including hardwood like maple, cherry, oak, or birch. Hardwood may be more expensive than synthetic wood, carpet, or cork, but it is one of the sturdiest options you can choose for a tiny house floor.

Paying more on the front end to use hardwood is worth it, considering you won’t have to replace your floor for years, if ever. That said, I think if I were to go back, I might opt for a high-quality vinyl plank instead.

wood floor in a tiny house
tiny home wood flooring
wood floors in a tiny home
tiny house wood floors

Using Luxury Vinyl Planks In A Tiny House

Using Luxury Vinyl Planks In A Tiny House

There are a few reasons I think luxury vinyl plank (LVP) would be the ideal way to go if I were to rebuild my tiny home. While I love my maple hardwood, LVP is much easier to clean and keep up with.

Additionally, vinyl planking is more water resistant than most hardwoods. This is super helpful if you have kids around or are prone to spilling or water damage. LVP is also a very forgiving material when it comes to showing damage from scrapes, cracks, or bends. This flooring isn’t quick to show wear and tear, meaning it will keep your tiny home looking new even years down the line.

tiny house with luxury vinyl plank flooring

Bamboo Tiny Home Flooring Options

Bamboo Tiny Home Flooring Options

Bamboo is slowly becoming one of the most popular alternatives to hardwood due to it being and naturally durable. It’s pretty common for tiny housers to care a lot about living sustainably in their tiny home, which is why installing bamboo flooring has quite the appeal.

While many kinds of trees take over 20 years to mature, bamboo trees grow and replenish more quickly. Bamboo wood can be harvested every five to six years and is therefore much better for the environment.

Bamboo is also lighter than hardwood, but is still surprisingly durable and simple to clean. The only major downside to using bamboo floors is the wood may start to carry a greenish tint the longer it is exposed to sun.

tiny house with bamboo flooring

Using Cork As A Tiny House Flooring Option

Using Cork As A Tiny House Flooring Option

Cork flooring is also a popular option amongst tiny housers hoping to live an eco-friendlier life. Cork flooring can either be harvested from living cork oak trees or built from recycled cork.

One huge advantage to using cork floors is that the material naturally insulates. If you plan to travel across different climates in in your tiny home, corks floors will insulate in both high and low temperatures.

The wood from cork trees is easy to clean, smooth, flexible, light weight, and has a very quiet tread. Cork works extremely well in a tiny house kitchen, living room, or small office.

tiny house cork flooring
cork flooring in a tiny house
tiny home with cork floor

Carpet Flooring Options For A Tiny House

Carpet Flooring Options For A Tiny House

Carpet is not the most beloved option for tiny homes. Carpet floors are a huge challenge to clean, difficult to dry, and show wear much quicker than some sturdier, more durable flooring options.

Carpet does have a few upsides, though. It’s cheaper, it will keep your feet warmer in the wintertime, and it can give your home a cozy feeling. I wouldn’t recommend using carpet in your entire home, but it can be a nice choice for smaller crevices like a book nook, sleeping loft, small office or craft room space.

carpet floor in tiny home
carpet flooring in tiny house
tiny home carpet floor
tiny house bedroom with carpet floor
tiny house carpet floor
tiny house loft with carpet floor

Is Tile A Good Flooring Option In A Tiny Home?

Is Tile A Good Flooring Option In A Tiny Home

I have tile in several places throughout my tiny house, including in my bathroom and my kitchen. Most of my bathroom is covered in slate tile flooring, which I would highly recommend because it’s a lighter weight tile, resistant to water damage, and simple to keep clean.

A lot of people fear using tile as a main material for their tiny house floors because they worry the tile will crack easily, leaving them with high repair costs and the hassle of upkeep. I understand that fear for sure, but if you go about it the right way, cracking tile should not be a huge issue.

The main floor of the kitchen and bathroom are great places to install tile, but there are also other little ways to integrate tile flooring in a tiny house, like the inside of a shower or at the foot of a kitchen sink.

installing tile floor in a tiny home
tile floor in a tiny house
tiny house tile floor
tiny house tile flooring

using tile in a tiny house

Comparing Tiny House Flooring Materials

Comparing Tiny House Flooring Materials

If there are so many flooring options that work well for tiny houses, how do you decide which one is best for you? It comes down to assessing what your personal needs are in your own tiny house.

I knew I wanted to spend the least time cleaning as possible and choose a flooring material that would last for many years. However, you might have different needs than I did when building my first tiny house. Take a look at this comparison chart to see all of the different materials to choose from and figure out which one will work best for you.

Like I said, if I had to do it all over again in my own tiny home, I think I would actually go with a very nice luxury vinyl plank because it’s waterproof and very easy to clean, but there are so many options out there you really can go in any direction with tiny house flooring.

Your Turn!

  • What type of flooring will you add to your tiny home?
  • Will you install your tiny house floor DIY style?
11 Comments
  1. I chose LVP for my first tiny house. Happy it with but does seem to show scratches more, maybe due to it’s dark black oak colour.
    For my THOW, I chose ‘peel n stick’ 12”x24” grout-able linoleum tiles, laid on the diagonal, herringbone style. With a contrasting grout, it looks very high-end and yet comparatively cheap. Very hard wearing and easy to clean. Fully waterproof too. A properly laid 1/4”ply subfloor preparation is essential. Also, if any piece ever gets damaged, it’s a piece of cake to replace a few tiles.

  2. Thanks for the article!
    Question:
    If LVP floor color is medium toned, will wear show as described by Roy?

  3. After replacing a floor in a 470’ studio with LVP, I would never choose that product again. It feels thin and cheap.

  4. I really enjoy and appreciate your valuable post , considering every aspect of the tiny house trending lifestyle. But my big question is how to find a good lot land were is allowed to install a tiny house (zoning) but at the same time it’s reasonably located? Can you ost something about it? Or if you did it in the past please forward me the link.

    • This is an issue. Lots of tiny homes, lots of builders. Finding a place to put a tiny home is extremely difficult. Just keep searching via the internet. Good luck!

  5. I chose porcelain tile for the main floor and marmoleum ( linoleum ) for the bathroom and am happy with both . The marmoleum is a little pricey , but fairly sustainable . Forbo marmoleum is the brand , but Armstrong I believe still makes it . It’s the original linoleum , which contains no plastics . It’s available in sheet or tiles , many colors . Width of sheet linoleum is 6.5 feet , so if your floor is wider than that , you would have a seam .

  6. How’s come you did not mention WarmWood radiant flooring underneath so all through the winter people can be cozy? Or more properly, why are you not talking about the possibility of radiant flooring? This is definitely something I will consider before deciding which cosmetic flooring to put on top of the WarmWood.

  7. You left off Linoleum and Marmoleum.

  8. You also left off Carpet Tiles like this from Flor. Super easy to install and stylish too. Not cheap though. You can make up for the cost by doing it yourself ($0), and since the area is small splurge a little.

  9. I will be using laminate wood composite product with under floor heating. I have been in a tiny home that had this underfloor heating and it was so warm and cosy they didn’t need another heat source in winter. And no warm feet!

  10. Bamboo is definitely a sustainable option for Tiny House flooring.
    Research has shown, Bamboo forest produces 35% more oxygen than a similar square area of hardwood trees. Because of Bamboo fast metabolism rate, it is able to metabolize sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) in to energy, with oxygen as a byproduct, at a higher rate. This high rate of metabolism also facilitates Bamboo ability to sequester CO2 at a higher volume than other trees.
    Fun fact: the Bamboo species used for manufacturing textiles and floors are not the same species that giant Pandas eat in China; the largest producer of Bamboo fabrics in the world.

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