Whats next?

My baby is about to turn 1 and he seems very over his playpen. But when you hold him he wants to crawl away. Im thinking if I should get him a baby gate to still keep him a bit contained but more freedom? Or should I baby proof and let him explore freely? I just don’t want him directly on our floors because they’re tile. He still isn’t fully crawling but does army crawl and is starting to pull himself up. I’m just a little lost on what to do. With my daughter, we lived in a different house with carpet and was much bigger (our home right now just a studio/ 1 bedroom) so she was allowed to roam freely but idk about that here. Maybe he just needs new toys in his playpen too?