Painted floorboards. Triumph or disaster?

[moonbeam1066]

I have pine floorboards in my house which we sanded and sealed with a clear mat varnish a while ago. At first I loved the pale finish but over the years the colour has become more orange. I'm in a real dilemma as to whether I refinish them with a darker stain to cover the orange hue or go for floor paint. I love the idea of light painted floorboards but am nervous about the upkeep and how durable they are. Anyone out there with success or disaster stories of painted wood floors? Also which paint to buy?

Interested in the answers you get, OP. Also: painted stairs - great alternative to grubby carpet or dirt-and-spider-attracting deathtrap?

Osmo do a hard wax/oil that is mainly transparent but has a whte tinge that takes the orange look away. Worked a treat on our sanded boards.

Our stairs are painted white with the diamond hard floor paint stuff from Dulux (I think). It's worn a lot but I do like the worn look so I'm ok with it. If I got floors done again though I would get a professional to do it.

Thanks AgathaF, will have another look at Osmo floor wax. I had already picked out Osmo terra if I decide to go the darker wood route. Hadn't thought about going for a white wax to tone it down. Has it worn well?

Just a thought but I think to either paint or revarnish / wax you'll have to re sand? In a previous house mine needed re sanding after a few years and I had a natural floor was from Ronseal. I've sanded current floorboards a couple of years ago, I'd love to paint them white but know I couldn't do that over the wax I put on. Decisions decisions....

It's worn really well. The wax/oil has sort of tiny flecks of white in it that are slightly visible on the boards once it's been applied, but over time as you walk on it they become less visible but it still seems to prevent the wood from appearing orange. Clever stuff!

I had white painted floorboards in my kitchen/diner with a red tone Persian rug.
Looked good fresh and as it wore it looked good too, but I felt after a while it just looked grubby rather than shabby cool.
I think in a suburban space it doesn't really work, you need to have quite a large space imho.