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Property/DIY

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Original poster

White wooden floorboards?

27 replies

Ipanema01 · 25/06/2015 16:37

We're doing a refurb soon and I REALLY want white wooden flooring for our open plan ground floor - does anybody have this and am I nuts?

We currently have oak floorboards stained a walnut colour so we'd most likely be stripping and re-staining them.
I know white has got to be the worst for dirt but our current floor has never been properly finished/sealed and show every bit of dust/mud/water anyway. Should also mention we have a toddler and a Great Dane...

An alternative could be pale grey maybe?

OP posts:

HipsterBeard · 25/06/2015 16:41

Pale grey worked well for us in our old flat - baby, no pets. They were battered original floorboards that we sanded, mainly to lighten the rooms. But we liked the scuffed effect that happened over time - if you go for a more pristine look, it might not be for you...?

Sunnyshores · 25/06/2015 18:04

We did ours white in the bathrooms. It looked great, but even in there with the limited wear and dirt we had to repaint them every 12 months. I cant really see that pale grey would be much better wearing.

regretsihaveafew · 25/06/2015 19:36

I have a bungalow with white painted floorboards throughout and I absolutely love it. Visitors always comment on it in a good way, it has quite an impact when you walk in.

But I live on my own, no children, no pets. I wipe down one different room every other day or so to keep on top of bit's/fluff from rugs/hair/dust which moves about when doors are open [and you wonder where it comes from], but it takes only a couple of minutes. [And I do nothing Fri-Sun!]. With a dog maybe you would do it each day. Small price to pay though.

I haven't had to repaint yet and I did it 4 years ago. I think grey would be lovely too...and maybe will not show the nail holes as much as white does as the time goes by.

SwedishEdith · 25/06/2015 20:22

I had a dining floor in a pale grey. I used a proper floor paint and I didn't notice it get too scruffy (but I quite like that look anyway). But, it was a high traffic area in a kids and shoes on house. I'd do it again.

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 26/06/2015 09:27

Thanks for the responses. Good to know some have managed to live with it! I love the look but it'll probably be a nightmare to keep clean; however my current dark wood is a constant battle anyway...
For those who have painted, did you just use a regular floor paint? Wondering about whitewashing...
I'd definitely prefer white but thought grey might camouflage grey dog hair and dust slightly better!

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Lollipopgirl8 · 26/06/2015 09:38

My one piece of advice is use specialist floor paint of high quality I've used both farrow and ball strong white floor paint and a dulux brand of floor paint... The farrow and ball wins hands down... I would imagine little green to be even better as their paint is often oil based.

limesoda · 26/06/2015 09:49

Yep, most of the floorboards in our old house were painted white. I used F&B because I wanted it to tie in perfectly with other woodwork, and it looked fab. I don't mind a slightly scuffed look though....

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 26/06/2015 10:48

Thanks for the paint brand tip - good to know! What kind of sheen did you go for, and what do you use to clean your floors?
I don't mind a few scuffs at all.

Questions questions!

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Oliversmumsarmy · 26/06/2015 10:52

I had this for all of 1 year before we laid a wooden floor over the top. I had children, cats and dogs, from about 2 weeks in it looked scruffy. Children kept posting things between the cracks, the ones we had filled in and they had carefully picked out.

TeddyBee · 26/06/2015 14:46

We have white painted boards on the first floor. Looks lovely, but we send the Roomba round most days.

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 06/12/2015 09:25

Resurrecting this thread as we're now at the point of having to decide/purchase asap and the builder is looking at me as if I'm crazy!

The room is totally open plan and we currently have engineered oak flooring that we're trying to match to complete the extension. We are going to sand then paint/stain.
I really want light floors. I want the room to look pared back and Scandi.
Has anyone had their engineered wood in white and did you paint it? What with? Was it sealed after?
Does anyone have pale grey? How did you achieve the look?

Also concerned that with engineered wood rather than floorboards if we do need to redo it at some point we won't be able to keep sand in it back...

I'm going around in circles with it and don't want to make a mistake!

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BagelSuffragette · 06/12/2015 09:37

Pretty sure you can sand back engineered wood floors if/when you want to re-stain. We chose an extra thick board to give us that option.

Pale grey sounds lovely but hard to know beforehand how much it will show dirt/dog hair. Would love a pic of finished floor!

Hobbes8 · 06/12/2015 10:33

We've got sealed wooden floorboards and use a steam mop to clean them and they come up really well. They're not white but they're light coloured and we have toddlers crushing blueberries into them reasonably frequently.

Hobbes8 · 06/12/2015 10:34

Would you have quite a light stain that shows the grain through or more of a solid colour? A solid colour would be harder to keep clean I think - the wood grain would be more forgiving.

howtorebuild · 06/12/2015 10:45

I liked white and I have also had dark stained. White requires more maintenance, the good side is it looks lighter and more impressive.

PhoebeMcPeePee · 06/12/2015 10:57

We recently painted our old wooden floorboards with mixed results. We used a primer then 2 coats of white floor paint and Amy best advice is make sure you allow enough time for each coat to properly dry. Our said touch dry within 12 hours & walkable within 24 hours BUT hardens over 3-5 days. After 24 hours we made the mistake of putting our furniture back in and where chairs have been dragged by the kids we have lots of scrape marks.

We didn't fill nail holes which really show up with white paint so will do that when we repaint. I now have to hoover everyday and mop at least 3 times a week (shows how manky our floors must have been before ) but I still love the light and airy look and don't regret doing it.

Those that have had more success, how many coats did you do and what sort of drying time? Did you use a lacquer on top? We're really struggling to find 2-3 days when we wont use the kitchen/dining room so shorter dryer times would definitely be advantageous.

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 09/12/2015 16:07

Thanks all!
hobbes8 I'm not 100% sure but I think a pale washy white with a bit of grain would be nice and agree I think it would be easier to maintain, though I'm not sure of the best way to achieve this.
I have no clue on products to use!
Same if we went with grey - I'm not sure where to start really.
Phoebemcpeepee, which brand of primer and paint did you use and did you seal it too?

Floors are keeping me awake at night - SO tragic

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Moving15 · 09/12/2015 21:48

I have a painted floor in my kitchen diner and two children and two dogs. Paint chips.
We started with cream it really showed the dirt fluff and food splats
We tried dark brown. Yuk.
Now we have pale grey and it is a great success and somehow looks clean even when it has been neglected for a few days!

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 10/12/2015 14:23

Oooh, that's great to know! Can I ask what you used to achieve the pale grey please?

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silversixpence · 10/12/2015 16:29

We had osmo Polyx White oil which allows the grain to show through. It is showing a lot of wear in high traffic areas though.

Next time I am considering using Woca Lye or Castle Grey oil. Have a look at Danecare for some examples.

FreeWorker1 · 10/12/2015 16:35

We used Elesgo white high gloss laminate over existing flooring. Easy to fit yourself but we had a professional fitter who also put on new skirting. Looks like planks but with a high sheen modern finish

We put a special Elesgo thin foam sheet between the underfloor and the laminate to cut noise and provide insulation. It worked brilliantly and looks fantastic. Much quicker and nicer than paint and doesn't ruin the floorboards if you fancy a change in future.

There are many suppliers but we got ours direct from the importer in Middlesborough.

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 30/12/2015 10:36

Bump!

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Moving15 · 30/12/2015 13:08

I painted ours with a floor paint by ronseal. Dog claws do the most damage.

SwedishEdith · 30/12/2015 15:24

I did pale grey about 12 years ago one. Just mixed a dark grey and white. It was International floor paint but I think they've been taken over? Anyway, it looked great - very fresh and clean but not stark.

Original poster

Ipanema01 · 30/12/2015 16:10

Thanks both - I think I'm going to order samples of the oils and international floor paint and give those a whirl!
moving15 great to know - does anyone want an 80 kilo pooch

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