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I’ve rewritten this blog post over and over again in my head. In short, this is a very mixed review on our painted wood floors. It’s been a year since we’ve painted them and I’ve collected all of your questions from over on Instagram into an FAQ section below. 

If you’re able to read through the FAQ section, it’ll give some insight into my final thoughts that I’ll put at the end.

Here’s the blog post on How We Painted Our Wood Floors

Painted Wood Floors

FAQ

Why did you paint the floors/what was your vision?

If you’ve followed me on Instagram, you know I am obsessed with Leanne Ford. Just check out some of her all white designs and you’ll see why I got hooked on the idea of painting our floors. Another source of inspiration was Jana Roach and her beautiful bedroom!

We had carpets and damaged lvp flooring throughout the living room/dining room and bedrooms. When we pulled them up we discovered that the original wood floors were already painted a shiny brown shade in most areas and a blue tone in the kids bedroom. They were also very rough condition and splintered in some spots - which makes sense why new carpet and flooring was laid down. 

It was fun to refresh something that was already done in the house years ago. Since we were on a tight timeline and didn’t want to go to the work of sanding down everything completely, we decided to simply paint everything a fresh coat of white. 

How to Clean Painted Floors

I’ve found that while white floors definitely show dirt quickly, they also tend to clean up fairly well.

I clean them just as I would regular floors. An O’Cedar Mop with hot water has been helpful. I spray whatever multipurpose cleaner I have on hand over high traffic areas and run the mop over it. I’ve also found that white vinegar and hot water works well!

For tough spots or scuff marks (we DO get a lot of those!) Magic Erasers have been the best! Every few months I’ll go through with a Magic Eraser if I really feel like they are looking a little more scuffed up than I prefer. 

White painted floors do show everything, so be mentally prepared to either let it go or give your floors a good scrub often. I’ve found adding rugs to cover the space has helped my sanity. I love the look enough to let the cleanliness go. 

If I could give any advice, it would be to go for a subtle color or even off-white to help with hiding the dust and dirt. 

Can you use a steam mop on painted floors?

I read that steam mopping over painted floors can cause bubbles underneath the paint, so I have avoided it!

How to keep painted floors from scratching

We haven't had many issues with scratching on our white painted floors. But we do get scuff marks fairly easily and slight chipping in high traffic areas (more on that below).

Does floor paint last? Is it durable?

A year later and we haven't had issues with scratching. Like I mentioned above, it's usually scuff marks and some chipping so far. 

As our house has naturally settled throughout the different seasons, especially since it's an older home, I’ve noticed faint lines appearing along the outlines of the wood that were previously not there from the thick coats of paint.

I personally love the look of these outlines and have considered using an exacto knife to finish creating more of them. It adds to the cool, aged look I’ve wanted and it doesn't bother me. 

It is, however, super important to note that you must let your paint fully dry before setting any heavy objects on the floor. We learned the hard way with the kids' cribs. Even though it had been a while and the fumes were gone and it was dry to the touch, we still had paint peeling up where the cribs’ feet were placed. We didn’t have this issue in our bedroom where we waited the full dry time.

Have you noticed any discoloring?

Yes! I didn’t know until we had a friend help us with our kitchen cabinets that does woodworking for a living - wood absorbs liquids and it will come to the surface over time. There is a spot by our fireplace that appeared a few weeks after we finished. I haven’t found a way to properly clean it sadly.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we have been impressed by how well the floors have held up, but the white is high maintenance to keep clean.

Considering it’s just paint and an inexpensive fix, we don’t feel like we can complain too much about the few issues that have occurred. Dabbing some paint back over some chipped areas is an easy enough fix. 

Going with a pure white shade was risky with kids, and I knew it. However, I love the look enough that I’m now ok that you can see every tiny speck of dirt. It’s a decision you will have to weigh yourself, but just know that it WILL look dirty on a regular basis. I have considered repainting with an off-white or even a color to help, but I doubt that would help with scuff marks.

Painting wood floors is a cheap, easy option. It’s not crazy durable or a long term solution - plan on touching it up every once in a while. It does look beautiful and makes a big impact for being so inexpensive.

I hope this was helpful if you are considering painting your floors! I wanted to be honest and thorough.

Send me a DM on Instagram if you have any more questions or if you’ve painted your floors too and want to discuss!

Read How We Painted Our Wood Floors if you want to give it a go!