Are you drawn to rooms that look like this?
photo from Hill House Remodel
photo from Apartment Therapy
![image_thumb[1]](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5523484687_bca6fe9deb.jpg)
photo from A Touch of Luxe
Well, it turns out our good friends (the Hency’s) were. You may remember when we toured their gorgeous home here and here. The super cute couple has done a great job decorating their house and the next bullet on their to-do list was a flooring revamp. So, we went down to help them tackle the challenge of taking their dark wood floors to a crisp and clean bright white!
Here’s what we did!
1. Sand– Before we got there, Mat and Kelsey had a crew come in and sand down their floors to bare wood. You can easily do this yourself by renting a floor sander from Home Depot for about $50/day. These large floor sanders take a little getting used to, but you will catch on quick. Just make sure you keep moving and don’t allow the sander to sit in one spot. It will gouge your floor leaving a very uneven surface. Note- ALWAYS sand wood going in the same direction as the grain!
2. Remove Dust– After the floors were back to bare wood, it was very important that we remove as much dust as possible. We did that by making multiple passes over the wood with a large wet dust mop and tack cloth.
3. Paint– Once we felt like 99.9% of the dust was removed, we got to painting. We used Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Interior Oil based Paint in a Satin finish. I definitely recommend using an oil based paint. Tim and I feel like oil based paint provides a much more polished finish and if a mistake does occur, oil based paint can be easily sanded in spots (after it is completely dry)and painted over whereas latex paint becomes very gummy when sanded. Just remember you will need to move quickly when using oil-based paint.
Tim and I worked quickly together by splitting the task into two jobs. I went around the outer edges of the room with a brush while Tim rolled paint on the rest of the room getting as close to edge as possible. You don’t have to worry about roller marks because the paint seeps into the wood. (If you remove the baseboards you can avoid brushing all together.)
4. Light Sanding– Painting the wood will cause the grain to rise, so after the first coat we did a light sanding of the entire floor with a drywall pole sander and sanding screens. It doesn’t take much and you should be able to feel the difference in smoothness with your hand after very minimal effort.
6. Put on a Protective Layer– After we got the floor completely covered (it took us 3 coats of paint), it was time to put on a layer of protection. We used a product called Bona Traffic that is generally used in commercial spaces. Because the floors were going to be white, we knew it was paramount that the paint job be durable. We recently visited Mat and Kelsey and are happy to report that this product really worked and the floors still look great. You can order Bona Traffic online here or find it at a specialty store that sells to wood finishers. (It is a little pricey compared a normal poly product, but if you hate the “character” of scuffs, scratches, and dings- this product is worth it!)
Note from Tim: It is imperative if you use a light color paint that the protective layer be water based. Solvent or oil based products tend to yellow or amber. It doesn’t really cause a problem on wood tones, because it just “warms” your color, but on white or other light colors it looks like they were peed on. I went ahead and got commercial grade finish for this floor, because in general I don’t trust the water based products durability as much as an oil based. However, I found nothing but great reviews for this Bona Product.
We applied the protective product in the same way we put the paint on: brushing it on the edges and rolling it on the rest of the floor.
After two coats, we were done. Here is the floor right after we finished our last coat. When it dried, the final look was a less glossy.
So, here are the condensed instructions for painting your floors for those of you who are ADD.
1. Sand the floors by renting a floor sander from Home Depot. A light color will require almost bare wood or lots of coats of paint.
2. Remove as much dust as possible from the floors with wet dust mops and tack cloth.
3. Paint the room, brushing the edges and rolling the center. (If you remove your baseboards, you can probably roll the whole room.)
4. After the first coat of paint, do a light sanding with drywall sanding screens.
5. Remove the dust again.
6. Paint as many coats as needed to cover the wood.
7. Use a protective seal to finish off the floor. Bona Traffic works really well, but you could opt for a different polyurethane product. Apply at least 2 coats.
I love the white floor but with a super active puppy i know that i should never do it:/ My current house has white tile in the kitchen and its the worst thing ever since it shows all spills, crumbs, and all the dirt the dogs track in through the garage.
Great post! I love the look of whitewashed floors, but I also love my original 1950s hardwood (and am too much of a weenie to paint it, even in a small area). I’m leaning towards the idea of whitewashed floors for my laundry room (or when we eventually turn our porch into a sunroom), though.
PS- Their house is gorgeous, in case I haven’t said that before.
Thanks for the clear instructions. As someone who has been involved in floor refinishing, I have an appreciation for how much work this was but it sure was worth it. The floor looks beautiful.
that looks great. love the contrast in the room with the dark walls.
I’m surprised you didn’t prime before you painted.
Hey Mary,
We use primer when we feel like there is going to be a problem with the paint adhering to a surface or if it is going to take a ton of coats. We also didn’t want to use primer on the floor because you loose a lot a of the grain of the wood and we REALLY did not want to do that. We love that you can still see that it is a wood floor, only white. Hope that clears things up for you. 🙂
So I am wanting to paint my wood floor, in a diamond pattern alternating between stain and paint… How would I do this, My idea is to stain the floor and then paint the alternating diamonds black. What paint would I use that would cover stain? Then I will poly the whole thing… any words of wisdom for me?
Carlee
http://www.ladybirdln.com
Hi Kara
I was wondering if you had a picture of the floor after the last coat dried. Im looking to paint my floors white but I dont want it to look very glossy. Love your blog btw. Thanks!
Hey LaVoz,
I am sorry but I do not have a finished picture of that space. It did not turn out near as glossy as my last picture. The satin finish of that bona product is very similar to any satin poly I have seen. Hope that helps, let me know how it goes. Thanks for reading.
Kara
How has the floor held up. Any negatives to painting them so far? Love the idea but I’ve been too much of a chicken to do it
I wanted to ask if you can still see wood grain. Id love to do this, but im not sure how it will turn out. Id like to see wood grain still.
This is absolutely beautiful. Your work definitely paid off. Thank you for the instructions as well.
Hi! Beautiful work! Do you think the same can be done with this kind of floor?:http://kahrspro.nyb-kahrsweb.kahrs.com/en-GB/Master/Products/Kahrs-Original/Classic%20Nouveau%20Collection/Oak%20Nouveau%20Charcoal. I have this floor, and I’m not sure this surface is suitable for painting it. thanks in advance! Virág
Nice work! What white color did you use? I heard that oil based paint will yellow. And sometimes the clear finish will amber as well. How does your white floor look like now?
Hey Chiun,
We haven’t ever had any issues with white paint yellowing, but have first had experience with oil based polyurethane “ambering”, that is why we decided to go with the water based Bona product. The floor we painted is still white!
Sorry it has taken me so long to get to your question. You would have to have your floors sanded to be able to paint them and unless they are in bad shape I would have a tough time recommending all that work to change it up. I understand if you want to lighten things up, but those are some good looking rich wood floors.
I am thinking about painting my wood floors in the same way that you have described but I was concerned about how well the water based Bona Traffic would adhere to oil based paint. Do you have any advice about this?
Thanks
George C.
I painted my wood floor with a glossy white and now I need a top coat for protection. Can that top coat you used be put over the gloss paint ??