Instead of whitewashing your floors, why not try a bright color? It's a commitment, for sure, but a strikingly beautiful one.
It looks especially nice in airy, sunny spaces, where the sunlight can shade and change the color throughout the day.
- A glossy yellow floor brightens a dining area. From Desire to Inspire.
- A luxe Bohemian look in Marie Claire Maison.
- Poppy-hued floors mimic a bright bookcase in this Usonian-style home from Dwell.
- A stylish, lime green hallway from Bolig.
- A gorgeous blue floor ties together an eclectic furniture collection. From Residence Magazine.
(Images: 1. Joseph De Leo via Desire to Inspire 2. Marie Claire Maison 3. Kent Dayton for Dwell 4. Pemille Kaalund for Bolig 5. Carl Dahlstedt for Residence)
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Forget the floors. I need that light in photo 1.
My kitchen's floor is wood painted a deep -- I always have to call this color "teal gray," because I don't know how else to say it. It's very vibrant, more teal than gray, and I'd never ever have dreamed of doing that. But I think it's what made me buy this house, and I'm soon going to repaint in the exact same shade!
Love it!!
Saw a house a couple of years ago on a London house rental site with bright Kelly green rubber floors throughout -- living room, kitchen, dining, bedroom... They had traditional red oriental rugs on top, and wow, looked amazing! Wish I could find it again...
My old condo has screaming yellow floors throughout like in the first photo. Talk about polarizing!
Frankly, I think this is a fun technique if you've got old floors that are beyond ruin and are just looking to dress them up for a bit before you replace them. But anyone destroying real hardwood in even semi-decent condition like this is committing a sin against design, IMHO. Remember that walls are low-commitment and easy to repaint, but hardwood flooring can cost thousands to replace and will never look as good as well-cared-for original wood.
I think #2 looks tacky but the rest are amazing! I NEVER see this (except for dark brown, or porches, or painted-on rugs.) This is so cool!
>> anyone destroying real hardwood in even semi-decent condition like this is committing a sin against design, IMHO. .... hardwood flooring can cost thousands to replace and will never look as good as well-cared-for original wood<<
It may be a sin against "design" but it's not a crime against lumber. A coat or two of paint won't "destroy" a hardwood floor if correctly applied with primer. A light sanding removes it. Some of the floors pictured aren't wood anyway - I see no evidence of boards on that yellow floor which is probably poured concrete or similar. I have painted hardwood floors and also heart pine floors - softer wood - and even those were OK when I sanded off the color. In 18th c. floors were MEANT to be painted. I live in a town with lots of original floors in early houses - traces of paint to be found in lots of those cracks - 300 years later the wood is still good. My husband always says, if wood didn't exist, someone would have to invent it.
my floors are mint: http://ploefff.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/nar-nod-giver-nogen-kvinde-en-kinderuberraschung/
Ooooh, @Red Zinger, that sounds like a gorgeous color -- I'd love to see a photo of your kitchen floor. Do you have a blog, perhaps? :)
Maybe it's just me, but do some of these colors resemble bodily fluids? No thanks.