I've wanted white floors for as long as I can remember. I haven't quite made that dream a reality yet, but I know one day I will (I know, it's the small things in life that I dream of!). They may not be the most practical idea in the world, but hey — who the heck cares when they look this good, right?
I'm partial to white wood floors, but I'd certainly take white concrete (or cork)! It's amazing that painting a floor white can completely transform the room, and not necessarily in just one direction. Most would assume shabby chic, but there are homes that are so modern and delicious — and the white floors are the icing on the cake.
Some of my favorite white floors:
• House Tour: Haldane Martin's White Nest
• Look! Glossy White Painted Wood Floor
• Look! White Cork Flooring
• Painted Concrete Floors
• Erin & Chris' Fantastic Fishtown Fixer Upper
What do you think of the wonderful world of white floors?
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Comments (20)
The only way I could live with white floors is with a strict shoes-off policy -- an issue which tends to bring out the passion in AT readers!
Love, love, love. However, I have yet to find out the absolute best paint for a glossy white floor. They're in almost every post from skona hem or any other Scando site but no one in the US every gives the details. marine paint? deck paint? oil paint? You really can wear shoes with white floors, they age very gracefully.
Ugh. I have a white floor, and I hate hate hate it. Cold looking, and -always- looks dirty, even with shoes off policy, and constant swiffering. And mopping. And sweeping. And vacuuming.
Black wasn't much better.
Course, I have 4 kids.
the white floor in my kitchen is killing me.
We just reno'd the dining room a put in white painted wood floors. We used deck paint and it cleans up really easily. I think the shoe in the house thing is regional because here in Canada, I've never met anyone that wears shoes indoors.
Here's the pic.
http://littlehomesteadinthevalley.blogspot.com/search/label/renovations
I have white tile floors (with a touch of gray) and I HATE them! They always look dirty 5 minutes after I sweep them. If I ever buy the place, I'm going to change them out for some more textured tiles, in a warm color.
Then again, I have 3 dogs.
The white floor tiles in our kitchen look good right after you sweep and mop them. But even then you can never get the dirt out of the white grout. It stays a permanent dirty grey.
If you must have the look, count on daily cleaning if you use your kitchen for any kind of normal activity. (Or you could just not cook.) They're just too high maintenance for us. We're getting rid of them as part of our kitchen reno.
I have off white tile floors in our kitchen/living room/dining room area. I have a black cat. He sheds a ton. I'm learning to live with less than pristine floors.
At first I thought they looked odd (I'm used to wood floors in living room/dining room areas), but they've grown on me. The cleaning has not.
The feather lamp is amazingggg.
I love my white floors.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liquidstereo/4725275799/in/set-72157619104070876/
Its an epoxy that's hard to scratch and easy to clean.
I should add that shoes don't come indoors but that was true before the white floor. I love the feeling of bare feet on the floor. The thought of bare feet, picking up the garbage from outside... yikes.
i have white tile in my bathroom & they actually stay pretty clean. i don't think i'd go & put it in the entryway of a home, but if i sweep once a week, they're pretty clean. but then i don't wear my shoes inside except for the part where i've put them on & i'm walking out.
http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/color/2010/entries/631
I painted my wood (cheap parquet) floors white before moving in - I think is was one coat of primer, two coats of white paint, and three coats of Safecoat Polyureseal, all low-VOC from Ecohaus in Seattle. My only advice is that you have to use the glossy Polyureseal because the matte finish contains solids that will look a bit yellow over white paint. Also, once you've put one coat down, painting white on more white it gets really hard to tell where you've already painted your current coat! Make sure to have a system...
It's been more than 4 years now and everything has worn reasonably well. I won't say it looks new, but simple mopping really keeps it looking clean.
I love the breakfast table and chair in the first photo. Do you guys know what is the name of these furniture or where I can buy it?
@tzeleung: I agree!! I just checked out the original house tour and I have some bad news for you. The furniture in pic #1 is from Africa! It is gorgeous though!
http://www.haldanemartin.co.za/index2.php
Keeping white floors clean depends a lot on what they're made of. White tile floors? Almost impossible, especially the grout. White wood that's been triple poly sealed? Easy peasy- get a Roomba Dirt Dog and run it every few days to sweep it clean again!
@neekify83 Yes!
I want that feather lamp! I wonder how hard it would be to create one, maybe on a smaller scale. It's so lov-er-ly!
White terrazzo is amazing. We had it diamond polished to a natural high gloss. No wax or sealer needed. Needs only plain water to clean. Nothing sticks to it. The roofer tracked a few drops of tar in and I just scratched it up with my nail. Downside: in the winter you have to wear socks because it gets cold.
I am thinking of installing the IKEA Tundra white floors, because real wood is out of my budget. Does anyone have any experience with them? I know they won't last forever, but then again we are not living in our dream home, so we won't be here forever. Should I do it?
I HATED having white floors! My hairy, bearded husband got black hairs all over it. It didn't matter how much a swept, they ALWAYS looked dirty. NEVER AGAIN