Some good friends of mine epoxied (I think that’s right!) their loft floors white and it was absolutely beautiful! It did scratch more than anyone expected though. I want white floors too in our bedrooms…I want to lay down big, wide planks of wood and paint them white. I’m sure whatever you do will be gorgeous!!!

<3
Rebekka

I lived in an apartment that had white wood floors. My first thoughts: Amazing! Beautiful! My experience: Constant mopping & embarrassment. They were so beyond impossible to keep clean. It was really disappointing. Left me wondering about all the beautiful photos of homes with white floors. It is important to note that I have 2 black cats who got black fur everywhere and little black soot paw prints from the fireplace everywhere, so maybe that was it.

My upstairs and kitchen floors are light gray and I have to say while I love them in the low traffic areas, they drive me nuts in the kitchen. Yes they always look dirty and you have to mop them all the time.

Growing up my parents painted my bedroom floor white. The planks were in terrible condition so it was a good idea. They used a glossy oil based paint and I don’t remember it seeming any ‘dirtier’ than any other part of the house. But I totally loved it.
If the floors in your studio are in nice shape I think you might regret it, but if they are crummy then go for it.

Sounds lovely! My parents had white painted floors in two of the bedrooms in our house growing up. They became worn, scratched and chipped over time but I loved that part of it, and would do it again if my house had actual hardwood (as opposed to the soft fir floors I currently have, that seem to get dented if I sneeze too hard.) The above Emily is right – it really depends on what type of wood and treatments the existing floors have.

We have white tiled floors in our kitchen and foyer (which is large enough that it’s also my office) and the upkeep is beyond annoying. One could reasonably vacuum and mop every day. It’s so much work. I think white floors look great in styled photographs, but in real life, it’s another story.

My mom did it in her loft-ish home office space. Granted she is a pretty meticulous cleaner, but I never felt it looked excessively dirty (and she had 2 cats, a golden retriever, and my dad). To top it all off, she used flat paint because it was what she had. She did say that the best part about the white floors was that they were easily cleaned with a magic eraser. There wasn’t a spot she couldn’t remove.

In addition, I have a pale yellow painted kitchen floor in a house with two kids and three cats, and I love it. We painted it five years ago (right over the likely asbestos backed laminate) and although it shows a few signs of wear, those two coats of semi-gloss latex paint have held up fantastically for the time and money invested. It does show dirt more plainly but I kind of like it because then spot cleaning is easier. Honestly, I’m no compulsive cleaner (regular spot clean-ups, sweep every 2-3 days, and all-over mop maybe weekly), but it doesn’t seem to take significantly more care than my hardwoods.

I know when I painted my floor, it was a temporary measure (until we could afford new flooring), but since we’ve had two kids it seems to be a more permanent measure. I guess in the back of my mind, I know that with paint, I can *always* slap another coat on or dab a little touch-up down and it will look fresh again. All flooring wears (my original ’40’s hardwoods are proof of that), and in the end, your decision should be based on whether you’re alright with life and time being on display or if you would rather have the ‘just installed’ look. My design sentiment definitely leans toward the weathered and worn and the painted floor is ideal for me.

I am still laughing how I still remember them from my grandmothers house long ago, but why not try linoleum floors?! From a quick look I had they still offer them and they have a variety of good materials and glosses to choose from. Seems easier to maintain than textured wood or tiles you might have in your studio. Just do it, whatever paint or method you choose, you can always change it if it doesn’t work 🙂

P.s : How about magnetic/metallic floor (like the wall you created in the kids’ room?

We just purchased a studio in Oakland and are thinking about doing this. It looks great, and will also be a bit more forgiving than just painting the floor white. IT has a bit of a rustic or worn look but also looks clean and modern at the same time.

Here’s the link to a scandinavian white wash of a floor.

http://remodelista.com/posts/how-to-create-a-scandi-whitewashed-floor

White floor would look good but hard to clean A friend of ours her apartment has white floor and it just looks muggy and it’ll never be the perfect white 🙁

We painted our concrete floors white and the result is gorgeous. However, we didn’t pay the much more expensive amount to have it done properly and sealed with an apoxy type substance. I would highly highly recommend this expensive, yet essential step. If not, it is so difficult to keep clean. We have a friend in Palm Springs who has the expensive version and they’re quite easy to keep clean. Lots of luck to you!

Like you, I’ve always wanted gorgeous white floors. We stayed in a lovely airy loft in Santa Monica on vacation a few years ago and I was forever cured. It had such fab white floors but within a few hours of all 4 of us being there, it looked crazy dirty. I couldn’t believe how quickly it looked so bad. I think if I had to live with it for very long, I’d go nuts from all the cleaning.

I used to have a white bedroom floor and loved it. Loved! I didn’t have a normal window, just a weird glass door in the room and it really helped lighten up the room. I don’t remember being driven insane by cleaning.

Hello, Can anyone help me?
I’m building a house in Sintra, Portugal and I really want white wood floor in the bedrooms. Can you tell me how to do it? Which type of wood and paintings should I use?

I see there are a lot of differing opinions here. I painted my (original 1880 hardwood) living room floor white almost 2 years ago.

Our front door opens to the living room, so I painted our very textured floor white in a VERY high traffic area. It took a year to start looking dingy, but the thing is, I didn’t seal it (not smart!). I am positive that if I had sealed it as other comments mentioned, it would still be in great shape. However, the rest of the living room which is lower traffic, though used every day, still looks bright white and gorgeous.

The floors in my 2nd floor office were also painted white long before we purchased the house. Aside from the various paint colors the previous owners splattered on them, they look fantastic and have held up beautifully. My dog and I are in the office for several hours a day, and I don’t have to vacuum or mop any more often than in the rest of the house.

So, we are still in love with our painted white floors and would do it again in a heartbeat, even in the high traffic area. In spite of what one commenter said above, we do have pets/shoes/friends/a life, and we both work from home, and still have beautiful white floors. I don’t think you’ll regret it at all in your studio.

I ripped up the carpeting and painted my bedroom floor white in my old place. Two coats of primer, two coats of latex, and two coats of poly. Every two to three years I needed to touch up some worn spots and re-poly the floors. They were beautiful, and I didn’t mind the work. Painting the floor is tons easier than painting the walls, or (ugh!) painting the ceiling. Two words of caution: put felt on the bottom of all of your furniture legs; and lift, don’t scoot, furniture when rearranging.

Suzy, I think that may be a variety of fig tree (fiddle leaf fig?). I like it too.

Totally off topic, but what kind of plant is that on the left? Gorgeous!

I manage a photo studio with white floors and we have hundreds of people in and out every year. Of course the wear and tear is more visible but there are ways to mitigate that.
If you’ll be rolling gear around or have heavy traffic, laying down cardboard is a common way to protect floors in a pinch.
Also, taping the feet of any furniture/gear that will be moved around with white gaffer’s tape.
Mr. Clean magic erasers are exactly what they say, MAGIC and will do a LOT to get stubborn, unmoppable stains up.
And when all else fails, it’s time to repaint. Depending on the wear and tear I do it about 3-4 times a year but like I said, MANY MANY people come and go through my space.
You’ll be able to get away with much less, likely less than once a year.

we painted white and navy checkers on our kitchen floor. I love them and the patina that has happened over the last 5 years. I definitely gets dirty quickly (we are a family of 4 including 2 young boys and we use our kitchen constantly!) I use the sharkmop and they clean in a cinch. we used oil-based paint. they are awesome, do it!

I just recently painted my entire bathroom white, including the counter top and floors. Everything has held up great, EXCEPT the floors. Not to be a downer, but it is awful! Shows all signs of hair, footprints, dog fur, lint, dust, etc; – I have plans on painting it a more forgiving color soon 🙂

Hmmmm – art studio, with oil paint, white floors. That sounds like an impossible dream.

Use Pavement Paint. It’s way cheaper and actually works better!

We had a painted white cement floor in our old living room. I loved how it brightened up the room, and it looked great from a distance and in photos. But up close and in person, it always looked dirty — even right after we had swept and mopped. An area rug covered most of the room, which helped… but it still drove me crazy sometimes.

I also worked in a stationery boutique years ago that had beat up wooden floors that were covered in chipped white paint. They were actually good at hiding the dirt, and since the boutique was very shabby chic style, it worked in the space.

I’m sure your space will end up looking amazing, whatever you decide.