When it comes to painting, I’m not one to procrastinate (usually), but when deciding whether I should paint the hardwood floor in my living room, I’ll admit I’ve waffled back and forth for months. I knew once I made the first swath across the floor with a loaded paintbrush, there would be no turning back!
I love the look of painted floors. In my last house, the living room and dining room had wall to wall carpet… not the best option with two dogs. I tore out the carpet and painted the floors twice while we lived there, in different colours and patterns. As part of the renovation we did before we moved into our present home, I decided to tile the kitchen, dining room, den, powder room and laundry room… again a decision made considering the wear and tear that comes with bigger, messy dogs. The only rooms with hardwood floors were the living room and butler’s pantry. About 15 years ago, I painted the pantry floor (photo left) in a mosaic pattern. This is a high traffic area, and it has performed well beyond what I could have hoped for. My niece painted the greenhouse floor using a stencil pattern that has helped disguise the dirt and water that regularly gets tracked in.
My house is over 60 years old, and the hardwood floors have served it well, but the last time we had the floors refinished, we were told the floors could not be sanded again.
After rolling up the area rug this past weekend, we found evidence of pet accidents probably done years ago. This really became the deciding factor in whether to paint or not… knowing that painting my old floor would add another layer of patina to the decor of my home!
A major problem I had was getting all the furniture out of the living room. Without available space to put it in, and no available manpower to move the furniture (with respect to our current Covid restriction) meant that I would be painting around the furniture…not the best strategy.
Although I have some finishing touches to do, baseboards to paint plus allowing adequate drying time before moving the furniture back in place, I’m thrilled to have the job behind me and more importantly, with the finished product. It’s given this room a much-needed facelift with minimal cost. I almost wish I had more floors to paint!
If you are contemplating painting your floors, Pinterest offers a wealth of possibilities and inspiration no matter your decor style (see photos above).
xox Judy
Judy. A.MA.ZING! You KNOW I love this. Your home belongs in a magazine…soooo beautiful!
Hi Debbie, Happy New Year to you and your family. As I sit here it feels like every muscle and bone in my body is stiff and achy but I’m happy with the results. It was a good way to start the new year. Stay safe. xox Judy
I debated and debated over painting the floor of my shop. Finally I painted it a dark green, then sponged on two other lighter shades of green and here and there bits of gold and pink. It was fantastic…didn’t show much dirt or bits of dried flowers or dog hair, and the high traffic areas were so easy to redo. We went from having to sweep 5 rooms twice a day to look tidy, to once a week!
Hi Carolee, When I had my store, we painted the cement floor too. It was always fun to do a new pattern around seasonal displays. It’s true that touch ups were easy. During the winter months the paint really took a beating with all the snow and salt that would be tracked in, but come Spring we had the option to spruce it up. What kind of a shop do you have? It sounds really interesting and like something I would love! xox Judy
Looks fantastic Judy!
Thank you Karen!😘
Great job Judy, love the white floors!
Thanks Catherine, I’m happy I finally got started and now that’s it’s done I wish I had done it years ago! xox Judy
Oh my gosh Judy, it looks fabulous!!!! Good for you for taking the plunge….it was well worth it because the results are so lovely!! If I had wood floors I would love to do the same. I also love the Bibliotheque sign. What a gorgeous house you have. Put your feet up and enjoy it…you deserve it!!!! Hugs, Karen xo
Happy New Year Karen, and thank you, as always for your kind and thoughtful words. Today we have moved the area rug back in place and now I can start placing (and dusting!) all the books and knick knacks…a fresh start for a New Year. xox Judy