Home Seller’s Design Hacks: Painted Hardwood Floors the Easy Way

To some people having hardwood floors in their home is best thing in the world. To others though, they are nothing but a nuisance, expensive to keep up and as they age tend to begin to look rather dingy and scratched however hard a homeowner has tried to maintain them, especially if they are a softer wood like cedar, which was very commonly used in 1970s in Canada and is found in many older homes.

Having a hardwood floor completely sanded and refinished is an expensive and messy business and an investment a homeseller may not want to have to make, especially if the floors really are not particularly attractive anyway.

One trend that is very hot right now in the interior design world is painted hardwood floors and done right, the simple act of painting an old and outdated hardwood floor can turn it into something new, fresh and extremely attractive, especially to the homebuyer looking for something different and rather unique, which many are in these days of cookie cutter housing design.

If you have a hardwood floor that has seen better days creating a painted floor is far less expensive than having it refinished and you can get a creative as you like. Interested in the idea? Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind:

It is a Permanent Change

Before you paint a floor make sure that this is really what you want. Once a wooden floor has been painted restoring it to its original state will be rather difficult and certainly not cheap. If you are selling up this is not so much of an issue of course, but it may be a concern of some potential buyers.

On the other hand though, once a floor has been painted it can be repainted in the same way that the walls and ceilings in the home could be, so a homeowner is not necessarily going to be stuck with the same colors and designs for the rest of their life, something that could even be seen as a selling point.

Choose the Right Paint

Standard wall paint used on the floor is not going to stand up to even light foot traffic very well. Fortunately even most big box home stores now carry an excellent selection of specialist floor paints, and a good paint store will certainly be able to present you with lots of great choices.

Experts say that acrylic latex paints are the best choice for painted floors because they are durable and the finished surface will be water resistant. These paints come in two different finishes – gloss and matte – and do not really cost too much more than standard wall paint.

Think Outside the Design Box

The easiest way to paint a floor is to pick one color, buy a big roller and paint all of the wood the same color. This can be very effective, especially if you are have a small space. A bright white floor can instantly trick the eye into believing that a room is considerably bigger than it is. Many homeowners choose to make a white painted floor the basis for a contemporary decor scheme or for one that has a ‘shabby chic’ feel. It is especially effective when used for the latter purpose, as any scuff marks that appear over time will actually fit in with the distressed theme very well.

You could choose to get a little more creative though. A striped floor can be very effective, and not that hard to get right as you do have the individual strips of floor planking to act as a guide. If you are painting stairs, why not consider painting each riser a different color? Or, for a larger room, creating a tile, or even carpet like pattern?

You do not even need to paint the entire floor. If there is just one area of the floor that is damaged using stencils – and patience – you could create a painted on floor rug. This would actually still leave you with the best of both worlds – the visual interest and impact of a colored floor combined with the more traditional charm of hardwood.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the fabulous examples I collected for the gallery below:

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