White Floorboard Makeover

White floorboards bounce light into dark spaces and boy is our sitting room a dark space. When we made over our ground floor last year the varnished wooden floors stood out like a sore thumb. They were dark, shabby and bordering on orange. Something had to be done.

At the B&Q press day I was talking to the team about my dilemma when they introduced me to their new renovation paint. Family life can be tough on painted surfaces, the hallway and sitting room are the main thoroughfares of the house so there was no doubt that we had to find a paint which could withstand it.

You can see the before above and here is the after…

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Ta da!

So bright and fresh! Almost immediately the amount of time we had the light on was cut drastically. With only a small window of its own this room has always relied on borrowed light from the kitchen but more often we would have the light on during the day. The white floorboards live up to our hopes of increasing the brightness in the space.

Sadly our gorgeous berber rug suddenly looked dirty against the pure white floor. We lived with it for a while but it didn’t do any justice to the rug so we switched it out for this Matisse inspired rug which really pops against the white floorboards.

The corners of this room have always been a little dingy but they are now open and bright. I have begun to hang my collection of plates in the corner by the cupboard which is also benefitting from switching out our old black TV stand for this white metal coffee table.

The hallway is where people get their first impression of the house and it was where the floorboards were looking the most shabby. You can literally see where people have walked as they come in. Thankfully it now looks calm and welcoming (at least when it’s this tidy!)

In practical terms painting the floor after having it varnished needs some prep. This paint can be painted directly onto varnish or onto prepared wood but as our floor was worn back to the boards in some places and still shiny in others our decorator keyed it all back to ensure an even finish.

Jake is very particular about his materials (if you’re in Winchester and need a great painter drop me a line, he’s the best) and he was pleased with the quality and finish of the V33 Renovation Paint. The recoat time is 3 hours so he was able to apply a second and third coat relatively quickly. For context – we left the house on a Wednesday morning and it was finished by Thursday night including sanding time.

The big question is how do white floors and a family of five mix? One of the reasons I always leave a few months before posting about products which are so permanent is I want to truly test out how well they wear. I know you wouldn’t appreciate me evangelising something which six month later needed further work.

The finish was slippery at first and I was concerned that we might always have to wear slippers but after a month or two this stopped being an issue. If you have very young children / babies you might want to hold off on painted floors for a little while.

These floors have taken through Spring, Summer and into Autumn. They are pounded daily by our children and frequently covered in muddy footprints on a rainy day. We mop the floors twice a week but otherwise don’t give them any special treatment.

I am impressed with how nice they look this many months on. The paint has not chipped or scuffed and when it’s clean it looks as good as it did on that first day. I’ve photographed the two highest traffic spots – the bottom of the kitchen step and the front door – so you can see for yourself what it looks like.

I am so happy we decided to do this, it makes the world of difference to the mood in the house. White floorboards have rounded off the fresh and happy look we have tried to create in our space and created so much light.

We used: V33 Renovation Paint from B&Q, specifically the V33 Renovation White Satin Wooden Floor & Stairs Paint.

The Rug and plant holder are both last season from Oliver Bonas.

Tv stand is the IKEA PS 2012 Coffee Table.

All other items can be found in my last decoration post.

 

This project is a supported by B&Q who provided the paint & materials we used for the makeover. Labour, additional materials and furnishing model’s own.