Ezra's room, before and after. (Paint details - for every room - coming soon. And yes, he's keeping the swing.)
There's a folder labeled "house inspiration" on my desktop (that has moved from computer to computer as the years have gone by). In recent years, it - along with my Flickr favorites - have become littered with white floors. (Like this, this, this, and this!) The freshness, the brightness, the way it makes all other colors present just pop. I think white floors are beautiful.
And so...upon deciding to refinish the downstairs floors, and paint the upstairs floors, I knew it would be white. White! So exciting. And a little scary. White!
There's a lot of advice out there online, and I read much of it (though I didn't follow these, Door Sixteen's directions are very clear). And then I walked into our paint shop to actually talk to someone (again, at Maine Green Building Supply). Laying out the details of the crazy notion of white floors with four children, three cats and a dog...on a farm no less, we got some more great advice. And then we dove in.
{Note: Now...I have no business giving out instructions on such a thing that I've had all of three weeks to live with and test out. And so please don't take this as advice on the matter, but merely answering your questions which I'm becoming clear (based on the inquiries in my inbox) that I cannot avoid any longer. Ahem. Because I would really hate to be responsible for anyone having to do a job twice, or worse - having to wash their floors more often than desired. Oh no.}
So this is what I did: (have you read that note above yet? Alright, then. Proceed.)
Prep the floors by removing any 'bumps' in the wood (like the lumps of paint left behind from the party of 9 year olds that lent a hand). Clean the floors so very well (vacuum in between the floor boards!), wash the floors (there's no better way than hands and knees for this one, my friends), and let dry. Apply a layer of primer to the floors (I used Yolo Colorhouse white interior primer). Let dry. Apply as many coats as needed of paint (I used Yolo Colorhouse Outside Satin, in Imagine .01). I found that two coats was sufficient, and really best applied by hand with a paint brush (the roller just couldn't get the bumps and grooves of an uneven old floor like my hands and a brush could. It's a little tricky on the back, this job). Let dry (far longer than you think is needed) before walking on/placing furniture upon/letting the kitten run loose atop.
Adelaide's room, and Calvin's room, waiting for all their 'stuff'!
(There are a few more upstairs spaces that got a bit of white floor treatment, or are in the process of getting it, but I'll save those for another time, and as a reminder to share the updates on how it's all holding up.)
I can't express how much brighter - and bigger - the white floors make each of these rooms feel. It adds a lofty air to the entire upstairs, and I love that. With all the vintage, worn, and colorful bits and bobs that make up our 'stuff,' I think these floors are really going to be able to hold all of that while keeping things calm still.
And as for the whiteness? So far, so good, friends. I will not say that there isn't some dirt to be seen. There is. But with a strict no-shoe policy and a few strategically placed rugs in high-traffic areas, I think we're going to be good. I do think there is going to be a bit more mopping than I'm used to. Calvin - who appreciates 'immaculate' perhaps a bit more than his Mama, has washed his floor three times since we've moved in (compared to my, um, none), and his room really does look fabulous and so white. Well now that I think of it, I wonder what kind of arrangement we'd have to make for 'white floor maintenance' to happily fall under his domain? I do think that tree house of his could use some Mama-made curtains...and some chocolate chip cookies delivered on some kind of a weekly basis.
Oh, may the white floors stay white!
