Monday, July 06, 2009

Painting Bedroom Floors White

We needed a quick--and cheap--replacement for the dirty bedroom carpets.

After we removed the staples and tack strips, the plywood subfloor had too many bad spots to leave as-is.

I compared laminates and prefinished wood floors, but nothing matched our existing hardwoods.

(By the way, I found the best hard flooring prices at Southeastern Salvage.)

I simply painted the floors with porch paint. I love the shine.

I bought white high-gloss by Sherwin Williams, which coated better than the big box brands I've used in other houses. One gallon cost $40 and covered two bedrooms.

Rolling on another coat is no harder than mopping a floor.

In my heart, I know a green-and-white checkered pattern would have looked incredible.

In my head, I realized none of the beds would fit through the door frames.

I had to move furniture to one side, paint 2 coats, and then repeat for the other side.


The process, though cheap, is not without drawbacks.

We all lost sleep as the kids adjusted to sleeping bags. We had to wait a few days for the paint to cure. We've already had one gouge from a leg without felt pads.

But I'm a rescuer of old and pretty things. A little wear doesn't bother me.

For all the light we gained, an imperfect floor seems like a small price to pay.

76 comments:

missy said...

I love that!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Simply gorgeous. Plus, think how easy cleanup will be should there ever be a stomach bug! I think it's very practical.

Rebekka said...

Beautiful!!!

Shannon said...

Wow, you have been busy! The floor looks great and makes that room look huge!

Heather said...

That may be the most beautiful bedroom for little ones that I've ever seen! My goodness I just want to come over and curl up with my baby and some books. Do you think your kiddos would mind if we moved in?

Wonderful, beautiful, WOW!

Heather

Missy K said...

How the colors glow against the white! Beautiful!

Christine said...

It looks soooo clean with the white on the floors. Love it. love it, love it!

Catherine said...

Wow, that looks great! When you say the floor was plywood, do you mean the type of floor that is under carpet in newish homes? Our house is 5 years old and our carpet is trashed (three kids one dog and light beige carpet in the dining room, what was I thinking????) but putting in hardwood throughout the house is not really an option. I'm wondering if I dare pull up the carpet and just pain the subfloor, or if you got such good results because your subfloor was a nice high quality actual wood floor?

Roxie700 said...

I love that. It looks so pretty. I am in the process of doing the extra bed room over for Gavin and Evan. It is just so much work....anyway I admire what you have done. It looks nice. Roxie

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

It looks better than I imagined, and I knew it would look great! Amazing how much it brightens the room, isn't it?!

Unknown said...

That looks great, so clean and bright! Thanks for the idea.

shannondawn100 said...

I think that is such a beautiful room! You should also start a decorating blog.

Sarah M said...

I love your room--it is beautiful and the paint looks great. Love how it brightens the room!
Is a high gloss pretty easy to clean on wood?
I remember the day of black &white checkered vinyl in our bathroom--the dirty footprints from kids...not fun to clean!! :)
Sarah M

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Isn't painting a wonderful way to give yourself a whole new look without a lot of money! Your rooms look ready for a magazine cover shoot.

Rachel said...

This is absolutely gorgeous.

Victoria said...

Meredith, the painted floor looks beautiful! I think it totally makes the room.

Love the yellow in your kitchen too!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

It looks beautiful. I often painted floors in my old house, so I know all about rearranged sleeping and smells and gouges!

LynnMarie said...

I love the shinny white floor! Great job. What a talent. When we took up a carpet once the sub floor was that terrible stuff with huge screws everywhere. Built in the 80's, the house had all sorts of short cuts in it. Great job again.

Susan said...

These floors are simply stunning, Meredith. I cannot believe how good they look. I, too, love things light, bright, and airy, so I am wondering if a solution like this would ever work for us. My husband would probably think I am nuts if I suggested ripping out our dirty old carpet (not that he's in love with it any more than I am!) because it's so different than anything else we've ever done on this house. But we have NO extra money right now for new floors, and the carpet is depressingly yucky, so this is something he and I are going to have to talk about. I will persuade him with your pictures!! :-) Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!!
Susan in Illinois

Tasha said...

What kind of SW paint (finsh)...just regular latex???

I want to do this to the concrete floors in my dining room.

It looks so great.

Melody said...

Meredith, that is absolutely beautiful. We too have been discussing new flooring options. The previous owners obviously didn't have children in the home when they carpeted our dining area with light beige carpet!

Either way, this is an option I hadn't considered. Thank you!

Tasha said...

Meredith,

I reread the post. You said high gloss porch paint. I just got so excited looking at the pictures that I missed the details in the post.

Tasha

Heidi said...

This may be a perfect solution to the hideously ugly carpet in the dimly lit basement playroom. Can you think of any reason this wouldn't work in a basement room?

BlondeMomBlog (Jamie) said...

You amaze me! That is just gorgeous!

Julie said...

Beautiful. Simply, elegantly beautiful.

Joan said...

The room looks very cottage-y and very nice! It also looks so clean and tidy. Just wondering where you store the toys for a baby and toddler. I think organizing toys is really a trick as kids pull them out all day. Any pointers there would be appreciated by many!

An Adventurer in the World said...

looks lovely Meredith. You've been so productive, must feel great.

The upholstered chair is so sweet!

And Bitty's high chair is like my doll's from the 60s (our Bitty kept slipping through, though, every time A. put her in. I can't bear to part with it, though it is a bear to store.

Emily said...

Meredith, your DIY projects are fabulous. You never cease to show a little slice of blog world how beautiful can be budget friendly. That room is stunning. Nice job!

Emily@remodelingthislife

Melissa Stover said...

i love it!

Unknown said...

LOVE IT!

Myrnie said...

This is amazing...I thought, to have wood floors, we'd need to install planks! I never thought about painting the sub-floor! You've done it again :)

Queen of Carrots said...

I knew a lady who painted her sub-floor like that and then arrange cut-outs from a wallpaper that coordinated with the actual wallpaper. It was a fun look. I think she must have put a lot of polyurethane on top, though.

Mary said...

To Catherine: We painted our kitchen floor with porch paint. The subflooring was plywood--had to do some patching and then a really good sanding. We primed first and then put down about 4 coats of paint. We put an area rug under the table and it looked quite nice. A reasonable solution for lack of funds!

Amy said...

So incredibly lovely! I had to tweet that post so others can see. What a thrifty solution and I love how much it brightens up the room. I love your practical solutions!!

ExtraordinaryMommy said...

That is just gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea!

Bonnie said...

I have been thinking of doing this for our living room- I am SICK of the dingy stained up carpet. The builders thought white carpet in a (family sized) house in the country was a good idea. Must be in cahoots with the carpet companies...
Your floors look great!

Monica Wilkinson said...

Oh my goodness, that is simply beautiful! It is so inviting and cozy - I can just imagine the sweet feet playing in and around that room!

Tricia said...

WOW! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Possibly a solution to our yucky peel and stick kitchen floors.

Williams Arena said...

So pretty! How do you find the time? I also love the yellow kitchen. Such a pretty, happy color. I bet it brings a smile to your face every time you step into your kitchen.

Heather said...

WOW. I would have never thought that would look so fabulous. I wonder how it would look to paint a concrete slab?

Sugar Jones said...

That looks like a lovely summer retreat! Great solution. So simple and so pretty!

The Frugal Shrink said...

As I scrolled down, for a moment I thought it was actually a picture from a catalog. Then I started recognizing furniture and other pieces from reading your blog over the years. As always, beautifully done!

Taryn said...

It sure looks good. Very light.

MrsSWM said...

Hello! I am an often reader, but never commenter :-) I love your floor makeover! We have been living with some painted plywood floors for seven years and they are my favorite floors in the house (Not that I would mind hardwood plank flooring ;-)). Your children's room looks like something from the Pottery Barn catalog (And that is one of the highest home decorating compliments one can give ;-)!)You've inspired me to paint some of our other floors (and encouraged me to be content with painted floors! :-)) Thank you for your blog; it is inspiring all around :-)

Sarah K. said...

Oh wow that looks great! I've been debating on what to do with our floors. I'm going to show this post to my husband. Thanks for sharing!

Meredith said...

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate the compliments!

If you are thinking about painting your own floors, I would think long and hard before doing it in a high traffic area like a dining room. Chairs scraping in and out from the table twice a day might not wear so well.

If you are bothered by scuffs and scratches, you probably don't want a painted floor.

However, if your alternative is gross carpet, and you'd like a temporary solution (or long term, depending on how it wears), painted floors may be worth a try.

My thinking was this: so what if we hate it 2 years from now? The paint won't affect another installation of carpet or of real hardwood, should I get brave enough to have all the floors redone.

I have painted 3 floors in addition to this one: plank with white wood stain, concrete with an oil-based concrete paint, and a rougher subfloor with basic porch paint.

This job was the easiest because the plywood floor is a finer grade than most. I think it's a finish grade. This thin Sherwin Williams paint lets the grain show through.

If you are thinking about painting your floors, you may want to go back and read the comments from the original floor post. A few people had bad experiences adn shared the details there.

Debra said...

That looks great!!

Jackie said...

Wow, that floor looks terrific and what a frugal way to replace outdated carpet!

God bless.

Anonymous said...

I love it! I'm always drawn to rooms with painted floors in decorating books and magazines. I love that it's so light and airy and clean without being sterile. Unfortunately in our kids' bedrooms, there was linoleum under the carpets, and under that was a layer of tar-y glue that can't be gotten off the hardwoods at the bottom. So we went with a laminate. But I love, love, love yours!

Azul said...

It's gorgeous! I would never have thought of painting a bedroom floor.

Empty Nest Full Life said...

The bedroom is absolutely beautiful! Painting it white looks great! You have done an amazing job in that room from start to finish! Jackie

Miss G said...

This room is gorgeous! I love the floor, window treatments, furniture, the tray table, that adorable wicker baby carriage . . . nicely done. Kelly

Anonymous said...

Nice fix!

Sarah @ Fiddledeedee said...

It looks so beautiful! I love it :)

Antonella said...

beautiful!

Sue said...

I did this same thing in our old house- also white in a bedroom but the best was the kitchen. We did the white and green checkerboard but honestly it got too dingy looking from the foot traffic so painted it a dark red and it was fantastic! Used Kilz paint. Kept saying we would put in hardwood but it was there for years and got a ton of compliments. Once a year it would get a fresh coat on it. I even painted a faux rug at the sink one year.

The Blushing Hostess said...

It is just beautiful. I did this job once and I thought it would kill me! Well done, so very tasteful.

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Beautiful...what a feminine and pretty room. Worth the work...easy for ME to say!

Alexandra said...

I tired to do this as well, but we have that pressed wood subfloor and it didn't take the paint well. I tried it in a small area under the rug in a corner. I think you have a different subfloor from what I can see in the picture.

Nicola said...

i love love love the doll high chair and especially the wicker baby buggy. i don't even want to know how little you paid. we looked and looked for something like that. in the end, my parents bought my daughter a new one. she adores it, which, i suppose, is equally important!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com

martha said...

The floor is smashing. Even nicer is the opportunity to see your lovely rooms! You have such a talent. Thanks for sharing.

Kim said...

I LOVE IT!!! Much better than stain!!!

Amber said...

Absolutely beautiful! I'm so impressed!

Carrien Blue said...

It looks beautiful. Wow.

Workin' MAMA! said...

You are my homemaking SHE-ro!

Go girl!

latrice

Kate said...

Painted floors are lovely! I see them in cottage/country magazines all the time. My hubby and I's friends in PA painted all the wood floors in their house and even painted a fraktur-style "rug" in their living room. His floors are pretty idestructable. If I ever paint my floors, I'm going to ask him what he did to make them so oops-proof.

RefreshMom said...

Thank you for the porch paint suggestion--I didn't know there was such a thing! I need a quick fix for a hideous (think 1970 avocado green and gold) linoleum floor with paint stains on it (before we moved in the painters sprayed the bathroom and didn't bother to cover the floor so it's inherently ugly and newly splotchy). It has an embossed tile pattern in it, so even with paint it would have a little texture, but that's ok.

rachel blazer said...

i'm about to do the same thing!! whole second floor of our new home is in need of refinishing- to the tune of $3000. right. i'll go with $80 of paint instead. and we don't live there yet, so no furniture to move or kids to camp out! thanks for the tip on felt pads for the beds & chairs- i might not have thought of that!

Missy said...

I have been fantasizing about doing this to our upstairs for a while now. Our subfloor has very wide planks and looks like old hardwoods. The problem is that it is so rough, I think it would need to be sanded. One more difficult step...

Morgan said...

This is LOVELY. Wish I'd had the thought, guts and permission to do this when I needed a new floor.

First visit to your blog, can't wait to read more!

Elisabeth said...

What a pretty girl's room, I love the toile chairs. I think the floor looks great!

Kimberly said...

If you wait for everything to be perfect, nothing will ever get done!

perfectionism is so overrated!

Musings of a Housewife said...

LOVE IT! We painted the kids' bedroom floors at our previous house.

Keri said...

Meredith - I love your room - can you tell more about how you made those curtains? Is it a pattern or a guesstimate job? Basic tut, pretty please?

Missy in Texas said...

I love how the floors turned out. Can you share what paint color is on the walls?

Cindy said...

I sure love those floors! I may try it here. I'm a little nervous that our subfloors might not be good enough. I'll definitely take a look under the carpet!