White Floor Recipe

This morning I am blogging from the beach cottages on a beautiful clear winter's day.

Quite a few people have asked me about the best way to do white floors so here is a post on it!

First of all pull up any carpet tacks.

Step 1: Sanding

Get a floor sander in to sand the floors even if they have been carpeted. You can hire a machine and do it yourself, but I find this is more trouble than it's worth. You can graze the boards or sand them unevenly if you're not careful!

Pure White Floors:

If your floorboards are patchy, not in great condition or a colour or wood you don't like, I suggest painting it a solid white. I have had pretty good success just using 2 or 3 coats of white paving paint, without any sealer.

I find this method is fairly hard-wearing and we used it in our beach house "Sirena" just up the road here. When it gets a bit too scruffy on well-worn areas you can just touch it up. We do not use a sealer as this makes touch ups much more labour intensive.

Whitewashed Floors:

This is my preference as it hides the dirt a little better than the pure white look. Our latest recipe has been done in all the Seafarers Cottages so it is still in testing stage, but a friend of mine just tried it at her place with a sealer and is very happy with the results.

The recipe is : one third white paving paint, one third extender, one third water. It's a good idea to try it in one room first to get the strength you want as different timbers will soak up the white more than others.

Paint it on with a big brush or lambswool pad on a pole and have a rag handy to rub in areas that need it.

You may need 2 coats depending on the look you want. Finish with a sealer that wont yellow - ask your paint shop about this.

You can use this same technique for other colours. Paving paint now comes in some pretty greys and blues. I am wanting to try a french grey wash next time. There is a outdoor decking wash in a colour called "Snowgum" I have used on furniture which would look great on an interior floor.