I have had a thing for white floors for a long, long time. When I was a kid, my Mom and I decided to bleach the hardwood floors in my bedroom (I think we had been looking at Swedish homes in a book), and I *loved* them. I had light wood bookshelves and a blue and white quilt on my bed, and I thought it was totally awesome. So, over the years I have kept an eye out for white floors in magazines and books, and they are everywhere – the European design mags seem especially fond of glossy white floors. I’ve chosen a few photos from one of my favorite UK mags, Living, Etc., so we can look at a few examples:
As a renter, I haven’t had the opportunity to do anything permanent to my floors, but this year my husband and I are hoping to purchase our first house (fingers crossed!), so of course I am already obsessing over all of the things I might want to do to the house. White floors are so bright and airy and cheerful – and they could really help bounce the light around during the long New England winters. But is it realistic? Would it just look weird and out of place in a normal family home?
Hm, or what about doing white floors just in the upstairs rooms (office & bedrooms)? I would love to have my own little office with windows looking out over the garden, with glossy white floors and white walls and colorful handmade goodies & art from Etsy sprinkled around. And wouldn’t it be so peaceful waking up in a bedroom like the one above, with the light streaming into your own personal little white cloud?
So, what do you think? Does this stuff work in real life? Would you ever do white floors in your own house?
{images: Living, Etc.}
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I have white tile in my bathroom and I absolutely hate it! Any hair on the ground you can see it. Nasty. Looks good in pictures but in real life I wouldn’t do it!
In our last apartment here in Sweden we painted all the floors white. We had three cats and a toddler, and it worked perfectly well, although it is more work since you notice the dust (and yes, the hair) much more than on darker floors. But we loved it, and it did make a big difference to the light in the apartment! And make sure you get the right type of paint that can stand up to foot traffic. And I also just realised something else that might be important, we NEVER wear our shoes in the house, always take them off at the door (it’s a Swedish thing), so that probably helped with the white floors… Let me know if you want to see some pics! Have fun deciding!
We have white floors too. The entrance and kitchen always look dirty! And we take off our shoes too. They are ok in the living room but tend to look grey in winter when there’s no sunshine.
I don’t have white floors, but am longing for a house just like the one in your photos. All white w/pops of color in accessories. I hope it will help with the New England winters too!
I think the white floors would be a real challenge to keep clean, but would probably work in upstairs bedrooms. They sure do look lovely.
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I’ve painted my bedroom all white including the floor and I love it. But I’d recommend putting a layer of varnish over the paint because a year on mine is really suffering with scratches and scuff marks and I don’t even wear my shoes in my bedroom! Still I wouldn’t change it because it really brightens up the room and its a great base for any other colour you want to use in the room.
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I cannot bring myself to paint beautiful wooden floors white. I can’t do it. I love hardwood floors. Something about them is just comforting and elegant. That’s not to say I don’t love the idea of white floors…but I can’t bring myself to bring it to fruitation.
:)
I also am in a rental…parquet does not look good in wood tones or white for that matter :P haha