Painted wood floors

For more inspiration, please visit www.quatrefoildesign.com

In the new house, there is an extra space that ended up framing out quite nicely, so we have designated it ‘the craft room’.  We are finishing this space at a very basic level, and as such we were planning on using vinyl tiles on the floor. In a play on the 16”x16” limestone diamond pattern in the entry, we were planning on making the tiles tone on tone contrast in a similar pattern.

I have been looking for vinyl tiles over the past week, and have not been too thrilled with what I have found. I wanted a simple solid color, but what seems to be prevalent in the big box stores are vinyl tiles that are trying to emulate the look of stone. I am not opposed to that look, but it is not the look I have in mind for the space.  I am also having a hard time finding 16”x16” or 18”x18” size; most of the vinyl tiles I have seen are 12”x12”.  If I go the vinyl tile route, I might group four tiles of the same color to give the look of a 24”x24”.

 

When I visited my friend (and artist) Nancy Westfall a few weeks ago to look at a painting that was a prospect for the new house, she showed me the room that she had just redesigned for her 10 year old daughter.   A central design component of the room is the painted wood floor, which she created as a way to give the room personality and character without using an area rug (as her daughter has allergies and doesn’t do well with rugs).  Nancy did the project herself (she is an artist after all) using white floor paint and a stencil to create the pattern.  The light fixture is from Worlds Away.  The stencil came from Sunny's Good Time Paints (http://sunnyspaint.com).

I found this to be very inspirational, and thought it might be a good option for the craft room floor. As part of my research, I uncovered some beautiful pictures of painted wood floors. Painting wood floors is a centuries old tradition that was often employed in Colonial Days when carpets and rugs were luxuries that were simply not available to the average person.  Painting the floor allowed for an artistic design element that was not possible in any other way.

 

Elle Decor has an entire article on painted wood floors, noting that they were a standard in home decor by the late 1700s, and are now experiencing a resurgence in popularity.  http://www.elledecor.com/home-remodeling/articles/how-to-paint-wood-floor.  This beautiful painted wood floor in an entry makes quite a design statement. Interiors by Suzanne Rheinstein.

Surprisingly, when looking through images of painted floors, there were a fair number of kitchens with this treatment.  Design by Gil Schafer.

Painted floors lend themselves to vibrant color selections, and the casual nature of a craft room would enable a bold choice that I would probably not choose to do in a public room.

When searching for painted floor inspiration, this picture that I featured on my blog a few months ago came up – a beautiful kitchen by Jackye Lanham.  Although I love the thought of a bold color for the floor, the tone of tone, soft contrast of the diamond pattern on this floor is what I originally had in mind for the craft room floor.

A painted wood floor in a  room designed by Phoebe Howard also has the soft contrast diamond pattern.

Here is a good middle ground: a classic diamond pattern, but use of green to contrast with the white. Source: http://www.countryliving.com/

 

This Brooklyn apartment, featured on apartment therapy (and also in Domino Magazine) Source, provides a lot of painted floor inspiration: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-tours/jason-and-johns-hyper-saturated-home-house-tour-108981.  I love how they played with the natural pattern of the parquet floor to design the pattern. I also really like the solid edge of green used in the space.

This painted floor in a house with interiors by Nate Berkus connects the entire space together.  I love the pattern and colors that were selected.

 

Gracie Mansion, the official residents of the mayor of New York City, has painted wood floors that create the look of a marble foyer.  Source.

 

This Old House has a great tutorial on creating a diamond pattern when painting a wood floor: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20312013,00.html

Another inspirational painted wood floor project – the before and after pictures are amazing to see.  The homeowner ripped up 5 layers of flooring and finally got to the original wood floors, and transformed them by painting a fun pattern with a foam core stencil that she designed.

Source: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/07/before-after-loris-painted-floor.html

http://paisleywallpaper.blogspot.com/2009/06/renovation-part-2.html

Alas, any option that involves newly installing and finishing wood floors (and not resuscitating an old wood floor) is above my budget – even using the cheapest wood floor possible.  I am actually looking at commercial vinyl tile options for the simplicity, practicality, and budget friendly nature of the product – more to come later after I do my research!

To see my most recent blog post, please visit www.thingsthatinspire.net

Things That Inspire Favorites: Cape Cod Metal Polishing Cloths

Things That Inspire Favorites: Oz Naturals Vitamin C Serum

Things That Inspire Favorites: Thera Breath Oral Rinse

  

   

To see my latest blog post, click here.
To subscribe to my blog by email, click here.
To follow my blog on Facebook, click here.
Twitter: @TTIBlog
Instagram: http://instagram.com/ttiblog
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ttiblog/
Visit my online store, Quatrefoil Design: www.quatrefoildesign.bigcartel.com
To see design, architecture, art, and decorative books that I recommend, please visit the Things That Inspire Amazon store.