If your floor looks worn out and is in need of a makeover, you might have thought about painting it. You can paint your floor if it’s old or you feel bored with its current look and want a fresh start. However, it is important to be aware of the pros and cons associated with painting a wooden floor.
Painting your floor is an inexpensive way to give your home a makeover. It allows for a lot of customization and flexibility, and it can make your floor easier to clean. On the other hand, painted floors need to be repainted often as they don’t last long, and they may not be right for your home.
To learn all the pros and cons of painting your home, continue reading.
Pros of Painting Wooden Floors
Let’s start off with the advantages of painting wooden floors.
It Makes Your Floor Look New
Painting your floor is a great way to make it look new. Over time, wooden floors get scratched, chipped, and worn out. If you want to bring over guests but are embarrassed about how old your floor looks, consider painting it to give it a fresh look.
It Is Affordable
When your floor is old and worn out, there are several ways to restore it to a new condition. However, not all of them are cheap and affordable. For example, one option is to replace your floor entirely by installing new wooden panels or boards. However, that is very expensive.
Another option is refinishing your floor. However, this is not cheap, either. If you are looking for a cheap way to make your floor look like new, painting it allows you to do so without breaking the bank.
It Allows for a Lot of Customization
One of the top advantages of painting floors is that it allows you to get really creative and gives you a lot of flexibility.
For example, you can use different colors for different rooms in your house.
Let’s say you’re painting your children’s rooms. You can paint your boy’s room blue and your girl’s room pink. You can even paint flowers, grass, and images of cute animals on the floor. While this will require more work and skill, it can be done.
If you want to be more stylish and creative in your living room, you can paint various patterns. Painting black and white tiles is a great way to get a “tiled floor” without needing to spend your hard-earned money on actual tiles.
You can even use different colors to designate sections on your floor. For example, if you are painting your basement floor and want to turn it into a workout room, you can paint a yoga area or even a path for you to run on.
There’s no limit to what you can do with paint. Not only can you be creative, but you can always change it later on. If you decide that you don’t want tiles or flowers on your floor, nothing is stopping you from painting it over the next year or even the next month. You can get your creative juices flowing without worrying about being perfect.
It Lets You Change Your Home’s Colors
Being able to choose new colors for your floor is one of the main reasons, so many people choose to paint their floors instead of refinishing them.
However, it’s not just about the colors themselves but also about how they make you feel. Here are a few examples of how color can affect your emotions:
- If you choose a white color to match your white ceilings and walls, for example, you can give your house a very roomy feel. White makes things look wider; that’s why people wear white clothing to look more muscular and black clothing in order to seem slimmer.
- You can also paint your floor yellow if you want to give your house a sunny, upbeat feel and cheer people up.
- Green is a color that helps people stay relaxed, as it reminds people of trees and nature.
- Blue helps people feel safe and secure; this is the reason why police officers and security guards often wear blue clothing.
- Black and gray can make your house seem a little less roomy, but they can also give your home a moody, introspective feel.
- Using glossy white paint can help your home feel brighter.
Painted Floors Are Easy to Clean
If your painted floors are sealed well, they will be easier to clean.
Many wooden floors have cracks between the boards or panels. Tiled floors have cracks in between tiles. However, when you paint over your wooden floor, you can seal it well to prevent dirt and crumbs from getting stuck in the cracks. This will make it much easier to clean.
You might also want to read: How to Clean Unfinished Wood Floors
Cons of Painting Wooden Floors
Although painted wooden floors have many benefits, there are also some drawbacks you should know about.
It Takes Time
Painting your floor can’t be done in just a few hours. It takes a lot of work to paint your floor, and paint also needs time to dry.
You won’t be able to enter your painted room while it is drying, so if you are painting your entire house or even your main areas like your kitchen, you might want to sleep at a different place for a few days.
It Isn’t Very Durable
One of the downsides of painting your floor instead of refinishing it is that paint is not very durable. It won’t last long; instead, it can start chipping and getting worn out after a few years (depending on use). At that point, your floors won’t look new anymore.
It Needs to Be Redone Often
Since paint can wear out and get chipped, you will need to redo your floors more often than if you had refinished it. This might be every few years or whenever you feel like your floors could use a new paint job. In other words, although painting your floors is cheaper, it also requires more maintenance.
It Might Not Be Right for Your House
Painted floors do not look good in all houses. When people think of painted floors, they often think of cute, cozy summer cottages. Summer cottages often have painted floors as they are cheap and can help give the cottage a cozy feel.
However, if you are living in a historic colonial home, painting your floor might ruin the value of your house. In addition, it might look out of place. Consider that before you decide to paint your floor.
It Is Expensive to Undo
It is true that you can always repaint a painted floor. However, the same can not be said for “undoing” a painted floor — in other words, having the paint removed and refinishing your wooden floor like normal.
One of the cons of painting your floor is that you might be faced with regret later on. If you do want to “undo” your painted floor, it can be time-consuming and expensive.
It Can Affect Your Home’s Value
Another thing to consider is how painting your home’s floors might affect its market value. It’s not necessarily true that painting your floors will always lower a home’s value because if you can do an excellent job and everything comes out looking amazing, your house can remain attractive to buyers.
However, the truth is that many times, buyers don’t like painted floors. They would rather have the original wooden floor. When floors are painted, they are left with fewer options, and some buyers may feel like you did not put enough effort into maintaining your home.
How to Choose the Right Paint
It’s important to choose the right paint for your wood floor. We already went over how different colors can affect the “mood” and feel of your house, but there are other things to consider as well.
If you want your painted floors to last longer, you can use oil-based paints. Oil paints are more durable and do not get chipped as quickly. However, make sure that the paint you choose does not have harmful chemicals that can cause health problems.
Many people say that black paint helps your floors look cleaner because you can’t see dirt, but that is not always true. Bread crumbs and small pieces of paper will be more visible on black floors than on white floors. Dirt and mud, however, will be more visible on white floors. If you are claustrophobic or just like wide, open areas, white floors might be a better option for you.
Watch this video for some helpful tips on painting your wooden floors.
Conclusion
Painting your floors has many advantages. You can save money by painting your floors instead of refinishing them, but it is important to know the downsides. In addition, it is important to be sure about your decision since undoing a paint job can be difficult. You don’t want to have regrets later on. If the cons don’t concern you, however, painting your floor is a great way to give your home an entirely new look without spending too much money.
