Inspiring Interiors

White floors, yet again.

Yeah, I know. AGAIN WITH THE WHITE FLOORS. I’m sorry, but much like black walls, I can never get enough painted white floors in my life.

Enjoy these photos over the weekend—like indoor snow! Only cozier and drier.


Home of David Delfin & Gorka Postigo (via Apartment Therapy)


From RUM magazine (via emmas designblogg)


Photos of DoreDoris from Dos Family


From Alvhem


In my office


From Hus & Hem


Styling by Sasa Antic for Residence magazine

(See my previous posts about white floors from June 2008 and March 2009 for more inspiration! And if you want to paint your floor white here’s how to do it.)

HAPPY WEEKEND!

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48 Comments

  • Reply Amanda @geekdetails January 8, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    I love the look of all white rooms with white floors. Alas, I think my husband would kill me if I changed our color scheme now lol

  • Reply BODIE and FOU January 8, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    Love them, love them, love them….when I get over this stomach bug, I may get on with DIY in the new house….would love to paint everything in white but doubt my other half will let me get away with the whole house

    http://bodieandfou.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-monthly-competition-win-clare.html

  • Reply Julie January 8, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    If only we weren’t renting! I don’t think I’ll ever tire of all white rooms.

  • Reply jennifer in sf January 8, 2010 at 1:53 pm

    Oh my freakin sweet fancy moses, that first picture!! And the whole rest of that house. Wow, that’s just amazing. I might tone down the s&m theme a bit myself, but otherwise wow.

  • Reply Danielle January 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Such an airy feeling to the rooms! I never thought white could be so appealing! But it is also in how you use color with it. Great pics!

  • Reply Vicki @ Piccolo Takes All January 8, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    oh my goodness. I LOVE those Charlotte Perriand chairs on the first image! They’re like leather Eames chairs!

  • Reply suzie from palazzo p January 8, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Hi! Thanks for all the links and pics about white floors!
    I really like the fresh look of white floors.
    However, white wooden panels on floor and ceiling would be too much for me.
    Happy New Year!

  • Reply pippa January 8, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    I love this look, but notice all the rooms have white walls as well. Wondering if white floors would work with colored walls….

  • Reply Lori January 8, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Ahhh… Love ’em. Just love ’em…

  • Reply Lisa Golightly January 8, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    oh man, I do love me some white floors. keep them coming!

  • Reply Live a Colorful Life January 8, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    In love with the third picture down–the dining table/chairs and the pendant light with the black drum shade.

    Oh, and YOUR office. Love!

  • Reply Ken January 8, 2010 at 6:18 pm

    I love the look of white floors it’s the one thing that I am scared to do in my place. I keep hearing the imaginary realtor in my head saying, “You’ll never be able to sell if you paint those oak floors!” The floors in the kitchen are ruined, maybe I’ll do it there. Love your office! So clean and restful.

  • Reply michelle January 8, 2010 at 7:46 pm

    in your office, did you lay unfinished hardwood and paint it, or some other way?

    would love to do it in all our bedrooms! so fresh

  • Reply jen January 8, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    hi anna. thanks for the consistency in your inspiration.

    I’ve noticed that the black wall is super successful when paired with white, and natural wood. But what about when paired with a glass laminated (translucent) door? Wrong look?

    I might paint an entry wall black. The door, unfortunately, is white with glass lami and floor is tacky-ish, white-ish home depot tile (@#&^). Would like to do the right thing for the wall and not just force black paint on it b/c I’m dying to try it! I’d love to hear your thoughts as you find a way to express your style without pushing it on your spaces. Apartment looks great. You raise the Ikea possibility to a level of greatness!

  • Reply Dave January 8, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    I’m sorta split on painted white floors. For me it depends on the quality and age of the floors.

    My friend took his 3rd floor 100 year old soft pine (which after a 100 years is pretty hard) and painted them white. They were the most wonderful shade of a gray that I’ve ever seen. The value of those floors before he painted them I would estimate would be 15k but not any more. When I went back after and seen the white floors the first thing I said is “what have you done?” it was tragic!

    Then again I like the way they look.

    But keeping it clean looking is hard for me because I am a slob.

    BUT I like the way they look!!!

    I just can’t do it. My floors are too pretty and old.

  • Reply Jake January 8, 2010 at 10:10 pm

    I especially love that these white floors highlight the imperfections of the floor, the gaps, the aging. It’s such a clean and classic look! Indoor snow indeed!

    Keep up the great work!

  • Reply Anna at D16 January 8, 2010 at 10:26 pm

    jennifer in sf: Yeah, I admit I was a bit scandalized by the twin nooses over the bed. Yikes!

    michelle: That’s the original pine subfloor (from 1885) in the office, actually. The rest of my house has a “finished” floor from around the same time over the subfloor (typically, houses in the late 1800s were sold with bare subfloors, and the homeowner chose whether to put in hardwood finished floors or carpeting). When we bought the house, the subfloor in that room was covered with multiple layers of disgusting carpet which which was glued directly to the wood. The floor had never been finished, and it was damaged beyond salvation — rotted, burned, splintered, deeply stained, etc. Here’s a “before” picture of my office, taken after we took the carpet out. If you follow the how-to link at the end of my post, you can see the steps I took to prep the floor before painting it.

  • Reply Anna at D16 January 8, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    jen: I’m not sure what glass laminate is, but I will say one thing: Strong decor elements like white floors and black walls typically work best when they are in sharp contrast to whatever is around them — whether it’s contrast of dark/light or old/new. What you’re describing sounds very “neutral” (or at least what renovators often think of as being so), and you might not get the kind of impact you’re hoping for with a black wall mixed in. If your instinct is that it will looked forced, you’re probably right. That said, why not just go ahead and paint the wall and see how it looks? It’s just paint — you can always change it back. 🙂

    Dave: Disclaimer! I have pretty strong opinions about this subject, so bear with me here. 😉

    No matter how old or beautiful a house is, at the end of the day, it is still a home. I don’t believe for one second that wood somehow becomes worthless (or even worth less) just because it has paint on it. The value is in the construction primarily, and in the livability and enjoyability a space provides for its occupants. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has been painstakingly restoring 125-year-old original sash windows for the past four years! I absolutely understand where you’re coming from, but wouldn’t it have been far worse if your friend had decided to cover the original floors with cheap laminate? The important thing is that he’s still respecting the construction and quality of the house. (And if he really wants to, he can sand the paint off someday.)

    Furthermore, painted floors are quite old-fashioned! Until the Victorian era, it was very common to paint wide-plank floors, and even the Victorians preferred to cover the planks (which were actually meant to be an eventual subfloor) with hardwood strip flooring or carpet — or, in the case of kitchens, linoleum.

    That said, I love natural wood. Love it! I’ve got natural wood all over my house. When faced with a seriously damaged floor that could not be salvaged, however, I didn’t hesitate for a second before I decided to paint it — even if it is 125 years old. 🙂

  • Reply the domestic fringe January 9, 2010 at 11:25 am

    I painted all the wood floors on the second floor of my house white and I love them. For the most part, they stay clean; however, I painted a room downstairs white and it’s terrible. I need to cover it. Between my kids and the dog, it’s always dirty. I don’t know people do it with a family and snowy boots.

    -Fringegirl

  • Reply Elise January 9, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    We did a white floor recently in the master bedroom of our house. I recently bought a 1925 cottage in the downtown of city I live in. The house has so much amazing charm and I am keeping all of those elements. The master bedroom, however, was carpeted and I had the handy man rip the carpeting out in the first 24 hours of owning the home! He then came and removed the glue with a heat gun and then sanded down the hardwood that was under (which was in not so great condition)…and then painted a few coats of white deck paint (not sure if deck paint was our best choice-sometimes it feels a bit sticky-odd). Sometimes I love the floor (most of the time) but other times (mostly when they need to be mopped-usually the day before the housekeeper comes) they drive me a tad nuts (we have five tiny dogs and the bedroom opens in the backyard).
    I am very into the floors the more aged/trampled over they get.
    Your floor in your office are done so well!

  • Reply Elise January 9, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    p.s. the floor in our master bedroom is the sub-floor. Maybe that is why there is a bit of stickiness to the paint at times…? We live in Florida and the humidity may be reaching the sub-floor because directly underneath the floor is space and then dirt.

  • Reply Mari January 9, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    OMG do you know where the black lighting fixture in pic 5 is from?

  • Reply L January 10, 2010 at 12:11 am

    Speaking of floors, what do you do to clean your wood floors?

  • Reply Fiona January 10, 2010 at 5:11 am

    I’ve just spent the weekend sanding the white paint off my daughter’s bedroom floorboards. The walls were strong yellow, the cornicing and centrepiece white and the rest of the ceiling hot pink. She’s outgrowing the bright colours and wanted it all white. I thought all white with white floorboards would be too much. But now that I see these pics… d’oh!

  • Reply Philip January 10, 2010 at 1:02 pm

    Beautiful!
    Love the blog!

  • Reply Charlotte January 10, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Hi Anna,
    I love the white floors too. Great images that you’ve found – that Delfin-Postigo House is great – what wicked furniture they have.
    Love your blog – I’ve started a weekly blog inspiration on my blog and highlighted Door Sixteen this week. Hope that is okay!
    Charlotte.

  • Reply Urban Flea January 10, 2010 at 10:00 pm

    I swear we’re the same person! I’m absolutely in love with not only black walls, but the white floors as well. LOVE!

    xo Katherine aka. Urban Flea 🙂
    http://www.urbanfleadesign.net

  • Reply Anna at D16 January 11, 2010 at 9:24 am

    Fringegirl: We take our shoes off at the door (we’d do this regardless of the floor type). Keeps the whole house much cleaner!

    Mari: I don’t know if it’s a “designer” lamp…it might just be industrial theater lighting?

    L: I’ve always used Murphy’s Oil Soap.

  • Reply Magchunk January 11, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    Anna, I just realized you’d be the perfect person to approach with this question. We’re renting an older home that came with painted wood floors (they are kind of off-white though and I’d love to change them but that is a different story). Anyway, in our office area we’re noticing some wear and tear chipping where our chairs are scooted in and out. Have you noticed this in your office? Do you just habitually have to sand and repaint the area? The landlord used BM deck paint (he said) but just wondering if this is normal and how it’s dealt with.

    Thanks in advance! You’re the painted floor expert as far as I’m concerned!

  • Reply erin@designcrisis January 11, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    White floors are always stunning, but I can’t imagine trying to keep them clean with a baby, a fat cat, and my husband — the biggest mess of them all.

    So pretty, though. Everything… floats.

  • Reply Christina Diaz January 11, 2010 at 9:35 pm

    I love painted floors as well and have been contemplating them for some time. The floors in the old part of our house are not in great condition but the longer I live with them the harder it is to imagine painting them, BUT I WANT to…..Don’t knwo very torn, think I just have to take the dive! I’ll just keep admiring them until I can bring myself to do it, I DO think they will look better once painted…yikes….:)

  • Reply Vanilla Press January 12, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Love these pics!
    I would love to paint mine, but we have semi-solid wood floors downstairs & wood upstairs…I wonder if it would work on “fake” wood?? Probably not!
    x

  • Reply call-me-Heidi January 12, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    I can’t agree more!! I’ve been obsessed with white painted wooden floor since age 15… I’ll get some one day, I WILL.

  • Reply Love January 12, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    I too adore white floors, although not so practical… especially with kids around…

  • Reply Charlotta January 12, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    i’m NEW to your WOrld and LOVE it!
    What a huge never ending wealth of inspiration.
    THANK YOU!
    Char

  • Reply casacullen January 12, 2010 at 10:11 pm

    oh my gosh, i’m SO loving white floors right now too! hubby and i are really contemplating painting ours white…it seems so daring, i don’t know why, but i’m just scared! hmmmm…maybe in the next few months we’ll cave because my FAVE is when it gets all worn in and USED looking…cheers to a great blog and congrats on your homies nom 🙂

  • Reply monika/eco-stylista January 13, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    Love these images, Anna! The first dining room is perfection and I can not stop loving the bedrrom from Hus&hem. It is so serene and simple!

  • Reply melanie January 13, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    couldn’t agree with you more. i love white floor boards!

  • Reply peggy January 13, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    I love white floors too! I really love the art in the first picture too.

  • Reply Courtney January 14, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    These are beautiful! I love the studio/office from Alvhem. Talk about a space inspiring clarity of the mind. Wow.

  • Reply Daniel January 14, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    Our dark hardwoods downstairs are in desperate need of a few coats of white paint. And we can’t wait! Lovely Post. 🙂

  • Reply ruth allison January 15, 2010 at 6:37 am

    Hi Anna, wow you got the bag!!! I am so happy for you and well done Evan. You guys are so well suited and wishing you all the best with the new apartment. Hope you get to have a few lazy hours with Evan, chillaxing on the sofa!! all the best Ruth 🙂

  • Reply jen January 15, 2010 at 11:36 am

    ohhhh hubba hubba! you are inspiring me like crazy for a white-floored office space. hmmmmmmmmm.

  • Reply Cat Sitter in the City January 23, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    I love painted white floors. I would love to do this in my bedroom, but I don’t think my landlord would be too happy about it!

  • Reply maureen January 23, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    I just adore white wooden floors so please, do post them as much as u can 🙂

  • Reply Brett | Design Babylon January 25, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    I am SO with you on the white floors! I bought a great mid-century modern house that had some brick and terracotta flooring. Faster than you can say “Benjamin Moore!” I painted them out white — the paint totally changed the feel of the house!

  • Reply seesaw February 3, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    such love.

  • Reply karalya April 11, 2010 at 3:33 am

    Hi Anna,
    I know this post is old, but I have a question about flooring. And as you love whitle floors and and I really think you have a great eye (I LOVE YOUR HOME!!!), maybe you can give your opinion. And then I can maybe follow yours idea in my home in Belgium!

    I have a tiny apartment, it is 410 square feet. The setting is “railway-style”: you enter the place and stand in the living room with a small kitchen area in it. Off this room there is the bedroom and behind the bedroom there is a large walk-in-closet and a TINY! ensuite bathroom. No hallways, every room goes off the next!

    I have old wooden floorboards and would like to change the look. Do you think it would look strange or inharmonic if I paint the wooden floor in one room darkgrey and go white in the other 2 rooms?

    I am thinking about giving the closet (it is the last room of the three and about 115 squarefeet) some glamour with dark grey or black floorboards and dark wallpaper with bold flowers on it. The bedroom floor in the
    livingroom/kitchen would be white. I would like to wallpaper the bedroom and leave the walls in the first room white.

    What do you think? Would I be safer to have the same colour of floor boards in all rooms, as the place and the rooms are fairly small?

    And: If I am fed up with the look after some years, can I remove the paint and go back to natural wooden flooring by sanding the paint off the boards again?

    I hope my question is clear (english is not my first language) it doesnt cause your trouble to give a brief answer! THANK YOU!
    KARA

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