One of the main things we loved about our new place was the painted floorboards. Both the kitchen and the lounge have lovely white painted boards which give the room a rustic feel, as well as brightening it up a bit. However, we can’t help but notice that our kitchen floor isn’t looking quite as lovely as we’d like it.
With an impending brunch this weekend, we’re feeling the pressure to have the house looking on top form – and we mostly want to avoid this kind of face from our guests:
With our renting conundrum continuing, we can’t really do anything majorly dramatic to the floor – and don’t even try to suggest putting a rug down – it’s a kitchen for crying out loud! So what are our options? Try for a deep clean and risk ruining the paint? We think not. So we’ve had a look at what floor paints are out there and just how they could give the floor a bit of a lift.
Farrow & Ball have kept their reputation, despite being somewhat over saturated in the press. It seems like they are everyone’s go-to paint company – and there must be a reason for this. Their colour Pointing (pictured above) looks like it would be a good match for what we already have. With sample pots available from £3.95, finding out if it’s the perfect match shouldn’t be a problem and the pots start from £22 for 750ml – but I’m sure we’ll need more…
Luckily, Farrow & Ball have a handy calculator for how much paint to order. Simply choose one of their pre-selected room sizes (or insert your own dimensions if you are organised) and they calculate how much paint you need – and how much it is. At £150 for our modest kitchen, it’s perhaps a little out of our price range at the moment.
Slightly less glamorous is Wickes’ range of quick-drying floor paint. With not as many bells and whistles as the F&B website, it’s hard to tell how much you’ll need to cover the floor. Also, there didn’t seem to be an option to request sample pots – meaning we’d need to go in-store to check the colour. Lord knows we’re not the hardware store type.
However, the simple thing to do really would be just to try and clean it and we’ve found these tips on how to do this without damaging it:
- Dust. Sweep or dust-mop your painted wood floors often. Depending on the traffic in the room, you might need to do this once or twice a week. Every few weeks, wipe up any dirt that collects at the corners of the room and on the baseboards.
- Cleaner. Using either a gentle floor cleaner or a mixture of half water and half vinegar with a rag, wipe away spots and stains that may have shown up on your floor.
- “Soak.” Sometimes, you may encounter a dirty spot that won’t come off easy with simple wiping. In this case, leave a damp (not wet) rag or towel over the spot for several minutes. When you return to it, the spot should wipe away.
- No abrasives. Be very careful that you do not use any abrasive brushes or sponges while cleaning your floor. The last thing you want to do while cleaning is cause scratches and damage to your beautiful painted wood. A rag or old towel should do the trick and won’t cause harm to your floors.
- Corners. If cobwebs or dirt collect in corners of the floor, use either a duster or a handheld vacuum to clean up the mess.
If anyone needs us, you’ll find us on our hands and knees…
If you have any great tips for cleaning a painted wood floor, we’d love to hear from you! Pop a comment below or tweet us.
Maybe we will go the ball after all,
David & Mark x
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