Wood Floors for Traditional Style

Painted wood floors add such a lot of character to a home and a traditional style checkerboard painted design can be a very effective way to cheer up worn wood floors.

Recently I mentioned that we were invited to join the Houzz marketplace. (We're at EuroLuxHome on Houzz.) This means I've been spending a lot more time on Houzz answering customer questions, so I get to see all  the great home decor photos flying by on the screen!  Some of my recent favorites show how a checkerboard painted design on a wood floor gives a room an instant facelift. Doesn't this neutral checkerboard design in a traditional bathroom look fresh and elegant?

Traditional Style Floors

Although painted wood floors might seem like a modern idea, they are actually a traditional choice. Painted floors featuring decorative patterns were popular in American homes by the late 1700s. Often they replicated tile designs, and the black and white painted checkerboard pattern remains a classic choice for painted wood floors. But you don't have to stick to black and white and neutrals.

This smart red and green painted checkerboard floor adds a little color to the Traditional style mix! The floor is in a restored 1850 plantation house in Texas. The bold colors might be slightly strong for a living room, but they are a good choice for a hallway like this as they create a sense of energy and movement as you travel between rooms.

This Charleston, SC, room is gloriously inviting! Notice how the softly distressed blue and honey-colored checkerboard pattern painted on the floor doesn't go right up to the edges. The plain border around the edge gives the illusion of an area rug. The border also creates a breathing space for the eye - a brief transition before you pass into another room with a different floor design. Also notice the real Palmetto Trees in the bookcases! Crazy, huh?

If you don't want to paint your floors, try a wood stain instead. This splendid entryway in Philadelphia has a diamond or checkerboard floor pattern, but in more subtle wood tones. The painted checkerboard floor look works for every style of traditional home and for modern homes too. If you want to try it for yourself, this helpful Houzz tutorial on How to Paint Your Hardwood Floors should get you started.

A Traditional Old House

This Old House also has a detailed How to Paint a Floor tutorial with specific instructions for a painted checkerboard floor design.

I've got some more ideas to share for painted wood floor designs that are just as beautiful and just as classic as the checkerboard design, but that is for another blog post! If you have a checkerboard painted wood floor, please tell us about or (or even share a photo!) To see more of our favorite types of furniture, check out this weathered furniture!