Your flooring can make or break the style of your home. And with timber flooring, especially, there are a myriad of styles and finishes to choose from, which can get quite overwhelming. But sometimes the available options don’t quite achieve the look that you really want, and with your home, you want to make sure that you get the specifics down pat. When this happens, it may be a good idea to check out whitewash flooring as an option! Sometimes hardwood flooring finishes can be too striking and dark, but whitewashing your floors can go a long way in softening the look and brightening up the room.
How to Whitewash Oak Floors
Whitewashing floors can be an arduous process, especially for beginners. As with big changes in the home, it’s always best to consult a contractor for their services in order to ensure that you achieve the effect that you are going for. Whitewashing especially entails tricky steps that require finesse and experience and can take a long time if you choose to DIY it. It will require sanding the floorboards – which may be tricky especially if you have engineered flooring which typically has a thinner hardwood veneer and will get damaged if sanded too much.
You may also need to bleach your floors, depending on how dark the base wood is, which can be hazardous not only to the wooden flooring but to you if done incorrectly. After this, you need to stain the floors! White, watered down paint or stain is usually used if you are DIY-ing. However, this may not give you the perfectly whitewashed look that you are going for, which is why it’s a good idea to consider getting a product that already has a whitewash stain such as some of the Kustom Timber range. Not only would you be saving time, but you’d also be ensuring a great outcome, too.
How to Clean Whitewashed Wood Floors
For heavier foot traffic areas of the home especially, a whitewashed wooden floor should have a protective sealant applied in order to seal the surface and make it easier to clean. If you are getting your floors done by a professional, this should be their final step so that the surface is protected. This is because an unsealed floor is harder to clean since sweeping and vacuuming can wear the whitewash from the floor and damage the whitewashed look.
As with all types of timber flooring, be mindful of water and moisture damage! This is the number one enemy of wooden floors, and whitewashed floors are no exception. When cleaning, make sure you are using soft brooms, vacuums, or microfiber cloths to ensure that there are no abrasive surfaces scratching against the finish, and no water seeping into the porous surface of the wood. Keeping an eye on this can go a long way in ensuring that your floors last for years to come.
Whitewashed Wood Floors Reviews
It’s always a good idea to find a product/supplier that has a number of reviews of their services available, especially for whitewash style flooring. This is so you can make sure that they are skilled and experienced enough to work on your project and be able to come out with an amazing output that will help you really personalise and make your home your own.
It’s also important to remember that with whitewashed floors, the effect can be quite dramatic. So if you’re after making a small room feel larger, or brightening up an otherwise gloomy-feeling room, or even if you have a lovely mix of furniture that you really want to stand out, it’s a good idea to consider whitewashing your timber floors.
Whitewash Flooring Ideas
Because of the qualities of whitewash floors, there could be a very minimalistic feel or even a beachy, rustic aesthetic for a room. This all depends on the techniques and types of whitewash that has been applied. For a more rustic feel, the floors don’t have to be meticulously finished, and some mistakes in the whitewash can actually benefit you if you are looking for a more homey, charming feel.
If you want a minimalistic style, however, the devil is in the details- it has to be meticulously sanded, stained, and sealed! What’s more, couple your whitewashed floors with white walls and the room becomes even more striking yet soft at the same time. And with beautiful furniture pieces, you can really make the most out of the room with just a few additions. No matter the style you’re looking for, we have a product that will fit the need.
How to Install Solid Timber Flooring
Installing flooring is a big task and while you can DIY it, it’s always a good idea to get an expert’s skill for this. And don’t forget that when you are looking for a contractor to do your flooring, don’t forget that while the cost is a significant factor, it’s also important to look into the experience and reputation of who you may be hiring for the job.
Hardwood floors can be pricey, but it looks beautiful and can last you years and years of use if installed properly and taken care of. Laying down wood for your flooring requires expertise and technique, as there needs to be enough spacing for the wooden flooring to contract and expand without cramming together or creating large gaps between the boards. Aside from this, to get the beautiful hardwood floor look that you require, it needs to be sanded and polished properly, which may be a difficult task for the inexperienced.
Conclusion
Whitewashed flooring can be a great way to boost the look and feel of any room in your home. Depending on your personal style and existing furniture, it can be a good choice to mix up and provide a striking contrast with the rest of your space. And when it comes to finding excellent high-quality wooden flooring and installers, look no further than Kustom Timber. With high-grade engineered flooring and plenty of options to suit your needs, whether you are after whitewashed floors or even parquetry, you will no doubt be able to find the right wooden flooring for your dream home.
