We chose intense turquoise color washed floors for our formal living room, which is also the first room you see when you walk into the entryway of our house. It will be a while before the room is styled and ready to share as a tour, so I thought I’d just write a quick post about how and why we chose this crazy bold floor and how it is done in case you want to DIY it or share our recipe with your floor guy.
But first, remember what this living room looked like a few months ago??
So, one of the first things we did when we closed on the house was check to make sure there were hardwoods under the carpets (yay—there were in all the rooms except the sunroom!). We debated leaving the floors their existing color to save money, but then we discovered that not all the rooms were stained the same color. They didn’t match and most of them were really yellow. So we decided to have them sanded and restained. We hired a professional this time (mostly because we were still living in Missouri at the time). In the past we’ve done floors ourselves as well (Josh wrote a really good post about refinishing old wood floors here).
Anyway! We decided that we wanted super light, whitewashed floors throughout the whole upstairs. This choice feels very fresh and clean to me, but it is also a practical consideration because our pug sheds light hair all the time. We actually like really dark floors too, so we decided to do those in Jeremy’s studio where the dogs won’t really be.
When I told our contractor that I wanted super light, whitewashed floors, I could see that he wasn’t thrilled. He explained to me that the benefit of using dark stain on old floors is that it hides every flaw. Light stain would show every flaw. But he was still willing to try it, and my heart was set on it, so we went for it.
So all of the rooms in our house, except for the turquoise living room, are this color:
As our contractor was working on the floors, he let me know that there were some stains (caused by a water spill or leak at some point) in the living room that couldn’t be sanded out. They were in a really unfortunate placement at the front of the room (near the entrance), not in a place where a couch and rug would make sense at all, and one of the stains went across a whole bunch of boards. (So to repair it would require redoing most of that whole floor.) Not good. Here’s what it looked like:
He suggested that maybe we do a dark floor in just the living room to mask the damage.
So I went to look one more time at all the dark wood stain samples at the hardware store and I saw colored stain. The heavens opened up, light poured down, and I remembered the floors from The Surf Lodge (a rad hotel in Montauk)….
So we picked up all the turquoise stains at the hardware store. The guy at the paint counter warned us that a lot of people return them, but we felt pretty good about them based on the swatches (which looked almost identical to the photo above, super intense/saturated color).
#fail
I took my issues to Instagram (my #1 spot for crowdsourcing all of life’s problems). I got a few more recommendations. I tried a couple more stain brands (with similar results), and I started to become more open to a paint option. My husband wasn’t as open to it. We’ve painted floors in the past that got scratched up and scuffed almost instantly. But our contractor assured us that it’s really the poly, not the paint that makes it durable. So we decided to go for it…again!
My task was to test the paint/water/poly combos on scrap wood (the same kind of wood as my floors, red oak) and figure out the formula for my contractor. We tried different proportions of poly mixed with paint and poly mixed with water. We wanted to make sure the grain showed through, so it looked like stain, not just paint. We also wanted really intense color.
By the way, the big stain is still (barely) visible. But it’s not nearly as noticeable anymore because when you have a turquoise floor, it’s so visually stimulating it’s hard to nitpick the flaws. We could have covered the stain completely, but that would have meant losing the wood texture, which I did not want to do.
With that said, I realize this isn’t for everyone and I want to hear your thoughts! Love it? Hate it? What color would you have picked?
I am so so excited to share more house projects with you this season. Follow me on Instagram @elsielarson for more updates. I am documenting all the steps with #thelarsonhouse. Thanks so much for reading! xx- Elsie
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson (mostly taken with the iPhone this time).
135 Comments
This is really awesome! I love the colour♥♥
chocolateandsunset.com
WOH! So cool! I’ve never seen anything like it, really can’t wait to see what you’re going to be doing next 🙂 <3
I love it! I painted the wood floors in my kitchen a deep green, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. It makes me happy every day! I think this is a really fun and interesting option for a living room–can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Beautiful floor. Im ready to start my floor project. Same color. Going ‘Old world Italy. So are you talking PAINT or STAIN? And unfortunately my floor is two colors of stain. It literally looks like someone stood at the front door and flung the darker stain, straight out of the can. What should I do to make sure my floor turns out the same color?
This is SO fun! Love the color pop. Can’t wait to see more photos!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
Wow! I love this. Good for you guys for making such a bold choice 🙂 The color is stunning. Filing this away for when I have a home of my own!
OMG ablolutely LOVE this!! I am not sure if I could have it in my house, even tough its my fav colour! But I love it in your house and I love the light wooden floors too. Cant wait to see more!
Love it! I don’t think I could pull it off myself but it’s gorgeous!
This is AMAZING. Seriously, Elsie, can you come over and decorate my house?
http://www.sarah-nunn.blogspot.co.uk
Oh my gosh! I love it! So many ideas and oportunities now that i know I can paint floors! Fabulous idea Elsie!
I love it!
I think you made the right choice! What a great a color. I do have to admit that I thought you were a little crazy until I saw the water stains. But it turned out to be a very creative way to distract from that issue. Nice work!
I had my eye on those stains, too. The turquoise is stunning! Thanks for sharing how you made it happen. This is so much fun watching you transform your new house.
So bold! But totally worth the risk! The contrast is pretty cool against the whitewash too.
http://www.citycomfortsdc.com
These are incredible! I love the bold choice. Can not wait to see how you style the room. Thanks for sharing!
I think it looks absolutely stunning! The colour just screams “Elsie” – fits you so very well! Although I love it, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have the guts to do this and just choose a really dark brown/gray and chicken out instead 😀
I love the color but I’m not sure I would be brave enough to try it. 🙂
Love, love love this! We just whitewashed our oak floors in the bedroom over the weekend. What kind of Poly did you ultimately decide to finish with?
I love it! I think it turned out fabulous. I really like the white washed floors too.
I normally love white wooden floors but this is great! Such an uplifting colour, perfect for those early mornings.
I love that you have the guts to go there with such a fun intense color. IT looks really great–as does the restaurant. I do love the lighter floor colors too. I would love to go this bold when we buy a house!
Analog House
http://theanaloghouse.blogspot.com/
Per.fection.
Wow! That’s beautiful!
This is such a neat idea, Elsie!! Would love to do this in my own home.
Turquoise/teal is my favorite color, so I’m always on board whenever you use that shade … but this?! WOW. I LOVE it! 🙂 I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. The white beams in that room are awesome too – such a cool architectural detail! 🙂
I love it! I’m a fan of designing a house for the homeowners’ tastes rather than sticking to having a good resale value. I don’t think I could convince my husband though… maybe in the basement? Here’s to hoping!
Not a big fan, but if you love it that is all that matters!!!
http://www.lovealwaysjess.com
Ok I have to say, I would never do that! I prefer the scandinavian style… So not a lot of colors.
But I respect the courage your have to do something like that and I can`t wait to see how you`ll decorate the whole room! 🙂
My mom had a similar look done for the concrete floor of her basement. It’s more of a shiny glaze than a stain, but it’s the same turquoise color. At first, I was skeptical about how it would look, but it really brightened an otherwise drab room.
Would have never thought of this! Amazing! Can’t wait to see the finished rom 😉
Ursula @ http://kraftmint.com {lovely quick crafts}
I think you’ll be fine with the light floors (LOVE the turquoise floor as well). We just bought our house with dark stained floors and I’m finding that it shows EVERYTHING. Scratches are very visible, any dust is instantly visible, etc.
I wouldn’t do it in my house, but it looks so fun!! Love the color you picked.
Kristina does the Internets
Woah such a bold choice! But I kind of love it.
I Love the light floors. And the turquoise. Of cause!!
In Scandinavia it is much more common to have light floors than in the US.
Maybe it is something about the long dark months in the winter, making us afraid of putting dark things inside our houses 🙂
Love it! It is going to be amazing with the textured whites (and even pink) that you were planning on.
Brave and gorgeous color!! Love it!
Rachel x
thehappybits.blogspot.com
Enthusiastic thumbs up!
Thanks so much Yara!! That means a lot to me! 🙂
xxoo- Elsie
So happy to hear that you loved it long term! :))
xx- Elsie
Haha! I get it! It was an easier choice for us sine we have two living rooms and this is the pretty one (the other one is more cozy for tv watching and lounging). 😀
xx- Elsie
Haha! Thanks so much for the compliment!
xx- Elsie
Haha! 🙂 Thanks!
Elsie
Absolutely love it!! Your blog makes me long for the day my partner and I have our own house to decorate.
dahliariver.blogspot.co.uk
I’m not totally sure, actually, since our contractor did it. I think oil base is the one that does not turn yellow (and water base does) but check with a professional before you do it!
xx- Elsie
Thank you! I’m so happy with them. They DO show every single flaw, but I’m going to work on a DIY for masking staple marks and small stains next. 🙂 So much to do!
xx- Elsie
Thanks so much Mandi! :))
xx- Elsie
Yep! We decided to live here a minimum of seven years, so it’s definitely not a flip house. But I still hope that the next owner will appreciate our point of view, but it’s ok if they don’t too! 🙂
xx- Elsie
Yep! All my contractors hate it. 🙂
haha- Elsie
Good to know! Yeah- dark floors aren’t really an option for us because of our dogs hair!
xx- Elsie
Hi Elsie!
Love the color and that the wood grains still show through.
My only question is- this is a pretty hot color trend right now… Do you think you’ll want to change it? If so, how hard would it be to change the color drastically- hypothetically, to pink, for example?
Either way, congrats on the new house and enjoy the remodeling!
Sivan
Whoa!!! This is mind blowing. Everything about that floor is PERFECT. Love that it doesn’t look like a “solution” to a problem, only looks like the most brilliant idea ever! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I love it, it’s fantastic and I never would have thought of it! I think the light neutral floors everywhere else balance this out. More permanent but really no different than a big fun rug.
I love it! So fun, and it makes such a statement!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Ahhh I love this so much! That’s exactly the colour I would choose. I can’t wait until we own a house!
I never knew this existed! I love all white everything, but adding a bright floor would really make it pop! I cannot wait to see how you style this room! You’ve definitely inspired me to try this.
I LOVE IT!! I never would have thought about a colored stain instead of a nuetral stain. Thank you for sharing the paint formula you used. I hope to be able to try this one day when I have hardwood! 🙂
AMAZING RESULT!
So inspired to do this when I actually own a home of my own.
http://mademoiselleaventure.com
This looks both awesome and crazy! I would never have the guts to do this, but it will look so awesome once you have everything styled. Love it!
This is such a cool and brave idea! I wouldn’t have thought of that.
http://www.thequirklife.com
I love it!!! It is going to be such a happy space.
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
LOVE this! This is one of my ‘life’ colors, always resonates with me. Thanks for sharing a new way to incorporate color in a big, yet still natural way 🙂
I’ve been thinking about painting our kids’ room floors, but I didn’t even think about staining or sorta staining 😉 Love this!!
http://www.davidnrach.com
Oh, wow! How inspirational. Thanks for this!
Well hello awesome!
I normally prefer a very neutral decorating style but I have to admit I am completely in love with this. I’m sure I would keep the rest of the room pretty neutral to allow the floor to be the focal point but this is 200% awesome!
This is AMAZING and makes me really want to own a home so I can do this to a room. I love, love, LOVE it. Can’t wait to see photos of the entire styled room.
I TOTALLY DIG THIS! It’s stunning! So glad you shared a story of how to turn something that was a downer into something beautiful! 🙂
The floor looks AMAZING Elsie!! It’s so bright and gives the room an instant feeling of joy. Love it and can’t wait to see more of your renovations. Best of luck with it all!
I’ve always wanted to do this but was too intimidated. Nevertheless I may start small and work my way up. Love the colour! I’m redoing my livingroom, bought a new rug, and I’m going to do my first Ikea Hack! Will stop by here more often for inspiration.
I’m so jelious! Your’e floor is literally my goals! Love this post!
OMG I loved it. I painted my living room with the same colors. But the walls, not the floor. I was a little scared because it’s such a strong color but turned out so beautiful! Yours too! And the idea of painting th floor is awesome. I need to do this in some room.
Besides, It’s my favorite color nowadays.
Check it out if you want: http://www.loveandeverythingblog.com/2015/01/the-colorful-house.html
Xo, Deborah
Love this idea, and that’s my favorite color. Can’t wait to see it furnished. Kind of reminds me of the mama mia movie, Don’t know why 😛
My husband is a contractor and he won’t let me paint our wooden kitchen cabinets from the 70’s let alone the wood floors! I love it though! 🙂
I’ve always wanted a painted floor that gets scuffed up and has that old look to it. Do you recommend it with your experience? Does it turn out nice or does the paint chip in random spots?
Love your floors btw. They look great with the bright white walls.
http://www.throughmyowneyes.com
My past floor did look that way. It was kind of cool, but I wasn’t going to the shabby chic style so I was bummed by it. I’ll let you know how this holds up in about six months or a year!
xx- Elsie
Looks so cute!!! 🙂 I love your bold colors.
Thanks for sharing!
xx- Elsie
Yes- I’m planning to do the rest of the room neutral and I’m really excited about that. 🙂
Elsie
Good question. I think I’ll be happy with this color a long time. It’s the only “dark” color in my color scheme I have picked out besides army green. I’ve always really liked the color, so HOPEFULLY it will age well for me and I’ll still be loving it years from now. :))
xx- Elsie
OH MY LAW! That is the most exquisite floor I have ever seen! PB&Jealous over here.
Those are some seriously beautiful floors! Wow! : )
Oh my goodness, I absolutely love those blue floors! I like the white, too, but the blue are gorgeous!
How did you do the light colored floors??
Wow!!! It´s lovely!!!!! Elsie, I´m sure your room is going to be perfect. I can not wait to see how you will decor it.
XOXO
I LOVE them!
One of the best choices we made, for sure.
xx- Elsie
This really looks outstanding! And by the way, really daring to go with such a bold colour. I am curious about how you will decorate it in the end!
I love it! And I hope you post more pictures when the room is all put together. I always have trouble finding design inspiration online, since so much of it is way too neutral for my taste–bring on the bright colours!
Absolutely love this too. I have been looking for this colour to paint and/or stain an old oak cupboard in my living room, but as yet have not found anything. This would be perfect, but doubt I will find just this colour as I am in the UK. Well done you for being brave – and bold!!
I Love that bold color ! Can’t wait to see the entire room with your touch.
Love the gorgeous turquoise floor! It reminds me of a turquoise-stained concrete floor I saw before and fell madly in love with. Can’t wait to see the rest of your home when it is done!
xx Jia, honeyandgazelle.wordpress.com
The turquoise is so striking yet so calming (what a tricky balance to achieve!) and reminds me of the sea – the one thing that soothe me more than anything in the world. I’ve always wanted a polished turquoise – green floor in my home (currently its all dark brown wood floors) and this post has given me ideas! x
Jasiminne | Posh, Broke, & Bored
Love it! Your gamble paid off BIG Time.
WOW! I love it! I have found myself drawn to this color a lot this year. But to put it on a floor? Brilliant!
Debbi
I love how you think outside of the box. It’s a very pretty color!
Best floor ever!! Love it.
LOVE this color. my mom just bought a spanish house in the middle of no where & did her foyer floors a little like this!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!
yessss. That’s a pumped-up version of the color of my bedroom walls. INTO IT.
It looks great, especially contrasted with the white walls– it opens the space up. Wonderful, creative solution for the dilemma of the stains on the floor. Love what you did with it! Thank you for sharing your ideas 🙂
Pretty flipping awesome. I can see it looking really great with a more traditional patterned rug layered over it– maybe with a more muted turquoise in it? So good though.
I love it.
it looks freaking amazing!! with the white walls, beams and ceiling and lots of light… oh i am in love! perfect choice!
wow, I never would´ve thought of a coloured floor, but it looks amazing!
oh my gosh, I ADORE your floors! I’m making a decision – re-carpet or sand and stain our open-plan living area and I think you just made that decision for me 😉
I love it!!! I just did a post on red front doors and their meaning so I am totally in with this bright colored home scheme!!!!
SJay // The Chronic Dreamer | A Lifestyle Blog
I love it in your home but would hate it in mine – if that makes sense? It’s awesome and i’d definitely be like “WOW” if I came over, but definitely don’t feel tempted to copy. Congrats on being awesome and individual Elsie! Laura x
It’s amazing!! With the stains you tried out first, did you do just one coat, or were those pictures after a couple coats?
Fantastic! Beautiful! Awesome! Good on you for pushing your idea with your contractor. They can be so stuck in their ways sometimes and not willing to try anything new. I’ve consistently faced this issue with contractors, and just kept looking until I found one more skilled, more talented, more open and more flexible. Time consuming, but I eventually, I’ve always gotten what I want.
I love how the room is coming along it looks great. Being a bit of a color-phobe myself, I never would have chosen such a bright and saturated color. But I love the results… I might have to step out of my anti-color cave!
Amber
amberbutbetter.blogspot.com
Friggan awesome!
Amazing!!!! I love doing color washes! that turned out so good!
I think it’s so fun!!
How bold and beautiful!
Can’t wait to see the finished room and the impact of the floors with furnishings, accessories, etc.
Gorgeous floors and an inventive solution!! I love that you kept the integrity of the wood floors by keeping the grain visible; it feels seamless that way. The light floors are lovely as well! xo
This is such a cool and unique idea 🙂 I can’t wait to see the room when it’s finished!
Love it! It makes me happy just looking at it on my computer screen.
Love your courage! I am doing the same thing in my great room. The floors are going to be wide plank pine that we had milled from a tree on our property and I am going to stain it a Sherwin Williams color called “flower pot”. It’s a deep red terra cotta color. I did this years ago in the breeze way of a previous home and I got more compliments on that floor than anything. I’m anxious to see your finished room.
Bernie
oh Gosh…. this is wonderful!! Your living room will lift anyone’s spirit!
Very bold but very cool–it pops, has personality! Carol K in MI
absolutely my favorite floor!
Such a great and original idea! Might do the same but with yellow 🙂
xx
https://canyoupaintmeyellow.wordpress.com/
I love what you did to the floor, its one of my favorite colors.
Can’t wait to try it. Sylvia San Diego
Love this look !
I really love your floors. The coolest floor I think I’ve ever seen. I love color and what a fabulous idea!
I vote HELL YES! I might not pick turquoise, but you’ve really given me some great ideas. I’m thinking: how about a nice cinnabar colored floor in the guest room?
So beautiful
Love it!
will you please email me a photo of the floor as it transitions from the stained colored turquoise to the plain floor in the hall? I am interested to see the effect and if it is seamless or weird. I love your color choice, and your courage. wow, that was courage and it worked. Keep going and never give up! You are inspiring me!
I LOVE your turquoise floor !
Thats a really good look for your floor, but just wondering what kind of poly did you use for the floor? & how long does it take to dry?
The floor is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE color and this floor is right up my alley. Just curious, what type of paint did you use in reference to flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, etc? Not sure if that even makes a difference. 😉
Do you have after pictures?
Like recent photos? You can see more in various tours. It hasn’t chipped or worn at all and we’re so happy with it!
We are just getting ready to try a color in one room and my contractor asked for pictures. I just found this old post and it is perfect because it’s all the information the contractor needs. Mine will be in the kitchen with a lot of wear. Would you still recommend doing a color? How is the wear and tear on the color? Do a scratches show? Thanks.
Hi Debbie,
We have had ours for around four years and there are no scratches or wear at all. They held up exactly as well as any other wood stained floors. 🙂
I love your floors! I grew up in a colorful house with half the rooms painted Turquoise since my mother loved the color a lot. She would have done this in a heart beat if my dad had let her! 🙂 I was curious if you know what type of wood your floors were? We have an original 1960s House with wood floors in 3/4 of it. We would love to sand them down and do a white wash since they are all looking very yellow orangey. Thank you!
I am absolutely in love! Thank you so very much for sharing. I found your floor because i just found beautiful hardwood under ugly carpet in our dining room. I searched blue wood floor. My adjoining kitchen has turquoise walls. What you’ve done is exactly what i want! EXACTLY! I knew stain wasn’t the answer, yet I still want wood grain, Like you. I am so with you. Now I’m excited 😃