Is this a dumb idea?

[Powermuffin]

Our 1908 cottage had the wood floors laid before the walls were built. There is only one bath in the old part of the house and the floors are a bit discolored, especially around the toilet. There are some gaps between the floor boards up to 3/8". Stuff has collected in those gaps and makes me feel like the bathroom is not clean. There is no subfloor.

Here is where the question comes in. I am thinking of painting the floor with a floor paint, and painting a faux, vintage tile design on it. I would then seal it. Is the painting part a dumb idea?
Thanks,
Diane

[Mick_VT]

Not at all, and it has been done plenty of times before (for decades!) A lot of people will paint, then distress & wash the paint to give the effect that the floor has been this way for many years

[Willa]

I like painted wood floors. If you use a floor paint, you shouldn't have to seal it. Just make sure that you also paint whatever designs with the same floor paint as something like an artists acrylic paint won't hold up to wear. Painted floors will show wear after a while in high traffic areas - but the great thing is that you can just give them a fresh coat of paint as they need them.

[Powermuffin]

I have painted our laundry/enclosed back porch floor with just wall paint and it has held up fine. But the bath made me wonder because of the water issue, not that it gets much.
Thanks for the input!

[Lily left the valley]

I have painted our laundry/enclosed back porch floor with just wall paint and it has held up fine. But the bath made me wonder because of the water issue, not that it gets much.
Thanks for the input!

Steam can wear/age too. So I'd more likely use porch paint than wall if it was me.

I'll mention this only because the rust in water can make it much easier to "see" how much steam can affect your bath. The apartment we're moving out of right now has old cast iron pipes, and the painted wood and upper walls/ceiling in the bath was distinctly rust steam toned when we moved in May of last year, especially in spots where the condensation was so bad it caused "drips". It washed off just fine with some vinegar/water. Yet after almost a year build up, it looks not quite as bad when we moved in, but the rust tinge is still evident, especially in moulding like the door panels. The bath had no fan/vent, only a window. That window opened directly on a side stairwell, so I didn't like opening it because someone could be standing right on the other side--too potentially creepy.

We had a similar problem before in the 1860 house--windows only, no fans and a lot of still cast iron piping. The biggest difference was the windows were not near stairs, so no fear of creepers; and both had tiles on 3/4 of the walls plus vinyl floors, which is easier to mop up when needed.

[Mick_VT]

I used indoor floor paint in my bathroom, holds up really well. Its a water based latex acrylic, which means I can recoat and use the room again within a day if I want. I have only recoated it once in the eight or nine years since I first did it

[heartwood]

I think it's a fine idea....
I restored windows in a home where the homeowner hired all high end finish carpenters and painters...the painter painted wood floors as white and black tiles--it looked wonderful...I don't think he wanted someone to walk in and exclaim "wow, gorgeous tile!" I think he wanted people to say "wow, you did a great job painting tiles on those wood floors!"...

I sanded painted floors, primed with oil primer then applied two coats of water based porch and floor paint in my bedroom...hundreds of tiny specs of paint have come as well as some half-a-dime size ones...it's ben moore paint...i'm doing a hallway with the same prep then water primer and finish paint...I hope it holds up better....my floors also have wide spaces between boards...I think no matter what you fill the spaces with (wood, putty, wood filler), the wood will expand and contract and possible damage the filler...I just poured plenty of primer and two coats of paint in the spaces filling them somewhat...

good luck!
...jade

[Mick_VT]

I seem to recall that the floor paint (Ben Moore) that I used did not require primer. Even if it did, I did not use any, nor did I seal after... I did sand the floor a lot first to level the boards though. the first time I pained I used an oil based floor paint (that probably said it did not require primer). The second time I used the current latex floor paint that they offer. I sanded the existing paint but did not prime, nor did I seal... absolutely no problems with adhesion, even though it is a bathroom

[eclecticcottage]

We painted our bedroom floor at the cottage due to staining with wall paint and it's fine, several years later. I agree with a little extra prep and sealing in a bath though.

[SkipW]

Almost all of the floors in our 1907 cottage are painted. I used a porch and floor enamel which is from Sherwin Williams I think. Been here 12 years and I have recoated one high traffic area once in that time. There were some serious gaps that I filled and all the seams open up in the winter when the wood shrinks, but it is a painted wood floor, so I'm OK with that. I love the look of them.

ETA: my prep included a serious scrubbing with TSP and two days drying to be sure all moisture had evaporated. No other prep beside sanding any splinters or the like. The upstairs rooms were covered in carpeting but had been painted sometime most likely in the 40's or 50's and were in poor shape. Downstairs were already painted and in pretty good condition.