The appeal of white wood floors—relaxed but refined, a not-too-blank canvas for showing off one's furnishings and antiques—is stymied only by a justified fear of keeping them clean.

Q: Several years ago, we had the wooden floors at our vacation home professionally painted white. The contractor used an industrial-grade paint for use on factory floors and/or high-traffic wooden ...

See what grabs your attention and check out the rest of our wood floor guides. Light and bright Also known as bleached and Scandinavian-style floors, these styles tend to have a white finish ...

Indicates the ability to withstand scratches, as when an object with a rough edge is dragged on your floor. A scratch tool, mounted on a load arm, is moved across the flooring sample, with ...

Kelly has over 10 years of experience writing about home design and improvement for many prominent publications. She also spent several years working at a tech startup for an interior design game ...