A wooden floor that has become worn out or spotted doesn't need to be replaced. Instead, you can paint it! The process isn't complex but requires accuracy, plenty of time and a great scoop of patience.

In the villa in Lidingö, Stockholm, they had chosen to paint the floor chess checkered in a light gray and warm gray color. By placing the squares on the diagonal, the room opens up and feels wider.

Painted floors already existed in the 18th century, but it was only during the 1800s that it broke through on a broad front. Often, the wooden floor was painted to make it look like a finer material. With the checkered pattern one wanted to imitate stone floors by combining the colors black and white, gray and white or gray and black.

There are a few different ways to proceed with the painting. You can first paint the entire floor in the lighter shade, let it dry, mask and then paint the darker squares. This technique gives a more precise result. If you instead draw up the pattern first and then paint square by square, it will get done a bit faster, but you do not get as razor-sharp lines but instead a more vivid result. A matter of taste. If you use linseed oil paint that is painted in several thin layers, the floor will wear beautifully over time. You can paint marks and damage as they occur.