White Pine Flooring

White pine flooring, especially the wide plank style, isn’t used much today, partially because it’s a softwood and doesn’t wear as well as many people want their flooring to. But it’s look evokes a nostalgia you may be looking for. Whether you buy new planks, reclaimed planks, or engineered planks, white pine flooring can be a beautiful choice.

Do you dream of floors that are reminiscent of the old schoolhouse floors in the early 1900’s? There is nothing else that looks quite like white pine flooring with its Early American style. It adds a sense of warmth that you just don’t normally see with other pine flooring. The white pine flooring with its smooth graining, unusual knotting pattern, and beautiful coloring will help make any room in your home more inviting and comfortable. The good news is that you can get white pine flooring by either purchasing it new or by purchasing it as reclaimed flooring, which has a history all its own.

Reclaimed white pine flooring is flooring that has been taken from another home or business that is being destroyed. This allows you to reuse flooring, which is much better for the environment, because trees do not have to be cut down for the floors. It also gives a home added history by adding reclaimed white pine flooring that has been enjoyed in someone else’s home or business.
There is nothing that looks quite like well-used flooring, complete with its dents and nicks. It makes the flooring look even more attractive and beautiful. This is why many people are turning to reclaimed flooring of all different wood varieties, including white pine flooring. Reclaimed white pine flooring is most commonly seen with square edges, rather than the tongue and groove edges that are sometimes seen. Reclaimed flooring may be left with the original stain or it may have been sanded down to use reuse the boards and to allow you to stain it the color that you choose.
White pine flooring may also be purchased as new flooring at many flooring stores and lumber mills. It is a softwood so doesn’t wear quite as well as hardwoods, but rugs and frequent cleaning will help manage that problem. This softness of white pine flooring makes it susceptible to nicks and dents with normal use, but there are some homeowners who feel that the imperfections that are added to the flooring only add to its classic beauty. If you do not see the white pine flooring at your local home improvement store or flooring store, then ask. They may be able to order it for you.
By choosing unfinished pine flooring, you can choose the stain that you want for your flooring. This can give you the opportunity to determine what shade you want and need for your flooring, from light to dark. Forego the stain altogether and just leave it the natural color with a few coats of water-based polyurethane (so it won’t yellow) to seal and protect the white pine flooring. This step lets you to make your floors the masterpiece you want.
If you want to give your home or room a warm, inviting feeling full of history and beauty, then white pine flooring is an excellent choice for you. By enjoying the imperfections of this flooring, you will find that it may even increase your satisfaction level with your choice. White pine flooring may be just the beautiful flooring choice that you are looking for.

11 thoughts on “White Pine Flooring”

  1. I just discovered your website and feel very validated. The general public has been brainwashed into thinking a floor should be perfect and scratches are bad! I guess this reminds me of when linen was reintroduced after the wrinkle-free polyesters. I am an interior designer renovating a home in Scottsdale AZ. My client is a retired school librarian and I felt the white pine would be perfect for her home. I will send her your article! Sara Fattori, ASID
    Jupiter, Florida

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  2. We would be replacing carpet so I guess it would definitely improve the value. I installed white pine in our master bedroom and love the look. I finished it with waterlox and it already has somewhat of a pumpkin glow. It does nick and scratch easy though. I want to do it throughout the rest of the house but with four young kids I am concerned. Have you heard of “Red Pine”?

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  3. Yes, red pine is beautiful – it gets the most wonderful red glow. I have it on a wall of my living room and it’s just gorgeous. It’s been there since the 1950’s.
    I would recommend using a few coats of Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane – it will protect the wood and actually make the surface harder. I don’t think any type of wood is going to come thru unscathed with 4 kids around though. I tend to look at is as ‘adding character’ – it proves that the floor has experienced life. ;~)

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  4. I’m refinishing 140 year old pine floors,and the problem is that I want them to be white, not yellow from the polyurethane. Is there something out there I can use? They are sanded now and look old, white and beeautiful. I love them as they are. They suit my decor. What’s a girl to do?

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  5. I have wide plank white pine in my whole house and have just finished sanding and putting stain on them in a light oak color and put dark tung oil on them. The tung oil was from The Real Milk Company and I believe I have made a mistake it’s not shiney, and not sure it’s going to hold up. Can you give me some advice what to do.

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