Is painting wooden(parquet) floor okay?

[locturann]

Well, my bedroom is pretty small with a lot of mess; so I decided to give it a big make over and I would love to make it a simple style (even if I have too much stuff in the room!).

So here's the thing I would like to ask for you advice.
- I want to paint my wooden wall in plain matt white but I just have no idea how I'm going to prepare before I paint it or how to choose the type of paint I can use.

and... my floor is sorta new (I guess), cus my house is a brand new 5 years old so the floor is still has those shiny wood shiled things on. So... should I sand it of before I paint it?

and here's what I expect my floor to be.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24029274@N06/2343031471/

thank you!

[CraftyLittleLady]

We have a different opinion on the wood parquet flooring.  If it is me, I would leave it as is, as it is still brand new.  I like the shade of wood.  I wouldn't ruin the color of nature with paint. I will accent the room through properly chosen furniture and fixtures such as rugs.  One thing with white painted flooring, it will be hard to clean.  It is easily scratched or marked with any movement of furniture.  Think long term.  As for the wall, it is fine to paint it as you please.  Just my 2 cents.

[gamerbabe]

You can paint the floor but you need to use the right paint and prep it properly first. CraftyLittleLady is right that it can be hard to keep clean and can scratch when you move furniture. I painted my floors and didn't follow the right steps or use the right paint and it looked like crap within a month or two

From reading up on what went wrong, you have to sand the finish off your floor first so the paint has something to grip to. you also do NOT want to use latex based porch paint (like I did) regardless of what the paint people tell you, it doesn't hold up as well as oil based porch paint or (even better) marine paint.

I think if your floor is newer and you're not living in the house for a LONG time, you're better off putting down a big rug or something else that is removable. People apparently don't like painted wood floors

[locturann]

Thank you, CraftyLittleLady & gamerbabe!!
I guess I'm gonna leave it like that and do something with the wall and furnitures