I Heart Painted Floors

Right now, I'm totally crushing on painted flooring. If I wasn't renting, I'd do this in a heartbeat. It's inexpensive and you can do it yourself.

To get started, make sure the flooring is nice and clean. Depending on the kind of flooring you have, you may need to sand it down first. If it's a slick surface, such as vinyl, you'll need to de-gloss it so the paint can adhere to it. You can get chemical washes for this at your local paint store.

Once it's prepped, you can then coat it with a primer, followed by the paint.

And, for me personally, I'd go one step further and paint in some type of design. Cookie magazine got some tips from Sunny Goode, owner of Sunny's Paints.

  • Mark out the pattern with tape.
  • Use stencils for complicated designs. The one used above was Sunny's Large Hayden Stencil.
  • Symmetry is key.
  • Cover the floor in an aging glaze if you want a worn-in look.
  • When you're done, cover the entire floor in acrylic polyurethane that will not yellow. You'll need to do this once every few years for maintenance.

Do you like the painted floor look? If you've painted your floors, what color/design did you do?