Jazz Them Up
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Just because it's underfoot, don't overlook your floor's potential to be a style-maker. Whether it's an old wood floor in need of a spruce-up, or tile flooring chosen by a previous homeowner (who must have been color-blind), these ideas will have you treading happily.
This floor design is made up of alternating 5-inch-wide and 7-inch-wide planks. The full width of the 5-inch-wide boards is painted green. The 7-inch-wide boards are painted with narrow green stripes. If needed, adjust the pattern measurements to fit the boards of your floor. Use each plank as one unit of width instead of following the measurement. On all other floors, simply mark the pattern as shown.
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How-to: Prepare the porch surface by scraping away old flaking paint, filling any gouges, and sanding the surface smooth. Pound in any nails that may have risen over the years. Tape off every other plank; these will be solid green. For the remaining boards, run a row of low-tack painter's tape parallel to the first tape, leaving 1/2 inch of floor exposed. Run a rigid plastic card along the tape to seal it to the floor. Paint the full planks and narrow stripes green or a color of your choice.
Paint a Kitchen Floor
A coat or two of acrylic latex interior/exterior floor enamel topped with polyurethane fixes a vinyl floor you're tired of, probably for the short term. Just remember: The patterned texture of the vinyl shows through the paint. If you're unsure if you'll like the look, experiment in a hidden spot, such as under the refrigerator.
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How-to: To begin, assess the condition of your vinyl. If it has holes and dents, it's not a candidate for a painted finish. If the vinyl is shiny, you'll need to sand it thoroughly with medium-grit sandpaper to dull the slippery sheen; remove the dust your create. If the vinyl is smooth but dull and worn, it's perfect for this process. Use a liquid deglosser on both sanded vinyl and worn vinyl. The deglosser improves the bonding ability of the paint. Most deglossers require that you paint the primer coat within a short time span (read the label on the product you're using).
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Apply a good-quality primer using a sponge applicator or a roller. If you're painting a large area, use a tool that will speed and ease your work, such as a roller with a long handle that lets you stand up to paint. Let the primer dry. Then, paint two coats of the base color. Add designs by sponging, combing, or spattering paint. Stencils work well for repeated patterns. For geometrics or stripes, use quick-release masking tape or low-tack painter's tape. Finish the floor by brushing on several coats of nonyellowing polyurethane.
Tips: To paint this vinyl, we used two coordinating shades of blue-gray. The lightest color served as the base coat. This works because it's easier to paint dark over light than the opposite. To ensure that the paint was dry before we added the second color, we tested the paint by applying masking tape to a hidden area. We checked a few hours later to make sure we could remove the tape without removing the base coat. We used quick-release masking tape to create clean edges for painting the darker squares.
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Paint and Stain
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A painted design can revive a worn, old wood floor. To achieve this bold treatment (right), start with the latex base coat in a vibrant color. When the base coat is dry, make marks at even intervals along the baseboards of opposite walls for the stripes. (The stripes pictured here occur every 14 inches; a good rule of thumb is the larger the room, the wider you should space the stripes to avoid a busy look.) String a chalk line between marks on opposite walls and snap a line on which to paint the stripe freehand. Fill a 4-inch or wider brush with paint and trace over the chalk line. When the stripes are dry, scatter paper cutouts of the flowers across the floor and stand back to see if the placement is pleasing. If it is, work with one spot at a time; paint the flowers and leaves with acrylic crafts paints. Seal the entire floor with clear polyurethane.
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If you love the textural grain of a wood floor and want an interesting pattern, stain can be a gorgeously creative option, as this living room floor illustrates (left). With the furniture cleared out, sand the floor until it is smooth and the old varnish is gone. Then, tape off a geometric design and carefully fill in a section at a time with latex stain in a variety of colors (this floor features dark brown, red-brown, blue, and green). When the stain is dry, seal the floor with matte-finish clear polyurethane.
Stencil and Decoupage
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For those who don't trust their artistic skills, stencils are a virtually foolproof way to achieve a personalized painted design. This subfloor (the plywood layer that's beneath most flooring surfaces) was painted robin's egg blue, then stenciled fruit and leaf motifs were added around at the corners (right). Start with one stencil, such as the melon, and layer on other stencils as you see fit. For best results, tape the stencil in place and use a stencil brush to daub on paint. Let the layers dry completely before adding another.
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Take decoupage to a whole new level -- floor level. Applying paper designs to a floor (left) creates eye-catching details without major labor. Because this is a decorative treatment, it's best featured in corners or along the edges of a floor where there is little traffic. Apply the paper cutouts (taken from magazines or old books, or purchased at a crafts store) with a water-base sealer suitable for decoupage. Working in the direction of the planks to avoid tearing the paper, smooth out air bubbles beneath the paper using a paintbrush. Apply a coat of the water-base sealer on top, then protect the design with two coats of clear, satin-finish polyurethane.
Other Clever Ideas
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This homeowner created a resourceful and economical solution to save her deeply damaged plank wood floor. First, she sanded away the old finish. Then, using a router and a specially designed template, her cabinetmaker cut away rotten portions of the planks. After whitewashing the floor using a 1:1 mixture of white paint and water, and sealing it with six coats of clear polyurethane, the homeowner filled in the holes with 3 x 3-inch ceramic tiles in random colors (right) that she picked up on sale. Be sure to set the tiles level with the floor surface to keep people from tripping.
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This inventive floor treatment (left) reveals the power of a paper grocery bag. No, it's not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but it does pretty well at masquerading as a terra cotta tile. Here's how to get the look: Working with a cardboard template, rip paper bags into rectangular "stone" so the edges have a ragged, irregular look. With a wallpaper brush, spread vinyl-to-vinyl wallpaper adhesive on the backs of the stones and position them on the flooring. Allow space between the stones so the beige vinyl can show through as "grout." Work out air pockets and seal the edges with a wallpaper roller. After the paste dries, stamp silverware designs on the floor, then seal it with five coats of water-base polyurethane.
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