Should I Paint That? Painting Floors
THEY are right there, literally under our feet – our floors. And we rarely pay them much attention. But a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for a floor of almost any hard material. (Carpets a little less so to be fair.) Whether wood, concrete, tile, lino or plywood, here are our Top 10 Tips for fantastic floors to finish your rooms to perfection:
1. It Is Cheap.
Paint is not very expensive as building and decorating materials go – so you get maximum bang for your buck with taking a tinful to your floor.
2. Plan Your Out
Start at the corner furthest away from the door – or you will literally paint yourself into a corner. Sounds obvious but it is easy to do – then you have footprints across your hard work.
3. Go Tough
Floors get by far the most abuse of your hard surfaces – people literally walk all over them. So your soft satin eggshell finish that is so pretty on the wall probably will not hold up very well. Look for hardwearing and practical paints, maybe coated with polyurethane for protection. And one of the best places to find the hardest wearing paints is at the chandlery – marine grade paint.
4. Dark Does Not Hide Mess
Ask any car detailer – people buy black cars thinking they will not look dirty easily. But as the detailer will tell you, they are wrong. Very wrong. Go dark by all means if you like it, but be aware as a disguiser of dirt it is an epic fail.
5. Pay The Money, Rent A Buffer
If it is a wood floor you need to sand down first, do not try and save the few dollars on a buffer rental. It will pay for itself immediately in the time it saves you and the lack of a very sore back.
6. Make A Statement
It is paint you are using – which means you are limited only by your imagination and artistic skills. No one says your floor has to be one solid color. Unless you want it to be. Cheap masking tape allows easy creation of straight lines – go checkerboard, create a rug, even your family tartan if you like.
7. Have A Bigger Room
Not literally, alas. But it is easy to trick our eyes with optical illusions – and a very easy way to do this is to paint the floors a light color. The room will immediately look and feel larger. A glossy sheen on top magnifies this effect.
8. Splatter Success
Especially useful in high traffic rooms or rooms with lots of moving parts – floors get scratched, chipped and damaged. Instead of always touching up the paint, roll into the punch and intentionally splatter the floor. Not only does it look great but you future proof all that touchup work you will have to otherwise – no one will be able to spot a scratch.
9. Book an Airbnb
Linked to not painting yourself into the corner – your floor is now covered in wet paint. Luckily this is a temporary phenomenon, but if you want to get upstairs to bed you may have a problem. And you have probably had to move all your furniture into another room too. And paint is known to have a smell to it too. So you may want to make the most of it and reward yourself for all your hard work with a meal out and a night away. Or two.
10. Repairs Are Easy
Unlike a burn in the lino or a wine stain on the carpet, paint is very easy to repair. Just add more paint. Make sure you keep the tin so you can just nip round with a brush when needed, or get a color match if you want to go over the whole floor again.
Like always, painting can be a big and overwhelming project and if you think you need some help, PaintPositive wants to be the ones you call. We can take on any project, big or small, and make your life a whole lot simpler. Give us a call today to get your free quote and find out how painting your home, floors included, can be the best choice you make this month.
