2.07.2012

DIY: Faux Hardwood Floors

Two years ago I posted about my studio basement. After being pregnant, moving my invitation and design materials down into the basement from the spare bedroom to make room for the nursery, and having a baby, we finally got around to finishing the basement floors! You will see from the before photos that the floors were a dingy gray with paint splatters. I looked all over the Internet and Pinterest for inspiration and found something that caught my eye. I stumbled upon this cement floor painted to look like dark hardwood floors from TwentySixFiftyEight.



0431

Our house was built in 1930 so the basement floor is very uneven and we wanted to do a paint technique that covered up the flaws of the floor. It is so uneven that another type of floor covering wouldn't work. We decided tot try the technique from above but with lighter brown colors. On a Friday night in January, Gino and I rolled up our sleeves when Luke went to bed, got some Corona Lights, and got down to floor painting business! It took us about 4 hours to complete and it really wasn't as hard as we expected. I am so happy with the results and we now have a clean, organized basement that we can actually spend some time working in. There are a lot of additional things to finish like covering the area under the stairs, repainting the stairs, touching up the walls, painting the celling, finishing the top shelf above the desk, and more random finishing touches. For now, we are very pleased with the outcome and it was just under $80 for the whole project. 

Basement1

Basement2

Basement4

Basement6

Basement3

Basement5
Here is the cost breakdown and step-by-step instructions. 
Tools
Total = $69.72 + tax

IMG_3240
You will notice a Graining Tool in the picture above and we got the idea to use this tool from the blog inspiration in the beginning of the post but it DID NOT WORK! I was a little disappointed but I think the Purdy Wall Weaver Brush actually create a better effect in the end. It might work on a very smooth and flat surface but this tool didn't work at all on our floor. 

IMG_3244
IMG_3245
Step 1: 
  •  Clean the floor thoroughly. We swept a few times because our basement is very dusty from underneath the house.
    IMG_3234
  • Some floors may need sanding or priming but we were going for a naturally flawed effect and didn't mind if any of the gray floor showed through so we didn't do any other prep work. 
Step 2:
  • Start in one corner of the room and roll a 6" wide "plank" with the darker base color to the desired length. We made all our "planks" different lengths so that we had flexibility and so that the floor looked a little more organic and rustic. The reason we used a thick nap stucco roller was so that the paint would get into all the little cracks and crevasses on our floor. If you have a smooth floor, any roller would do.
    IMG_3249
    IMG_3252
Step 3: 
  • Dip the 6" Purdy Wall Weaver Brush lightly in the lighter color paint and gently brush the top of the "plank" blending the colors to the desired effect. We had a few planks were we blended too much and it looked like a very blended light brown color, so be careful not to over brush.
    IMG_3253
Step 4: 
  • For the second row, make the next plank a different length than the first row so that the floor boards look alternating. We didn't outline anything or draw any type of pattern, we just continued to make different lengths as we went along.
  • The lines between the planks are an effect created by brushing mainly in the center of the plank and not blending the top color all the way to the edge of the 6" plank. When you start the brushing, just keep a little space at the top and sides of each plank.
    IMG_3250
    IMG_3251
Step 5: 
  • Repeat. We were lucky enough to end with an almost exact 6" plank on the other side of the room so it worked out well for our space. It might be worth measuring before you begin.
    IMG_3259
    IMG_3256
    IMG_3261The finished room without touch up on the side base wall. IMG_3265IMG_3560IMG_3562IMG_3530IMG_3532IMG_3533IMG_3536

Details
IMG_3586
Still have a place for our family silhouettes but need to add one more for Luke!

IMG_3587


IMG_3538

IMG_3542


IMG_3545


IMG_3564

IMG_3567

IMG_3583

IMG_3563


IMG_3550


IMG_3554


IMG_3548


IMG_3555


IMG_3556
Recent Projects

IMG_3582


IMG_3581


IMG_3580


IMG_3579


IMG_3578

IMG_3577

IMG_3576

IMG_3574


If you have any questions about this project or any of the studio items, feel free to send me an email

10 comments:

  1. That is seriously awesome! I am going to do this to my basement floor! Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome Michele! Would love to see your floor when it's done!

      Delete
  2. This is just so cool! I absolutely love the inspiration you have, the flooring is just gorgeous but what you did is another beautiful thing. I love the design and technique you did. It certainly looks like wood and the color is just amazing. Thank you for sharing this post. This is really an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Having a painted concrete flooring provides the space with warmth and personalized appeal. Adding another protective layer of paint on your flooring is a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These floors look like there were made of bamboo or something. I am impressed with this paining technique! I love the colors you guys chose. Brownish always work well on the floor. If you guys ever would like a real floor top be installed, try one of hardwood floors from these guys: www.pidfloors.com. They have so many variations of floors that are different colors too, so you as a designer will find one that suits your imagination. Check out their InLove collection. It's amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks amazing, this what you can make with a couple of tools, and paiting i would try in my house looks almost like hardwood flooring. Also the pictures of before and after are amazing. Thanks 4 share your tips

    ReplyDelete
  6. Everything seems nice, but I would make other type of flooring :) Believe me, it would look much nicer if it would be for example like these ones- EpoksidinÄ—s grindys dangos :) believe me, it would be also long lasting and price is even lover than yours :) So next time consider, maybe it is really better choice for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. The best reliable hardwood floor sanding and floor installation services in Chicago North and West suburbs. Sanding Wood Floor installation and sanding. Wood floor polishing, sanding, staining, finishing, engineering, laminate, baseboard installation, baseshoe installation. hardwood floor installation

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...