Our recent sunroom floor staining debacle led us away from semi-transparent floor finishes (which are fabulous for raw concrete but don’t work as well over previously stained concrete) and towards solid floor treatments that are yummy and glossy and opaque. So here’s how we got it done.
We quickly learned that oil-based porch and floor paint was the best candidate for the room (since latex based floor paints can’t bond to a previously stained concrete surface) and at Lowe’s we happily discovered Valspar’s High Performance Oil-Based Porch & Floor Paint in a perfect chocolate brown color called Brownstone (here’s an affiliate link to it over on Amazon if you can’t find it in stores).
We’d been longing for a rich brown tone to tie into the adjoining room’s hardwood flooring, and Brownstone was a match made in floor paint heaven. Since the stuff is “extremely durable and resists scuffing while retaining its high gloss appearance” it was the perfect solution for our high traffic sunroom. And not only is it great for concrete floors, it can also be used on wood floors and primed metal so it’s definitely something to keep in mind for any of the floors in your home that have seen better days.
So without further ado, we bring you the simple five step tutorial to painting your floor:
Step 1: Ensure that the floor is squeaky clean. This can be accomplished by thoroughly vacuuming and then going over your floor with a mildly soapy wet rag and waiting for the floor to dry completely before moving onto the next step. Additionally, if you’re painting a wood floor, any splintered or rough parts should be sanded or patched before moving on to the painting process.
Step 2: Edge the perimeter of the entire floor (about 4 inches or so) with a good quality brush that won’t leave any bristles behind. Oil based paint is deliciously glossy, which can makes things like errant paintbrush bristles stuck to the floor more obvious than a matte floor finish would.
Step 3: Use a paint roller with an extended pole attachment to coat the entire floor with one coat of paint. Roll in long even strokes and make a “w” pattern on the floor with the roller to eliminate any obvious paint globs from the side of the roller. Don’t forget to be smart about painting yourself out of the room as oil paint takes a looong time to dry before you can walk on it again.
Step 4: If you’re lucky, one coat of paint will do the trick. In our sunroom it would have except that we missed a couple of teeny slivers of the floor and wanted to go over the whole thing again for good measure and a uniform finish. You must wait at least a full 24 hours before applying a second coat, and even after 24 hours you may notice that your first coat isn’t completely dry (you may see subtle footprints as you walk across the floor) but you can proceed with your second coat since it’ll gloss over everything and leave it looking shiny and perfect again.
Step 5: Wait at least 6 full days to walk on your new floor. It may feel like torture, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. And after almost a week of avoiding the space, you’ll be super excited to move in all of your furniture and make yourself at home. It should be noted that oil-paint is especially toxic and super stiiinky, so keeping a ceiling fan going and the windows open for the full 6 days is a smart idea (which means implementing that plan before the second coat since you won’t have access to the room afterwards).
So there you have it, a simple five step process to fantastic new flooring. Here’s ours looking all glossy and fabulous (like melted chocolate, I tell ya). We love the rich, uniform tone and the luxe sheen, and we’ve both noticed that the room looks a whole lot more “finished” with the newly painted floor.
We also love how it ties in with the dark brown window sashes around the entire room, and makes our white furniture pop even more than it did against our old orangey-gold floor.
And perhaps the most exciting thing of all is how the newly painted sunroom floor so perfectly ties into our existing hardwood floor in the adjoining laundry nook and den. It’s an almost seamless transition which makes the sunroom seem a lot more cohesive (it no longer screams “add-on”) thanks to the uniform floor color and super luxe sheen.
We hope our fast and furious floor painting tutorial has been of help. And of course feel free to send us your floor painting before and afters (we eat that stuff for breakfast). Happy rolling!
PS: If you want to learn how to just stain your concrete floor, we have a full tutorial for using a semi-transparent stain.
PPS: You can also see how we later added a decorative stencil with paint to this floor to add even more interest!
It looks super rich and the wood interior floors and patio floor look great next to each other!
Excellent Job! This looks beautiful!
It really looks both fab and classy I must say! Congrats on a fab job, as always!
I’m moving into a studio apartment soon with my hubby and two dogs (yikes!!). Your decoration skills have served as a great inspiration for me when deciding what to buy for the new apartment. I’ll be sure to send you a couple of pics once we have moved in, if you’d like some?
Looks amazingly comfy and beautiful. Do you mind sharing where you got your fabric/linens for the daybed?
WOW! I’m impressed! I’m really envying the color and sheen, Great job.
Looks, great! The floors DO look like melted chocolate… bad if you are a chocoholic like me. :)
BTW, you have wood floors in your laundry area. How does that work? Have you have any water damage?
We are planning on installing wood floors and I’m not sure if to take them into the laundry area and 1/2 bath or not.
Anyone else that has wood floors in these areas let me know how it works for you. (Sorry for the change of subject)
this looks amazing! the finished product looks just that…finished. the space was cute before, but now it really shines. thanks for the ideas!
Lovely end-product as usual.
You’re on a roll! Now what kind of hip finish can be added to a classic blacktop driveway?
I dare you to stencil it. (I’m kidding. Don’t stencil it.)
It almost looks like wood. Amazing! It’s probably too cold here for concrete floors, but I love them.
Oh wow–it looks amazing! I’m so impressed. And I love how you put the room together, too. It’s lovely! I also wanted to tell you I love your blog so much I chose it as one of my favorites to receive some odd, weirdly spelled cyberspace award that could use a little Photoshop tlc. But it seems to big a big deal around the neighborhood so I wanted to come knocking on your door with it. The only catch is you need to let me move in with you. Only kidding, heehee. Details on my blog if you’re interested in playing along!
Nice job on the floor. I like the richness of the colour.
this looks so nice! the glossy floors and all the windows… sigh. great job, like always.
Hey everyone,
So glad our floor painting tutorial was such a hit. Please send us pics if you attempt the project yourselves- and Amanda, of course we’d love to see some pics of your new apartment whether you paint the floors or not.
As for Katie’s query about the daybed linens, it’s just a twin fitted sheet from Ikea in a tan color, three 24″ floor pillows that we covered in some Linens N’ Things pillow cases for back support and tossed on the bed, two throw pillows on sale from Bed Bath & Beyond and a fun woven bolster from West Elm (on sale for $9!).
Tatyana, as for your wood floor question, our whole house is hardwood save for our master bathroom which has original vintage tile. We intentionally opted to carry the hardwood all the way through our half bathroom and our laundry area during our remodel last year as we think that in a small house like ours a seamless look keeps things feeling more open and spacious. We’ve never had any issues with either the wood floor in the bathroom or the laundry room (knock on wood) and we’ve found that it’s a very durable and easy to care for surface. We also remembered to order some extra flooring, which we have laying around in case a flooring issue pops up in the future. Hardwood is actually really easy to patch, so it’s nice to have a little extra stock just in case. Hope that helps!
ErinEvelyn, we’re truly stumped for driveway swankification ideas. Actually I think leaving pavement well enough alone and adding some pretty shrubs and flowers around the perimeter (in decorative pots or in planting beds) would be all the gussying up a driveway needs. Although painting a shuffleboard court on it in green oil paint could be very cool for cookouts and such…
G&D, thanks a million for the oddly spelled cyberspace award that you so generously bestowed upon us. We’d like to thank the academy and WordPress and my first grade english teacher Mrs. Martin…
xoxo,
Sherry
hey im a general contractor and i’ve painted NUMEROUS floors. from hardwood to concrete to just plain dirt (not easy) and i just want to give you a little hint for your next floor :) if u dumo the paint in the middle of the room (like half of the gallon) and then spread it all around with your paint roller, it will leave an amazing glossy finish and you wont have any roller marks :D just remember to cut in around all of your edges, corners, and whatever else you dont want to get paint on! hope this helped a little!
Thanks for the tip!
xo
s
I’ve been reading your blog for a bit now, and when I saw this post, I just had to pop my head in and say how very fabulous your floor looks! I’m very keen on painted floors, and this one is just so lovely! Beautiful job!
What hardware did you use to hang the curtains in this room? Do you have small individual rods in each corner?
Hey Alexis,
John actually wove twine through the curtain tabs and used nails in the molding to wrap the twine around (thereby securing the curtains). He’s quite the McGuyver, isn’t he? Here’s the post about it:
https://www.younghouselove.com/2007/11/beachy-keen/
Happy hanging!
xoxo,
Sherry
Love this! What is the name of the color that you used?
Hey Amanda,
We used Valspar’s High Performance Oil-Based Porch & Floor Paint in “Brownstone.” Hope it helps. Happy painting!
xoxo,
Sherry
Sherry,
I love your sunroom! Where did you get that beautiful daybed?
Hey Megan,
The daybed was a wedding gift from John’s god mother and hails from West Elm. Hope it helps! Happy hunting…
xo,
Sherry
Mismatched or not, John still looks super cute
The floor looks fabulous! My husband and I have considered either painting or staining our covered patio – do you have to etch the concrete prior to staining or painting to ensure that the paint/stain will adhere to the concrete? I’m hoping that you don’t have to, as I would LOVE to skip that step!
I love love love your floor! We have beige ceramic tile floor throughout our condo and I hate it. Your project got me thinking about what it would look like painted too. Has anyone done this? I found directions and it doesn’t seem too hard but would like to see some pictures or hear some feedback from people who have tried it before my hubby and I take it on.
Hey Mallory,
We’ve never painted a ceramic floor but I’d imagine it would call for some special steps since ceramic tiles are so slick that I’d worry about proper adhesion. There’s a technique called tile reglazing, and they now sell at-home kits, so these days I’m not surprised if there’s a totally DIY way to do it! If you do end up taking the plunge, definitely send us before and after pictures along with the rundown of how it all went. Good luck!
xo,
Sherry
Amanda and John,
Great work! My husband and I are facing some of the same design dilemmas with our house and you’ve inspired us to start working on it. We recently removed the carpet off of our stairs and were hoping we could make it work with just the exposed untreated cement. I was wondering how you cleaned all the carpet residue off your sunroom floor and/or if you had to do anything else to prepare (other than cleaning) before you painted.
Hey Karina,
Good question! Our carpet was actually not stapled or glued down (it was just cut to size and dropped into our sunroom) so we didn’t have any residue to deal with. But the good news is that if you’re using a paint (which is opaque) and not a stain (which can be transparent) it should go right over any markings or unsightly discolorations and look seamless and wonderful in the end. Just be sure to scrub the concrete with soap and water (to get rid of any raised fuzz or dirt that can easily be removed) and let it thoroughly dry before painting. That should do it! Hope it helps. Happy painting…
xo,
Sherry
You youngsters are a constant inspiration to me! I have two rooms with concrete floors in our partially finished basement, and I think I might just give this project a try. I have never worked with oil based paint though – only latex in my household! So the big question for me is, how hard is it to clean up your oil brushes and rollers? Do you clean with paint thinner? Mineral spirits?
I’ve heard that oil based paints are much more durable so since this is a floor, I think it just might be worth the hassle of cleaning up sans water. Any thoughts or tips before I take the plunge into oil-based painting?
Hey Juliet,
We must admit that when it comes to oil-based paint, we’ve tried paint thinner to clean up rollers and brushes but they’re never the same so in the rare occurrences that we work with oil, we usually wrap the roller or brush in plastic wrap to ensure that we can apply all the coats of paint that are necessary for the job and then pitch them when they’re done. It’s totally worth the cost of a brush and a roller for the durability and quality in the end (be sure to not only use oil paint for the floors, but to use oil-based porch and floor paint that’s made to stand up to foot traffic for a flawless, lasting finish). We’re just sorry we can’t figure out the magic formula to save our brush and roller! If anyone else has cracked the code, feel free to chime in!
xoxo,
Sherry
Do you know if this would work for an outdoor covered (but not enclosed) patio? I’d like to repaint our patio but I’m not sure what to use.
Hey Kate,
You’ll definitely want to check the label of the specific porch and floor paint that you end up purchasing but we’re 99.9% sure that it’s perfect for an outdoor patio (even if it’s not enclosed). As far as we know, all porch and floor paint is interior/exterior and meant to stand up to high traffic indoors or outdoors so it should work really well. Good luck!
xoxo,
Sherry
We just pulled up carpet at our cabin that was glued to the plywood; what do you think about just painting over the glue left on the wood? There is no way to get it off its 40 years old and I am lazy!
Hey Sue,
Although it’s tempting to go right to painting (thinking it will hide imperfections), painting actually emphasizes anything that’s lumpy, smudged or otherwise marred so it’s waaaaay better to do your best to minimize or remove that glue before reaching for your paint brush. We’d suggest sanding it down to get rid of the raised texture that will definitely be even more obvious once you paint everything the same color. If sanding doesn’t work you can also check out Home Depot or Lowe’s for a glue-removing solvent that can be applied to dissolve the lumpy glue (it’ll do the work for you!). Hope it helps! Happy painting…
xo,
Sherry
A good brush is the key to a good paint job and to buy a cheapie just because you can’t deal with cleaning it is a shame. Part of the joy of laying down a new paint job is the feel of the brush and paint in your hand.
Here’s how to use and clean a brush. First, if you are using oil based paints make sure you are using a bristle brush specifically designed for oil paints. Secondly, when painting, dip the brush in the paint only half way up the length of the bristles. Brush bristles have a capillary type action and draw the paint up the length of the bristle. Dipping the brush higher than the half way mark will ensure that paint finds its way into the ferrule (the metal part), then your brush is ruined and can never be cleaned or restored.
After painting, wipe the brush as dry as you can get it with a lint-free rag. Be sure to dispose of the rag in a container that will ensure you do not experience spontaneous combustion. Oil soaked rags will ignite, use caution. Once you have wiped most of the paint off the brush, using paint thinner, (mineral spirits, not turpentine), fill a jar, cans, etc. with about 3-4″ of thinner. Swirl the brush around in that, remove immediately and wipe with clean rag. Take another can, jar, etc. and pour fresh thinner into that, swirl brush again, wipe w/clean rag. Find a place where you can smack the brush back and forth rapidly against a post or metal pole…something that will allow you to get the brush as dry as possible. Using dish soap and warm water, wash the brush out several times. Rinse w/clear water and allow to dry flat or with bristles pointing up. Never, Never let a brush “soak” or sit in paint thinner or any solution. It will warp the bristles and allow solvent to enter the ferrule and compromise the glue which holds the bristles in place.
Treat your brush like your best friend because it is. This is not hard to do but it just requires several steps more than cleaning a brush for latex paint. The same rules apply however for latex brushes as for oil, never let your brush sit in water to soak.
Happy painting!
Rodd
P.S. After 24 hours, the containers of mineral spirits you used to clean the brushes will settle out. The paint solids will fall to the bottom and you can decant the paint thinner for use on another project. The dried paint which remains in the bottom of the container can then be disposed of.
amazing! you guys do amazing work!!!
I wanted to let you know that your room-by-room lists this paint floor color as Behrs brownstone. So we just went and bought a quart of it (there is such a color!) I was tipped off when I remembered that you did an oil-based paint but Home Depot said that they don’t carry an Oli based floor paint so I came to check it out.
Anyway, above you say Valspar. I am assuming that is correct.
Oh well, we will try out this brownstone and see if we likey! Perhaps it was a happy accident just so we could find this color!!
Thanks for all youe resources!
Hey Stephanie,
So sorry about the mix up! Thanks for letting us know- we just went back and changed it to Valspar (which is correct). Our fingers are crossed that the color you picked up is perfect but we’ve also had luck returning “non returnable” paints by explaining that we accidentally picked up the wrong one (they’re usually super understanding and haven’t turned us away once). Hope it helps! Happy painting…
xo,
s
Thanks! Actually the nice paint lady at Home Depot was super understanding and told us we could bring it back if it didn’t work! We just bought a quart to try it out and we have painted a little swatch on floor and…we like it! We will see what it looks like in the daylight! But I think we may have a winner! Thanks for posting all your info! It is so helpful to go with a color you have seen in action!… even though I guess officially we DIDN’T go with the color we saw in action…oh well. You know what I mean.
PS
We are painting the floors in our whole house until we have saved enough for ‘real’ flooring. You say not to walk on it for 6 days. That is impossible in some areas of our home like the hallway, ect. Would it be different with latex??
Or should I ask the nice paint lady…
Hey Stephanie,
Good question! Latex paint definitely cures up faster than oil-based porch and floor paint (which is known to take a while to dry) but you’ll get the best durability with the oil-based stuff. I’d definitely check with the nice paint lady to see what she recommends! Is there any way you can get creative to make it work (sleeping on an air mattress in another room and using the gym to shower instead of the bathroom down the hall, etc). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi…I’ll soon be needing to replace 40 y/o carpet in a LR and DR that have no hardwood beneath. But, I can’t afford the hardwood.
Any idea if painted subfloor can work out? I love painted wood, so it’s no sacrifice…wondered if you have any suggestions.
Hey Laura,
Painted subfloor has a habit of looking a bit budget (since it doesn’t really resemble hardwood flooring), but perhaps doing a number of coats in a super glossy finish might look a bit more upscale?
xo,
s
Your floor looks incredible! And, like everyone else it seems, you all have been inspirational for me during my home remodeling projects. Of course I have a question so here goes: I know that you painted your floor after you had stained it. If you are just going to paint it does it need to be etched? Or will a cement primer work as well? Thanks so much for answering all the posted questions! I was just about to ask what to do about glue on the cement and I saw that you had already answered. Fantastic!
Hey Rachel,
Good old porch and floor paint should stick like glue to concrete whether you etch it or prime it. There are enough self-priming ingredients that you should be able to skip right to painting after giving your floor a thorough cleaning.
xo,
s
any experience / ideas with painting an outdoor concrete patio? (our’s actually goes across the width of the house in the back and wraps around to the front where its the driveway).
Hey Danielle,
The good news is that concrete paint and stain is all-weather and meant to be used either indoors or outdoors so you can do the same thing outside as you would inside. It might be nice to stain your concrete patio a warm sandy color just for a bit of dimension, and of course painting it a rich tone like chocolate brown would also add some nice drama and definition. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
in regards to doing this on an outside covered patio, what about the dry time involved and since being outside, the possibility of getting objects from Mother Nature on it before it has dried?????? Can this be covered with plastic or something?
I would just try to do it on a dry day without of wind so nothing blows on it. It should dry pretty fast but take some more time to cure (if a leaf falls on it it’s fine but you don’t want to walk on it right away).
xo,
s
We are buying a house that has a “den” which is the living room- an addition that steps down from the rest of the pier-and-beam foundation. It’s a concrete slab underneath carpet and we are thinking of either staining/painting the concrete, but we may just replace the carpet.
I love the rich chocolate look of your floors, but I am worried about the den ceiling (which is medium brown oak beadboard). I feel like the room will be very dark (we have dark wood furnishings) with wood ceiling, dark floors, etc, even though there is plenty of natural light. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hey Megan,
Have you considered painting the ceiling bright white to immediately lighten everything up and make the room feel about a foot taller? No pressure if that’s not something you’d like to do, just throwing it out there as an easy fix. You could also go with a medium sandy tan tone on the floors instead of going deep chocolate to keep things feeling warm and rich without going too dark. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I saw your comment on “no need to etch” before painting. Do you have to etch concrete before using the Behr concrete semi-transparent stain? or can you just prime and paint? The “can” says to etch the concrete first. I’ve been told the stain would not adhere correctly without etching first. However, I find it hard to saturate an interior floor to that extent (etching process) without damaging sheetrock and baseboards.
Hey Cathy,
In our experience, concrete is incredibly porous. It sucks up paint and stain and anything else you toss onto it like a sponge. So we believe that etching is not necessary and did not do it when we stained ours (which looked great and remained perfect under some pretty heavy foot traffic over the span of a few years). Perhaps the etching step is necessary if the concrete has been sealed or they’re just suggesting it to be safe, but in our experience it wasn’t necessary at all. You can always do a small test spot without etching to see how it goes first. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love your floor, my husband and I actually just refinished the hardwood in our house a dark brown color, but refinishing was back-breaking work, and we don’t have the energy to put all of that into our bedroom wood floor, although it needs serious help. We were thinking about painting the floor the same color you used in your sunroom, but I’m not sure if that will look good or not…It looks great on yours, but do you think it would look equally good on wood or would that be a major mistake?? We can’t really afford putting in carpet right now, and this seems like the most feasible solution.
Thanks for your inspirational blog,
Anne
Definitely go for it! It’ll look lush, lovely and rich- for a lot less money and work. Plus you can check out this old Reader Redesign where the homeowner painted her bedroom floors chocolate for an amazing result: https://www.younghouselove.com/2008/09/reader-redesign-craving-chocolate/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
WOW! This is gorgeous! We are in Texas and have considered painting/staining our living room floor. The carpet has got to go and it would be convenient if we could just paint the concrete underneathe. However, this may be a question for a Texas realtor, but do you find that painting concrete makes for good resale value over re-carpeting?
Thanks a bunch!
Hey Jen,
It’s definitely a question you could ask a realtor but we would venture to guess that anything you can do to your unfinished concrete to make it look more finished, warm and cozy would be a good thing. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
My husband and I saw your site and love this idea for our family room, which was a garage about 6 months ago. We were wondering if you would have primed your floors if they had not been previously stained? Also what type of cleaner did you use?
Thank You.
Hey Jennifer,
Nope, concrete is super porous so just go straight to painting after sweeping/vacuuming and wiping everything down with mild soap and water (and waiting for it to dry of course). Oh and be sure to use porch and floor paint which is meant to stand up to foot traffic. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love your blog! You’ve inspired me to tackle my basement. Please tell me if I’m getting myself into a lot of work but here’s what I’m thinking. I have two bedrooms and a 3/4 bathroom in the basement along with what will eventually be a large family room. I’m thinking of painting the floors in the bedrooms and the family room a medium brown (haven’t looked at colors yet!) then going back over it with a lighter brown then hitting it with a wood grain tool to attempt to make it look like the hardwood that is throughout the main floor. The bathroom would probably start out a light gray with “grout lines” painted in later. Do you think this would work?
Sarah
Hey Sarah,
It probably would look nice but it would definitely be a lot of work! Perhaps trying the treatment in a closet or a corner of one of your rooms before going for it in a number of rooms all at once would make the most sense? We definitely think it may resemble the appearance of hardwood, but people probably won’t be fooled as the feeling of walking on concrete and wood is very different (people can even usually tell the difference between wood laminate flooring and hardwood flooring, so the comparison of concrete and wood will probably be obvious). If you’re just going for a similar look and don’t specifically plan on fooling people, it should definitely work though! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Does tne paint come in a matte or semi-gloss finish do you klnow? We need it for our outdoor concrete porch that is covered by a roof in the front of our house.
SW
Good question! I believe it comes in both and we went with the semi-gloss for easy cleaning (the sheen does not make it slippery, which is definitely a good thing). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey guys,
We are wanting to do this in our den/living room that is an add-on (2 steps down on a concrete slab from the rest of the house that is pier and beam). The concrete is not previously treated, just raw with lots of marks/stains/paint drips. When we got the rest of the floor in our house refinished (original hardwood), we had our floor guy go ahead and sand the concrete too to get it smooth…we didn’t want to do carpet there since it opens up to the back patio/yard. Do we need to do an muratic acid wash prior to painting since it’s raw concrete or just vacuum/sweep and wash gently? Thanks!
Yup, it sounds like you’re good to go with a good vacuum/sweep. Good luck!
xo,
s
I am very excited by your actual design projects. I have gotten so many ideas from your website on what to do with my basement. We have new construction and the walls are constructed with this faux type of brick. So I was inspired by your living room, I primed the walls white so far, and will paint them the glidden color Wishes. I plan to do the floor like your sunroom floor. I have researched all these websites on how to paint concrete floors. People make it to difficult to keep up. Your website made it so simple.
I would like to know did you put any type of epoxy to protect the color on the sun room floor? And also, the paint Wishes is it flat, semi-gloss, high gloss?
Thanks for your website and inspiring home projects,
Hey Marisol,
We didn’t apply any epoxy since porch and floor paint is meant to hold up to foot traffic on it’s own (and layering anything might actually have made it less durable since it’s meant to be applied alone). As for Wishes, it’s by Glidden and it comes in a number of finishes (flat, semi-gloss, high gloss, etc) but for walls not in a wet environment (like a bathroom or kitchen) we always use flat paint (which hides the most imperfections). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
If you have bare concrete do you need to prime it before you apply this brown color to it as you did on your sunroom?
Nope, no need to prime (we didn’t prime ours and any bare concrete will happily suck up any paint or stain that you apply). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’d like to repaint our basement floor to tide us over until we can refinish the basement. The floor we inherited is partially painted and that paint has chipped off in some spots. What would be the best way to prepare this floor before we begin repainting? Would we use the same type of paint etc. that you used in your sunroom?
Hey Susan,
Good question! So good in fact that we’re not sure. We would ask the paint professional at your home improvement store to suss things out. Good luck!
xo,
s
Your floor looks like it has color gradation, like its not a flat brown color. Is that just because of the concrete’s original texture? Or did you use several coats of paint in different colors? I’m starting this project in my own basement next week and just wanted to make sure I get results similar to yours. Thanks.
Hey Ruth,
After being painted (not stained, which does have a gradation) the floor is all one tone, so it’s just the camera playing tricks on you. No gradation at all since the paint is opaque. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey, I am about to move into an apartment with concrete floors. The realtor says that they are going to paint the floor before I move in and that I can help choose the color if I want. I’d rather go with a stain but I guess it had already been painted (a really ugly primer color) so they are just gonna re-paint it something better. Can you suggest a good color? This would be for the entire apartment. I want to make sure it’s something that would look good with any kind of color scheme… kinda hoping for something that can simulate the look of stained concrete or even hardwoods. Help?
Hey Lauren,
Try Valspar’s Brownstone. It’s a nice mocha color that we have in our sunroom and our basement and it matches the hardwoods throughout the rest of the house (and goes with just about anything). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Great! Yours looks beautiful, I just wasn’t sure if you recommended it for an entire apartment or not. :)
Another quick question- how do you clean it now? swiffer, vacuum, other?
Hey Lauren,
We just sweep dust and leaves and things into a pile and use the dustpan to pick stuff up. It’s really an easy-care surface. Hope it helps!.
xo,
s
I’m confused on your answers about priming before painting a concrete floor. You said that priming is not needed because cement is super porous. I thought this was exactly the reason why a person WOULD prime first? In other words, since the concrete is so porous and soaks up so much paint, isn’t the job of the primer to even this out and make the actual topcoat nice and even and make sure the entire surface is uniformly receptive to the topcoat instead of some areas being more and some less porous?
Hey Bob,
We’re just sharing the steps we took when we painted our floor and we didn’t prime so that’s our recommendation since our floor worked out so well. We easily got the job done (seamlessly and evenly) with one gallon of porch and floor paint (with tons leftover- in fact we later used the rest to paint the floor in our basement)- so buying a gallon of primer would have definitely been an added unnecessary expense in our case. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks. Probably the companies that make paint would want you to prime, each and every time, but experience tells us that this is not always necessary. By the way, when doing research for my project I see that one brand says it is a self-priming product. In other words, the first coat is considered the primer and the second coat considered as the actual topcoat. The other brand recommends priming first with the traditional separate primer.
My second question is about oil vs. latex. You obviously had good luck with oil. One brand that I’m looking at (the kind that recommends using a separate primer first) doesn’t even make an oil product. I don’t like working with oil if I can help it because it’s a bit more difficult to clean up and not as easy as soap and water. Do you have any experiences with latex floor paint whereby you think that oil is that much better?
In our experience oil-based floor paint is far superior to latex (in durability and longevity) so that’s what we recommend. And as we mentioned we don’t think primer is necessary, so just going with an oil-based porch and floor paint like the Valspar brand we used would be what we suggest. Hope it helps!
xo,
s