Every week I receive dozens of questions from you… which is absolutely amazing! Unfortunitely I can’t answer each and every one of them (although I do try) but I make sure to answer at least one question each week in my weekly newsletter where you get behind the scenes tips, tricks and fun information.
Of course, some of the questions I receive are short and sweet… quick to answer. BUT some of those questions have long answers… answers I think the rest of my readers just may benefit from. So here are those answers! Starting with today’s question:
Hello,
I recently moved back into my home after taking care of my parents for several years. I am strapped for money and would like to do something to my bathroom floor it is now bare concrete and I am at a loss as for what to do. I am disabled and can’t do anything really hard. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary,
It sounds like you’ve been a busy little bee! I completely understand how it feels to want to do a few projects around the house but need to do them as *ahem* economically as possible. So I sat down to think of a few ideas for your bathroom.
With a bare concrete floor you have a couple options: tile, hardwoods, carpet (please don’t put carpet in a bathroom!!), paint or stain! If you’re looking for an inexpensive solution paint or stain is definitely going to be more cost effective *ahem* read: cheaper then putting in a bit of brand new flooring.
Of course, I’m not sure what you’re able to accomplish being disabled so I’m simply going to give you all the fun suggestions I can and hope that one of them works for your situation! Out of all the solutions to spruce up your bare concrete a painted floor is probably my favorite (no surprise there… I may be known for my love of paint).
If you decide to go ahead with a painted concrete floor here are a couple of tips:
Pick a LARGE Scale Floor Stencil
Trust me if you’re painting an entire floor a large (physically large) stencil will make your job go so much much (much!) faster. Think of a 20″x20″ or larger… just make sure it’s not so big that you can’t physically handle it by yourself… or make sure to have a little help on hand!
Choose a Stencil with Enough Detail to Hide Any Imperfections!
Alright y’all I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not the best stenciler… stencil user? Even if you do all the steps perfectly there’s the chance that you’ll have a bit of a mess up in some form or fashion. If you pick a stencil with crisp clear lines any mistakes are much more likely to stand out like a sore thumb. A stencil with a bit of detail will help to camouflage your paint mistakes (just like a chameleon).
Bonus! Not only will a stencil with a bit of pattern hide any of your painting imperfections it will hide any imperfections that your floor may have. The problem with painting concrete is that it’s poured with the intention that eventually it will be covered… so it probably has a few little imperfections here and there. A stencil with pattern and movement will help to disguise this and make the floor flow. Score!
Make Sure to Use a Floor Paint
As I’ve said *ahem* several times… not all paint is created equal. Make sure that if you’re painting the floor you use something like Sherwin William’s Porch and Floor Enamel that is graded for being walked on. Not to get tooooooo technical but it’s also graded for being painted on a horizontal plane which is completely different than being graded for being painted on a vertical plane. Like a wall.
That’s a lot of hoopla mumbo jumbo but what it means is if you use a normal wall paint on your floor it won’t dry properly and probably will stay tacky for a long time to come. Okay… I’m getting off my soap box now!
Sometimes my way too logical assistant manager at a paint store mind takes over and I just can’t keep from saying the oh-so-technical-answer.
If you’d ever had to fix a porch floor that had been tacky for 3 months you’d jump straight to the don’t-go-there-super-technical answer too!
In the meantime here they are… 15 gorgeous painted floor ideas that will rock your bathroom makeover.
Just click on each photo to check out the source and decide if it’s the perfect stencil for you!
Well that was just a little bit of inspiration!! I hope that gives you an idea of what you can do with your floor Mary!
Good luck with your bathroom… I’d love to see pictures!
XOXO, Betsy
If you have a question don’t forget to join my email list… you’ll receive an email that you can respond to with your question. Then who knows… you may just get an answer right here on the blog.
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