February 14, 2010

Painted Floors - Have Some Fun!

Sweet paint-by-letters floor in a nautically-inspired nursery. Odeedoh

The large percentage of a room's surface area is the floor. Why not have fun with it? Add color? Make a statement? Painted floors are now entirely possible with healthy and durable floor paints that are easy to maintain.

Glossy aqua floor paint punches up the style in this classic kitchen.

Given the expense of the reclaimed antique heart pine and stone flooring on the main level of THE CONCORD GREEN HEALTHY HOME, money will be saved by painting remnant oak strip on the second level, and the subflooring itself in the attic loft. Plus, painted floors will lend a lovely cottage feel to all of those spaces.

The overscale diamond pattern still lets the wood grain peek through. Cottage Living

You can even paint stairs. Sanders

Go to town with stenciled floors in eye-catching patterns. Stencil Gallery.

Traditionally, painted floors are painted first, and then topcoated with high-VOC polyurethane for protection. Not in our project. We are currently testing two healthy floor paint options, neither of which require a separate topcoat.


ECOS Floor Paint - non-toxic floor paint from the UK, currently opening up production in the States.


Ivy Coatings Floor Plus - Low-VOC paint

Check back soon for the results of our testing.

Cheers.

5 comments:

  1. I love painted floors. I did a black and white diamond floor in my former kitchen. My cottage has painted floors in 2 bedrooms and a hall. I've never topcoated either and have always had wonderful results. I've blogged many times about various painted floors. The best thing about floor paint is no primer. I use it for many other painted wood projects too, most recently a hanging cupboard in the kitchen. ~Rosemary

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  2. Hi Rosemary.

    Thank you for your comment. Do stop back and tell us which floor paints you have used.

    Thanks!

    Lisa

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  3. Hi, I am currently painting floors.... What brands do you use? The Benjamin Moore dark red (floor and patio) paint I used in one bedroom still -weeks later- stinks up the whole house. In another room (beige) it seems okay... I am on to bathrooms next..
    ps----love the blog!the house looks amzaing!

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  4. Hi Tom.

    Yes, I would avoid exterior floor paints for your interiors, as they have all sorts of chemical additives that off-gas for quite some time. Darker paint colors also often rely on more toxic pigments. There are non-toxic pigments available with low-or no VOC (volatile organic compound) paints. It is just harder to find paint tough enough for floors that is still healthy for your house and self.

    As mentioned in the post above, we are testing Low-VOC Ivy Coatings Floor Plus, but my real hope is that we can get 100% non-toxic ECOS floor paint here in time from the UK. Sample got stuck in US Customs, since the firm did not include a hazardous materials form with shipment (which it should not need). Customs is simply unaccustomed to seeing non-toxic product in a paint can! :)

    Stay tuned, as we hope the ECOS sample arrives today. Links for both products can be found in post above.

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  5. I am so proud of my husband for doing a great job painting our (Lakeland) flooring in the patio. Our children love the results and I just noticed that they are now inviting friends over. They must have been so proud with their dad. While on the subject, I think that using stencils in designing your flooring is an excellent idea, too. Thanks for sharing!

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