Tag Archives | creative endeavor

Originally, I hadn’t planned on sharing with you how I went about painting our floors. But then I remember how much time I spent on the internet searching and pouring over websites that had any mention of how to do it.

I was REALLY nervous about painting the floors. I was scared that it wouldn’t look the way I envisioned, or that the paint wouldn’t wear well. Before I finally committed, I read a ton and talked to several people at our local Sherwin Williams store.

In the end, this is how we did it. And I’m happy with the results, so perhaps it will work for you as well!

We started the whole process by ripping out old carpet and laying down new pine flooring.

We went with a softer wood like pine because we wanted it to get beat up and worn in. So if you select to go with pine, please please please be aware of this! Also, we ordered ours from a website and then picked it up at a local store. We were not aware that it had grooves!!! The only thing I dislike about the girls floor is the grooves! It’s a nice place to collect any dirt!    But at least it all goes there and I can sort of walk over it, rather than in it, right?  Anyway, I suggest finding flooring that does not have grooves, or perhaps turning the board over. . .?? That’s what I wish we had done.

The next step was filling any nail or floor staple holes, quickly sanding the whole surface down with a palm sander, and vacuuming up all the dust!

Now you’re ready for paint!!

We started by priming the floors. Over the years, we’ve really come to like Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Water Base Primer/Sealer that we purchase at Home Depot.

After all my research, we opted to use Sherwin Williams’ Floor & Porch Enamel,  in True White. I can’t remember now if I did 2 or 3 coats, but my guess is 2.

One place where I strayed from the advice given by Sherwin Williams is that they told us that we could just put down the paint and we wouldn’t need to seal it with a polyurethane. They gave us a time frame in which it would need to dry. We gave it that amount of time (something around a week. . .it was a fairly long time) and the paint was still tacky and we would leave foot prints if we attempted to walk on it. Finally, I gave up, said screw this and bought a water based polyurethane for floors and we were moved back in the next day!

To apply the poly, you’ll need a special painter’s pad and pole. Use long straight stokes. Though water based poly is less likely to yellow, you’ll want to be especially careful not to let it get too thick or puddle, as it will still yellow in those circumstances. Apply at least 2 coats and be sure to follow the directions on the package for drying time, etc.

Pretty, shiny, *clean* white floors!!!! (they never looked quite like that again!)

White floors are not for everyone. If you’re looking for pristine, this is probably not the route for you—unless you have hired someone to meticulously clean the floors hourly!! However, if you like your floors to look worn in, and appreciate the character of  some scuffs and dings, then you may have found the perfect thing!!

Also, we painted the floors in my husband & my bedroom black. We followed the exact same process as described above.

I HATE them.  

Painting a dark color did not work out for us. I would paint another floor white in a heartbeat, but if I want dark, we’re staining them from here on out!!!

So, I hope that answered some questions you may have. If you’re considering attempting this and have questions, don’t hesitate to ask!! I know I would have loved to have someone who had done it to ask questions! Painting floors is a bit scary and a big commitment! But I am SO glad I went for it!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

One of my absolute favorite things in the girls’ room is their dressers. I really love that they were their Dad’s and who knows who had them before he did! I love that they were in really bad shape, and not at all aesthetically pleasing anymore, but with the help of some sandpaper and some paint, they are amazing!! Sometimes new isn’t the answer!

Forgive me as I was new to this blogging, before & after thing when I did these and did not remember to take the before picture until after I had sanded the fronts of the drawers! However, this is what I can show you.

Yuck!

The first step was to take a medium grit sand paper and palm sander and take the old finish off of them. I have heard of people just “roughing up” the varnish and using a primer meant for finished surfaces, but I just don’t trust it! I really want to try it and find that it works, but I’m afraid of putting that much work into it and then finding that all the paint chips or scraps off. I’ve had it happen to other projects (though I didn’t use the special primer) and it just makes me nervous! So I sand.

I followed the medium grit sandpaper with a quick once over with a fine grit sandpaper. Once completed, I vacuumed off all the dust and wiped it down with a damp cloth to ensure that all the dust was gone.

Ideally, I would have sprayed these with a spray gun and air compressor, but as most of us don’t have those available to us I used a smaller foam roller instead. The foam roller is better suited for this application than a big fluffy polyester roller. It gives a smoother finish and because of it’s smaller size, is easier to maneuver on furniture.

I started with a base coat of white paint in Glacial Tint (Behr). I gave it to coats of this. When I sanded it down to give it an antique or distressed look, I wanted the “older” paint to show through.

Once that was fully dry, I gave it two or three coats of my turquiose paint. Here I used Winter Surf (Behr).

Once the blue paint was absolutely, completely dry, I took back out the sand paper, without the palm sander this time, and sanded down the paint in select areas.

My goal was to make it look like it had worn naturally, so I concentrated on areas that would typically see a lot of wear. Namely, any edges & corners, around the handles, and where the drawers fit into the dresser.

Once I was satisfied with how worn down I made it, I wanted to take it a step further by using an antiquing glaze. I found mine from Lowe’s Valspar line.

Be sure to follow the instructions on your glaze. Not sure if they all work exactly the same. I found that it was easier to use if I applied it inside as it was able to stay wet longer, but I did do most of the parts outside.

Using an old cloth, I first applied the glaze to the areas I wanted the darkest. Again, it was also the areas that would see the most wear.

Then, working quickly, I rubbed it over the entire surface. With a new clean cloth, I then wiped it off, working in circular motions, until it was at the darkness I was going for. At times, I would have to add more on to either get it darker, or get the area wet enough to manipulate and rub off.

I finished the dressers by applying a water based polyurethane with a spray gun. We finally broke out my mother-in-law’s at the end! I’m really glad we did because it allowed me to apply the poly thinly as it can yellow if put on too thickly. Plus, it kept any brush strokes from showing.

And ta-da!!! All done!!

One (or two, in this case!!) newly beautified dresser for your enjoyment! And best of all? It was cheap and you did it yourself!! That’s always a nice feeling!

xoxo Lori Danelle