« Kitchen Flooring Plans | Main | Commercial Kitchen Flooring »
Painting Kitchen Floors
Painting kitchen floors is a creative and inexpensive way to freshen the kitchen. Painting hardwoods seems the most logical of flooring types, but painting vinyl is also a reasonable step. Kitchen floors can take on any look you want and will look good, as long as you take care to prepare the flooring first, and then seal the painted floors when complete. Painted wood floors will give your kitchen a new lease on life.
Are you looking for a low cost way to spruce up your kitchen floors? Painting kitchen floors is a great way to give your floors a new look with very little cost. You can paint many different flooring materials, including wood and vinyl flooring. All you need to do is prepare them correctly for the paint and you are on your way to having updated floors on a budget.
If you have hardwood floors that are so damaged that they cannot be refinished, you may want to consider painting them. Painting hardwoods can turn a kitchen that looks old and dinghy into a bright and inviting room that everyone will want to be in. Although there are some people that believe that hardwood flooring should never be painted, many people who embrace the cottage style love the look of painted wood floors.
When painting your wood floors, you do not have to use just one paint color. Be adventuresome and use your hardwoods as a blank canvas for your creativity. Think stripes, border, stenciling, or even a painted rug on your floor. Let your imagination run wild. With a little sanding and prep work, you can have beautifully painted floors that your family will love.
Vinyl flooring can also be painted. You first need to clean and rinse the floors very well to remove the dirt and debris on them. Prime them with a high quality primer and then paint with the paint you have chosen. Do not be afraid to mix up colors. Create a checkerboard look, use stencils or stamps, or even write sayings on your floor as a border. Your floor is your palette and you are the artist who is creating your masterpiece. After you have finished painting, you need to cover it with at least four coats of polyurethane and then let it dry for the specified time that the manufacturer has directed. Although this is not as durable as painting wood floors is, it can give you time to save up money for a more expensive upgrade.
Painted floors are all the rage in country and cottage style design. Both of these designs embrace the look of distressed and old flooring. Many people even distress their painted floors to make them look older and more interesting. Color washing, where you apply watered down paint to the floors and then rub some of the excess off with a cloth, is a great way to mask the blemishes in a floor, but it also lets some of the original character of the floors shine through.
If your home is more contemporary or sophisticated in design, you can paint the floors in a more up to date design. Using tape to create lines for you to paint different colors can bring color into a room without it being over powering. Use your creativity and look at your home improvement store and on the internet for more ideas for you to create with paint. Do not be afraid to paint your floors. With the proper tools and paint, you will be able to create a floor that expresses your design style and taste.
Comments
I'd apply KILZ Original or KILZ Odorless primers to "lock" the stain away, if you can't find something to remove it completely. That should stop the bleeding through to your prier and your top coat.
You need to seal the paint surface to keep it from wearing off as quickly. See my recommendation further up in the comments as to which product I like best.
The Flooring Lady at April 10, 2008 02:18 PM
A bit more research has introduced me to compounds that remove adhesives. Of course you can get high- and low-VOC compounds for the job. Go to your favorite hardware/home improvement store and ask about this product.
The Flooring Lady at April 14, 2008 07:39 AM
Must one use a brush when applying Diamond Coat Varathane polyurethane to a painted kitchen floor or would a roller do? What are the minimum number of coats that you recommend?
Helen at April 17, 2008 09:45 AM
You don't want to use a roller to apply this product. Use a good synthetic brush and disturb the product as little as possible so you don't create bubbles that will hurt your finish quality.
The minimum number of coats depends on how much and what type of traffic it's going to get. The minimum in my opinion is two, but I'd probably put three to four coats to have a great finish.
The Flooring Lady at April 17, 2008 10:21 AM
WHAT TYPE OF PRODUCT DO YOU USE TO FILL IN CRACKS AND DENTS IN 70S VINYL TILE?
SANDY at June 24, 2008 12:17 PM
Hi Sandy,
My first concern would be that if you're working on 'vinyl' tile from the 70's that it very well may contain asbestos. Scary, scary, SCARY thought!!! Seriously, you need to get it tested - there are testing kits at most major home improvement stores. If it contains asbestos you need to have it removed or cover it. Removing it opens up a whole new can of worms and you'll need to figure out if you're willing to take on the risk yourself (and dispose of it properly!) or call in a professional to do the job. A lot of people go with covering it because so long as it's covered properly then the asbestos dust can't escape and damage your lungs, etc.
I cannot stress enough that you need to find out for sure what you're dealing with.
The Flooring Lady at June 24, 2008 01:41 PM
My house was built in 1948 and has beautiful hardwoods however in my sons foom the lady that we bought the house from locked several cats in that room and they ruined a small corner of the hardwoods. we used kiltz and deck paint to cover however when my son was born we covered it with carpet. we could like to repaint them and add stencils. do you reccommend a certain type of paint and sealant? our hardwoods are think and certain spots wave. do you know what causes the wave in the floor?
Christina at June 27, 2008 07:36 AM
Hi Christina,
I don't know what would cause the flooring to be wavy, except maybe moisture, weak floor joists or just because 60 years of the house settling made it uneven. You might be able to try to even it out some by renting a floor sander. Personally, I'd rather live with it and think of it as part of the charm that goes with owning an older home, but that's just me. ;~)
There's lots of different paints on the market, it just depends on the qualities you're looking for. Some of the vapors aren't so nice, but there are some with low and no VOC's. Whatever product you choose, you'll have to look for a sealer that won't harm the paint and protect your hard work. They are quite a few on the market now with low VOC's as well. Good luck on your project, it sounds like you're one creative lady!
The Flooring Lady at June 27, 2008 03:38 PM
Hi- I have a 2 family home built in the late 1800s. I live in the 1st floor flat, and am re-doing the 2nd floor for rental. The 2nd floor kitchen has hardwood floors that someone painted years ago with an "apple" theme - yellow paint with apples every 4 or 5 inches stenciled in. How do you like them apples? Well, I don't really. So I want to paint over the kitchen floor. I would prefer to use linoleum, by the floor is uneven in spots - kinda wavy like another commenter mentioned. So the cheapest, easiest way to go without using some kind of floor leveler would be to paint. My contractor suggested I use deck paint, but I haven't heard of low or no VOC deck paint. Is there such a thing? Or would I be better off with regular paint followed by a good sealer? This is the kitchen, so it needs to be a surface that can withstand spills, cleaning, etc. What do you recommend? thanks Tim NY
Tim at August 9, 2008 08:21 PM
Hi Tim,
My first thought when I read this was "hmm........wonder what that old floor would look like stripped". You may have a really nice old floor under that paint! Just something to think about.
If you're really wanting to paint it though, I'd recommend something along the lines of a low VOC interior paint (I like Sherwin Williams myself) and follow that with several coats of Urethane Diamond Coat Polyurethane formulated for floors. Good luck with your project!
The Flooring Lady at August 10, 2008 12:19 PM
