A lot of people often think my ideas are unconventional and *quirky* (ahem... looking at you, husband ;) haha!). They sometimes can be and I've experienced more "pinterest fails" than I prefer to keep track of.
THIS ISN'T ONE OF THEM, THOUGH!
This is a brilliant idea that I have stalked blog posts about (too many to reference, but please go search them!) and eventually combined all of my fave advice to do it myself.
Okay, hold on to your seat... I painted my bathroom floors. *GASP* YOU DID WHAT YOU CAN'T DO THAT. Yes, you can. Especially if you want to refresh your space with a limited budget.
LET ME TELL YOU MORE.
I think going back to the beginning is best. A long time ago, like last year, in a land (possibly) far away - look, I don't know where you live... I'm just assuming here. My husband, my 8 month old baby, and my pregnant self moved into my grandmother's home to rent. This house is a 1970's rancher and I love it so very much, but it certainly came with a few... let's say *quirks* again because I hate the word, but it's fitting. One of said *quirks* was carpet... in the bathroom. Yeah, I said it. SHAG CARPET. IN THE BATHROOM. Here's a before of the specimen I'm detailing today- the half bath.
Obviously, this wasn't going to work for us. One of the first things we did before actually moving in was we ripped the carpet up and dealt with the sub-flooring issues beneath. Once that finished, we installed some peel and stick laminate tiles my grandmother had already purchased. The patterns and colors weren't my favorite, but it was free and honestly such an upgrade from the carpet that I had no complaints. We secured those tiles with a heavier duty floor adhesive and called it finished... for now. A few months ago I finally felt some inspiration for the space and removed the wallpaper, painted the walls and panelling, added some cool "diy wallpaper" as well as some removable wall paper (I'll write about that whole process soon... STAY FOCUSED). I found a super cute mirror off of the marketplace and added some art I made. SO THEN IT LOOKED LIKE THIS.
ALREADY WAY BETTER, RIGHT?! I still didn't LOVE the flooring, though. We really didn't have the money to buy new floor, but a can of paint was definitely doable, especially since we planned on doing both bathrooms! So off to Pinterest I went, where I learned about floor paint! That's right! Technically it's floor and porch paint, but FLOOR PAINT, FRIENDS! So here's what I did! I super cleaned the floors. I'm talking hands and knees cleaning, guys. Some blog posts I read recommended using an industrial cleaner or very heavy duty. I have two tiny humans and a puppy in the house, though, so I just used normal cleaner. It cleaned how I needed it to. Another suggestion by other bloggers is to then sand the floors lightly and clean again. I didn't do that, but I see the wisdom in it. SO WHAT DID I ACTUALLY DO? After I cleaned the floor and let it dry completely, I tackled it how you would (most likely) tackle painting a wall! I went around the edges with a brush first, and then used a paint roller for the rest. EASY. Honestly, easier than painting a wall, if you ask me.
You can see where paint had been splattered from painting the walls. I knew we would be painting the floors, so I wasn't overly cautious while I was doing it. This is definitely where sanding would've come in handy, though, because you can see tiny bumps in some places.
I painted 3-4 coats (3 for the roller, but I did the edges 4 times) letting them dry for an hour or so in between.
Once the floors dried you could definitely see what needed a little extra love on the panelling that I hadn't noticed before, so we painted those some more as well.
I'm super happy with it right now, but we still aren't done yet! Soon I'll be buying a floor stencil to go over top of the white and hopefully tie the room together! If you're on a tight budget, but really want a small upgrade I 100% recommend painting your floors. The floor paint should be sturdy enough to not need it, but once we stencil we will be adding a sealer over top of it. Which is more of a texture thing than anything, because my husband hates how matte and dry the floors feel now haha! Have you ever painted a floor? Do you think I'm insane for even considering painting my floors?? Let me know!
Let's be friends!
Amber