Have you ever thought about painting your floorboards but been too nervous to try? Or maybe you have painted floors but fancy something more interesting, unique and stylish. I decided last year to revamp my bathroom and wanted something more than just plain painted floorboards. I had been eyeing up fabulous encaustic tiles but soon realised what an upheaval it would be and costly. So after a bit of research decided to stencil a tile effect onto my floor. Dont panic, we are not going back to the 80’s when we stencilled everything in sight!
Preparation, as they say, is key! There are no shortcuts to this if you want a long lasting serviceable floor.
So, firstly the boring bit! Out came the sander. I needed to create a key for the paint to stick onto the existing floor paint so I sanded down the floor lightly. I didn’t fill any gaps between the boards as I wanted it to remain looking like a boarded floor. If you are painting directly onto bare boards you would be able to lightly sand them, hoover away any dust and apply the Farrow & Ball Wooden Floor Primer. I applied this on top of the existing paint with a brush so that the top coat would adhere. Allow to dry and then apply your Farrow & Ball Modern Eggshell (Previously called Floor Paint) on top. I found that two coats of All White was enough to give a good base for the stencil top coat. At this point I began to panic as I thought it all looked very bright and white. I couldn’t wait to get stencilling but needed to be patient until the floor was completely dry (approx 4 hours). The exciting bit was about the start!
A fabulous range of stencils are available from Nicolette Tabram Designs I used the Large Medina Floor Stencil which cost £17.99. Top tip – I bought two as I had a feeling I would need to cut one up to work around the legs of the bath. I also purchased a stencil brush and some Spray Mount.
I started in the centre of the room in line with the doorway and made sure I had a straight line marked on the floor, using Spray Mount very lightly onto the stencil I positioned it onto the floor pressing gently. I then used the Modern Eggshell with an almost dry brush dabbing onto kitchen roll before I applied it to the stencil. I wanted a very soft look so I didn’t use too much paint and worked my brush round in circles. Once the first area was done I then overlapped the stencil pattern on the edge, this helps to keep it symmetrical.
The effect was amazing, using the Worsted over the All White softened the appearance giving the muted effect I wanted to create. I soon worked across the floor in a couple of evenings and it was done!
After almost a year the floor is still looking great, no chips or wearing at all and I’m thrilled with it! Give it a go! The whole thing cost me just over £140 for the paint, stencils and brushes and a few evenings work. Modern Eggshell is very strong and waterproof, it doesn’t need any varnish or sealant over the top, so I just mop my floor when required. I finished the bathroom off with some new shelving created from old scaffolding boards by The Knot and the Grain, the roman blind was made using GP and J Baker’s Artisan collection fabric called ‘Polperro’ in colour Dove. The walls were painted in Farrow and Ball Skimming Stone, it’s a beautiful warm grey with pink undertones. Stencilled floors could also be applied to a bedroom or you could even paint a rug design onto your existing painted floor!
Hope you have found this inspiring! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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