I gave myself the intimidating task of making within my three-season porch. I live in New England, this porch is utilized only for about five months of this year in the best, however I could see it from the kitchen sink, and it connects the kitchen with the backyard, so I needed it to be a serene, relaxing space for my family. During the colder months, I simply needed it to be rather to look at.
The largest change will come through the power of paint. Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White about the walls and Harbor Fog on the ceiling provided the bright, sharp look I was going for. However, the ceilings and walls were just the finishing touches. The whole design of the room started with a single thought: painting grey and white stripes on the ground.
Before Photo
Christina Katos
BEFORE: The timber floor was a somewhat nauseating color of green-brown with traces of red. Luckily, the timber was in good shape so no repair work was needed. I started with some prep work, sanding a few locations and filling in some holes with wood filler.
Christina Katos
I painted the ceiling with two coatings of Harbor Fog, then painted the walls Decorators White, which instantly brightened the porch.
Christina Katos
After ensuring the floor was vacuumed and free of any accumulation or dust, I started work on the ground. With a 9- by ⅜-inch nap synthetic roller cover and an extension rod, I applied one coat of Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start Primer. I waited five hours before applying the second coat.
Tip: Start painting straight from the door or leave so as to not box yourself in with paint.
Christina Katos
The next day I applied one coat of the Floor of Benjamin Moore and Decorators White is painted in by Patio. This paint is intended for all exterior and interior floors, decks, concrete and stairs in addition to masonry surfaces.
My porch is enclosed, so that I was not really concerned about snow or rain, just colder temperatures. The porch is also a high-traffic area, so I needed a weatherproof floor and terrace paint to withstand what my family of three kids and a dog could throw at it.
Christina Katos
I waited 24 hours before applying the second coat of floor and patio paint.
Tip: Paint your two individual coats in opposite directions. The floorboards run from left to right. I knew I needed my second, observable layer to follow the path of the floorboards, so that I painted my first layer vertical to that. I’m very happy I did so, since I had not noticed how many little holes and openings I’d missed with the primer. There are no gaps between my boards, so that I needed a nice, even coating. If your floorboards have spaces, this might not be the situation for you.
Christina Katos
I then started planning my stripes. I would use the floorboards as a way to ascertain the width of every stripe. I did not wish to divide the room up both in stripes, so that I ended up having 11 stripes in complete, six five and white grey. Every stripe is 13 inches wide. The final white stripe against the exterior wall would be a couple inches thinner, but this was not a issue, since it would be underneath furniture and from sight.
Christina Katos
I decided to have the stripes nearest to the wall. In this manner the white appeared to be the dominant color, with the second color as the accent stripe. I would be using Benjamin Moore’s Coventry Gray for my stripe color, a warm shade of grey that is beautiful with Decorators White.
Christina Katos
I laid out painter’s tape after the lines of the floorboards, measuring every so often to be sure they were straight and even. These tape lines would be filled in with all the grey.
I marked each area to remain white with an “x.” This came in handy later on when I had been painting: I did not need to count the stripes out to make sure I had been decorating the perfect one; I just did a fast test to locate my own “x” and make sure I had been not painting on it.
Christina Katos
I then sealed down the borders of the tape bits by running my finger along the sides to be sure they were down firmly, with no bubbles. With a paintbrush, I cut along the wall with my grey paint. In this manner I avoided having to bring my roller brush near my sharp white walls.
Christina Katos
I stuffed two small containers using both paint colors and utilized separate 4-inch foam rollers for every color.
Tip: Utilize one roller to paint over the area at the edge of this painter’s tape with the first floor shade, sealing the borders. Then paint the whole stripe using two coats of your color (mine was Coventry Gray) and immediately pull off the painter’s tape, leaving a clean and crisp line.
Christina Katos
If you initially paint the edge of your tape with your foundation (nonstripe) shade, any paint which seeps beneath the tape will probably blend in with the background. As soon as you paint your stripe color, it’ll be over the freshly applied base color in addition to your own painter’s tape, giving you a perfect, clean line.
Christina Katos
Once the entire room was done, I let it dry for 24 hours.
Christina Katos
The next morning I decided that my stripes had a little more coverage, so that I did some touch-up painting. I stayed away from my borders but stuffed each stripe to get a more opaque look.
Christina Katos
I brought the furniture back in 24 hours after the previous paint was applied. The room instantly felt considerably bigger with the stripes running around.
Christina Katos
The sharp white walls, serene blue ceiling, stripes and cushions have created the beach-inspired room I’d hoped for.
Christina Katos
It seems like we’ve gained an entirely new room!
Can you own a floor that you’d like to paint? Below are some ideas to get you started.
Zinc Art + Interiors
If you are not prepared to paint over an whole floor, try out a stencil. It can bring a fresh and modern look to a normal floor.
Wettling Architects
Painting a floor one solid color, especially white, can make a small space feel bigger.
Are You Gutsy Enough to Paint Your Floor White?
Stripes aren’t the only pattern around. Try out anything from checkerboard to herringbone to chevron.
Holly Marder
Keep your walls have that pop of color on your floor instead.
E. B. Mahoney Builders, Inc..
If you aren’t prepared to commit to paint, then you can stain a blueprint on your floors as well — considerably subtler but just as impressive.
More info on painting hardwood floors | More photos of painted floors