These painted floor ideas may finally push you over the pro-floor painting edge…
If you’ve been searching for painted floor ideas, you’ve come to the right spot. Because I’ve got almost 50 fabulous ones to share with you today!
People ponder painted floors a lot, I think. But most don’t actually pull the trigger…or the paintbrush and actually paint their floors. Why not? Well, I think that much of the debate revolves around the question of durability.
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Is a painted floor as durable as other flooring options? That’s a difficult question to answer with a simple yes or no. But what I will say is this: ALL flooring shows wear and tear over the years.
Carpet? Just ick. Hardwoods? They’ll scratch, scuff, ding and dent. Linoleum can tear, peel and look dingy after years of use. Tile can chip…and the grout? Gross.
All flooring has pros and cons. That’s fact.
But having now done multiple painted flooring projects myself, I can tell you that in my experience thus far, all of our painted floor projects have stood the test of time. Now, that’s not to say that the floors will be perfect after years of use. They won’t. But as I mentioned above, most floors will end up with issues at some point down the line.
The GREAT thing about paint, in my opinion is two-fold:
Two awesome reasons to consider painted floors:
1). Cost
2.) Endless Variety of Looks
Painting your floors, regardless of what the existing flooring type is, tends to be much less expensive than replacing your current floors with any other product.
Cost-effectiveness alone is the reason many people finally decide to paint. It’s certainly the primary reason we decided to paint our stairs, our kitchen floor, our mudroom, and our painted outdoor rug!
The other primary reason people proceed with painted floors is the endless ways it can be personalized! While there aren’t an endless supply of colored hardwood flooring options or even tile, you can paint floors in ANY color and pattern that you can dream up. It’s amazing how a simple paintbrush can be so freeing in terms of customizing your home!
I’ve divided these painted floor ideas into sections based on the type of surface the paint was used on. I sure hope that you’ll love one (or more) of these beautiful floor ideas ❤️!
Painted Floor Ideas: Painted Wood
1. Yellow Checkerboard | This Old House
I first saw this kitchen in a This Old House magazine that arrived on my doorstep shortly after we bought our current home. Our kitchen floor was dated, and after seeing this painted floor, I was determined to try the same on our own.
Granted, it took me five years to seal the deal, but now it’s done, and I’m so glad we did it! I just love the bold use of color in this kitchen which makes a more traditional pattern really pop!
2. A Base for Bold Kitchen | Heathered Nest
After being inspired by the kitchen above years prior, I finally decided to give painting our kitchen floors a go. I had originally intended to stencil on top of the base coat of white, but I found that I loved the contrast between the basic solid floor and the colors mixed into the rest of the budget-friendly kitchen design so much I decided to let it lie (for now ;).
There’s a full tutorial for our painted wood floors. The main difference between our method and others is that WE DIDN’T SAND!
3. Mint Painted Herringbone | Klikk No via Domino
There isn’t much detail provided about this beautiful painted wood floor in the Domino article in which I found it, but they do describe the paint technique as being a color wash.
I’m interpreting that to mean that the paint was watered down in spots in order to let the wood show through in some spots and give the floor some extra dimension it otherwise would not have had.
4. Spectrum Shapes | @martine.maakt
I find this floor full of painted shapes positively inspired. How about you?
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5. Black & White Painted Hardwoods | Merrilee McGehee
The painted floors in this home designed by Merrilee McGehee are a showstopper. They elevate the space from something pretty to one that is unique and pretty to boot.
6. Black and White Wood Foyer | Ty Larkins
Similarly, in this space designed by Ty Larkins, the painted black and white floor is what takes this space from traditional to cheeky and unexpected. A really fun twist.
7. Plaid Painted Floor | Learning and Yearning
Instead of ripping out the damaged hardwoods in this space and starting from scratch, Susan chose to paint a lovely pattern on her wood floors.
8. Give Your Porch Pizazz | @Farmhouseluv
Dare to be different and give your porch a bold look with a pretty painted pattern.
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9. Eclectic Farmhouse Foyer Stencil Painted Floor | Petal & Ply
The hardwood floor in my friend Jessica’s foyer was very, very damaged. But the existing flooring flowed nicely with the rest of the home, and with a tight budget, she decided to give it an update with paint.
Another gorgeous stenciled look, with a bright color palette.
10. Anything but Safe Safety Red Floors | BHG
Want to turn heads when you walk in the room? Wear red. Same goes for your floors. You want a knockout painted floor update? Paint it red. Anything but shy, this is a bold strokes move for a flooring update, and to me, this gutsy move is right on the money.
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11. Bold Blue Farmhouse Floor | BHG
In a home with a farmhouse aesthetic, sometimes the floor is a great way to bring a splash of color into what can otherwise be a very white room. A great option for people who love the farmhouse look, but want to shy away from the all-white, all-the-time feel.
12. Painting Wood Flooring Blue | H2O Bungalow
Another example of a solid color painted wood floor, this time a gray-blue that Wendi used in her Vermont rental home.
13. Multi-color checkerboard | @AlisonKandler_interiordesign
What a fun way to give a child’s room a dash of something different! 📸credit: John Ellis
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14. How to Paint a Rug on the Floor | In My Own Style
Diane set off a spot in the mudroom of her home by creating the look of a rug over her hardwood floors. A pretty pop of color and a bit of a modern touch on an otherwise traditional flooring type.
15. Painted Rug on a Wood Floor | Sincerely Sara D
Painting the old wood flooring was the only way Sara could get the kitchen update she wanted on their tight budget at the time. She decided on a rug look to help define the kitchen area from the rest of their open concept floor plan.
16. DIY Outdoor Painted Rug | The Heathered Nest
Have you ever bought an “outdoor rug?” I swear whoever coined that term is the same guy who created “stainless steel.” Both are a complete farce.
Leave an “outdoor rug” outdoors for any length of time, and it quickly becomes an outdoor rag. And that’s pretty disappointing considering the price tag for many such rugs. Since I loved the look of outdoor rugs, I decided to paint some onto my deck.
I painted two large outdoor rugs onto our deck about four years ago, and both are still looking great!
17. Painted Porch Rug | It All Started with Paint
Another example of a painted rug look, here done on a porch.
18. Lovely Squares | Southern Living
A great way to give a traditional wood floor a modern touch.
19. Floral Patterned Painted Floor | Alisa Burke
Can’t find the perfect runner to fit your hallway? Paint one on, like Alisa did with this colorful, floral paint job.
20. Make and Entrance – DIY Painted Foyer Floor | Start at Home Decor
Isn’t this a great idea to set off the entrance of your home/create a foyer where there really isn’t one? By painting the floor, this entryway becomes its own space.
21. White Painted Floorboards | A Beach Cottage
Painting the floors in a rental property can be a great way to update flooring without spending a lot of money.
Since rental floors tend to age much quicker than most, if you paint instead of replacing, your project costs will be lower, and the durability? Still really good.
22. DIY Stenciled Bamboo Kitchen Floors | Kaleidoscope Living
I’ve included this project in the hardwood section, but in reality, Tasha’s painted floors are bamboo! Just another example of a type of flooring that is paintable, and turns out looking great!
Painted Floor Ideas: Painted Linoleum | Painted Vinyl
23. Buffalo Check Painted Flooring | The Other Side of Neutral
Builder-grade sheet vinyl is upgraded to a buffalo-check beauty with paint!
24. Stenciling on a Painted Linoleum Floor | Reality Daydream
All the whimsy for a fraction the cost of replacing. Bethany and her hubs recently bought an AMAZING fixer-upper. And it’s BIG.
Rather than paying for new flooring all over the place, they are coming up with creative flooring options like this one. That said, Bethany has some sage words of advice about this technique and the time-intensive process, so check that out if you’re considering a multi-color, labor-heavy stencil project in a large area!
25. Linoleum to Lovely Stripes | @VCHamlee
Here’s a gorgeous painted transformation from sheet vinyl to stripes.
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26. Painted Stripes on Vinyl Laundry Room Flooring | Kaleidoscope Living
Can a floor change its stripes rather than getting replaced? Tasha says yes! Check out the striped vinyl flooring update she did in their laundry room.
27. Chalk Painted Linoleum Floors | BB Frosch
Yep. Chalk paint! BB Frosch used a non-traditional type of paint for this gorgeous stenciled bathroom floor.
28. Black & White Farmhouse Painted Bathroom Floor | Salvage Sister & Mister
Another beautiful example of boring tile gone wild (and wonderful).
29. Laminate Floor Painted to look like Polished Concrete | Lily Ardor
This tutorial is a great one. Lily shares the trial and error and how she came to achieve this awesome concrete look on her previously laminate floors.
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Painted Floor Ideas: Painted Tile
30. Faux Cement Tile Painted Floor | Bright Green Door
Cement tiles are very popular right now, and for good reason. Aren’t these cement tiles in the foyer at Jess’ house gorgeous? Just kidding. They aren’t cement tiles. They are painted, stenciled porcelain tiles! AMAZING.
Jess walks you through the whole tutorial, including how to get a floor stencil customized in ANY pattern/design that you can dream up!
31. Painted Floor Tile | A Pinterest Addict
Eliesa didn’t love the color of the original accent tile that created this pattern around her fireplace. And there was a matching area in her foyer.
She decided to keep the tile, but paint the diamond pattern that was originally a reddish-rust color to work better with their new wall color (a shade of gray).
This could be one of the smallest scale, simplest solutions on this whole list!
32. DIY Stenciled & Painted Bathroom Floor | Lemons Lavender and Laundry
Give ho-hum tile a facelift painting on the look of popular, and much more pricey concrete tile.
33. Geometric Stenciled Painted Floor | A Beautiful Mess
A small budget didn’t impact the ability to give the flooring a brand new look in this space. Painting the existing tile provided a modern look for much less!
34. Hand Painted DIY Floor Tiles | Paper & Stitch
Brittni of Paper and Stitch had a really interesting technique for creating this painted floor. She painted individual vinyl tiles in two solid, uniform colors. Then she stenciled the geometric design PRIOR to laying the floor.
35. Painted Bathroom Floor to Look Like Cement Tile | Young House Love
This Young House Love reader shows you exactly how she transformed her dated bathroom tiles with chalk paint and a stencil.
36. Floral Painted Tile | Domestic Blonde
Kelly is a gal after my own heart. She didn’t have the budget to replace her honestly hideous tiles immediately when they bought their home, but she knew she didn’t have the patience to wait.
So she went to plan B. And didn’t it turn out great?!?! She has a full tutorial for you to check out.
Painted Floor Ideas: Painted Concrete
37. Painted Star Faux Tile Floor | A Beautiful Mess
The before and after of this glam office is pretty stunning. And the technique to create the look of tile on this concrete floor was definitely time-consuming…but WOW…the result. Swoon.
Vinyl stencils made with contact paper were cut out for every single “tile” on this floor. A genius technique though to get really crisp, clean painted lines.
38. Painted Stripe Patio Floor | Amber Oliver
Gutsy, right? Give your concrete patio a beachy vibe with a bright, summery striped look.
39. DIY Painted Concrete for a Tile Look | A Beautiful Mess
This looks very Palm Springs to me. Love the modern black and white patterned vibe done on this concrete patio.
40. Painted Stripes on an Outdoor Concrete Slab | So Much Better with Age
Jamie does stripes with class on the concrete slab in her outdoor area.
41. Striped Painted Porch Floor | Rain on a Tin Roof
Jenna always has a unique twist on everything she does, and this porch floor is no different! Colorful stripes add personality to a previously bland floor.
42. Painted front Porch | House Mix
Awesome statement for an entryway, right?
43. Concrete Painted Flooring | Remodelaholic
Checkerboard is always a popular floor pattern to create. This one is done on concrete.
44. Painted Patio Floor Tiles | Old Brand New
This is a stunning example of creating the look of concrete mosaic tile by painting a regular concrete slab.
Painted Floor Ideas: Painted Subfloors
45. Geometric Tumbling Block Tile Look | The House That Lars Built
This painted floor idea was another labor of love. Time-consuming? Yes. Worth it? Sure looks like it, right?
But seriously, if you’re considering painting your floors, consider how much time you want to invest. Painting the floors a solid color is the quickest and easiest painted floor project.
If you choose a stencil, the more intricate the pattern and the more color involved will increase the time you need to invest exponentially. Just consider this before you forge ahead.
46. Amazing Painted Plywood Subfloor | Lovely Etc.
I’ve linked to the article that Carrie wrote about how her painted plywood subfloors had held up for three years so you can check that out.
One of the biggest issues people have with going the paint route on their floors is the fear that it “won’t hold up”. Here’s another great resource showing you how someone else’s painted floor project has stood the test of time.
47. Painted Plywood Subfloors | Heathered Nest
We removed the damaged linoleum flooring from the hallway and mudroom that adjoins our kitchen and painted the plywood subfloors at the same time, and with the same technique, we used on our Brazilian cherry hardwood floors.
You may be saying, “Wait a minute…why didn’t you mention stairs?” Don’t worry! I didn’t forget painted stairs! In fact, we have an ENTIRE ARTICLE on painted stair ideas! 51 of them in total. And they are GORGEOUS. So head over there if you’ve been thinking of trying that awesome DIY project!
Pin this post for later! And if you decide to paint your own floors, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try this project, too!
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I have an older home..master bedroom has the old grreen/cream coored linoleum tiles. He room s above he garage and floor is cold. Want to update badly. Small budget and not talented. Can you help PLEASE!
New very old house. 1825. So excited. Will decide if floors need updating when we can move in. The interior is painted all gray. That will have to change also. But for now just thrilled I bought the house I wanted.
Oh my gosh! CONGRATULATIONS Jody!! That’s fantastic news! So excited for you! Would love to see some pictures! DM me on Instagram!
I really liked the cement look and the color but what do you think about a red rusty floor?
Is that the color you’re thinking about trying, Tommi??