That one time I painted my wood floors

Let me begin this post by stating that if you're looking for a detailed, step-by-step DIY guide on painting your wood floors, you won't find it here. First, I admit I'm kind of bad at explaining things in a linear fashion, and second, my memory leaves much to be desired. I am well aware of my limitations, and this space isn't where I try to be something I'm not. So, please don't hold me accountable for the terrible explanation. The project I'm sharing was completed three years ago, and I still feel proud of how it all came together. These painted wood floors, in my opinion, deserve their own blog post.

Even now, as I walk past the painted floors, I can't help but admire their beauty. They are more weathered and lived-in now, giving them an authentic charm. Taking on a project like this requires an appreciation for imperfections, as the once perfectly crisp paint eventually looks more worn over time. Personally, I've come to embrace it, though the question of whether to refinish them when we finally get around to refinishing the wood floors has crossed my mind. Stay tuned for that decision.

One thing I know about myself is that taking on tedious, repetitive work helps my brain in processing thoughts. At the time I had this idea, I was under a lot of stress from my projects (clients). I knew I had to dive into this idea, knowing that it would help me navigate the right moves and approach for my "real life" work.

Living in a 100-year-old house, we discovered that the floors beneath the rugs were unfinished and of a different wood species shortly after moving in. Rugs were strategically placed in these areas, mostly due to the expense and daunting nature of refinishing or replacing the floors. Unfortunately, our aging cat decided to pee on the rug in the front room. Upon removing the rug, the idea struck me to paint the area instead of buying yet another rug.

My journey began with lots of research into old buildings and tile patterns. I love me a classic penny tile pattern, and I stumbled upon this beautiful hexagon design in a Parisian restaurant. I wanted to replicate this vibe as closely as possible, fully aware that achieving an exact match would be super difficult and time consuming. So, I brainstormed a strategy involving a dark outline and two-tone hexagons.

First, I cleared the floor and gave it a fresh start with primer and white paint. And of course, I quickly realized it needed a border!

So, It's settled, I wanted this fun hexagon pattern on the floor. I tend to complicate things in my head. I really thought I'd have to hand draw each and every hexagon, which would be super challenging to keep straight. But then, my problem-solving kicked in. I grabbed a hexagon tile sample I had laying around, and used it to trace the pattern into the floor. I used a laser level to keep my pattern as straight as possible, but I did "eye ball" it.

After that, I taped out the hexagons along the traced edges. The taped parts stayed white, centers got a gray coat, and the outlines got painted black. I want to add that I did two coats of the white paint (background) and everything else also got two coats of paint. Here I am painting the outline black after all the gray centers were painted.

Once it was all painted I slowly ripped off the tape. The tape did take up some of the paint in areas, which was expected, I went through with a smaller brush to touch up those spots. Then I followed it with a clear top coat. Here's what I used for top coat:

And here is the finished product!

It was quite the journey! I want to say it took me about 3 weeks to complete. My arms, knees, and upper shoulders were so sore by the time I was done. I certainly questioned what I was thinking along the way. I tend to have ideas and don't realize how much work it will actually entail. Which I guess it's a good thing because if I did have an idea, I probably wouldn't jump. At the end I do think it was worth the work and my brain was able to process what it needed. The floors are definitely more nicked and scratched in areas today, but aren't we all? I am a true believer that there is beauty in the imperfections.