Is painting a good solution for sprucing up your concrete floors? Learn the pros and cons, and get tips for choosing and applying concrete floor paint.
Most concrete floors will look amazing painted with one solid color. But if you want to give your painted floors more style and character, try some of these decorative enhancements. Most of these looks can be completed using simple tools such as decorative stencils, painter’s tape, and sponges.
What to do?
- Apply a faux rug or decorative medallion to your floor using adhesive-backed stencils.
- Use painter’s tape to create checkerboard designs, chevron patterns, or borders.
- Apply a base layer of one paint color and then use a sponge or rag to randomly add contrasting colors.
- If you have artistic skills, get creative by painting freehand designs onto your floor. Or create a custom template by enlarging a design printed out on paper. See these examples of artistic concrete floors.
Before you decide to paint a concrete floor, there are some important factors to consider, such as the look you want to achieve, the best type of paint to buy, and the amount of foot traffic the floor will receive. And if you plan to do the work yourself, you should be aware of what’s involved and the basic tools and materials you’ll need to achieve good results. Here’s what you need to know before you get started.
PROS
- Offers a broad selection of standard and custom colors.
- Provides good coverage, and can hide minor stains and imperfections in the surface.
- Can be applied using common tools, typically requiring only a paintbrush and roller.
- Is very economical, especially if you do the work yourself.
- Cleanup is easy, since most concrete paints are water-based acrylic latex formulas.
CONS
- Paint doesn’t penetrate into the surface like concrete stains do, so expect to deal with chips and peeling over time.
- May require occasional touch-ups, especially in high-traffic areas.
- Because concrete paints are opaque, you won’t be able to achieve the natural color variations and unique mottling effects of a concrete stain. (See Stained Concrete Floor Benefits.)
- Can result in a slippery surface, unless you use a slip-resistant concrete floor paint or you mix anti-skid additives into the final coat of paint to improve traction.
You have many options to choose from for adding color and pattern to a concrete floor, but one of the easiest and most affordable is to simply give it a coat or two of paint. Many of today’s concrete floor paints are water-based so they are easy to work with and safe to use indoors, allowing you to turn a drab concrete floor into an attractive surface in just one weekend. Opting to paint a concrete floor instead of staining it also gives you a much broader array of colors to choose from, since most concrete paints are tintable.