The IN Thing: Checkerboard Paint for Wood Floors
There are so many people now who have turned to painting their wood floors in innovative ways, that it has become quite a trend during the past years. This rising trend may be because painting is not only a cheap way to hide the deficiencies of an age-old wooden floor, it also presents quite a wide avenue when it comes to interior decorating options.
How to Paint in that Checkerboard Pattern
The IN thing nowadays when it comes to painting patterns for hardwood floors is imitating the design of a checker board. While others adapt the simple checkerboard pattern of white and black to suit their decorative tastes, there are others who go way beyond the checker board’s color scheme and opt for different colors. They can go from using olive green on tan or darker brown checks on a lighter brown background. The color choices are endless when you want to paint your wood floor in the checkerboard way. These choices will greatly help in your decorating initiatives, as you could easily match your curtains and sofa covers to the background hue of your checkerboard floor.
Preparing the Surface to be Painted On
Before you even start painting, make sure that your hardwood floor is already prepared right for the painting job. Remember that the secret to the best results when it comes to any paint job is proper preparation of the surface to be painted on. The basic steps involved in preparing your hardwood floor for painting are washing, sanding or scraping those built-up grime and priming. After all these have been done, you could already move on to painting.
The preparation that you would have to do also has to depend on your floor’s finish. If your floor is already painted, all you have to do is wash it thoroughly and then vacuum it, so that all the dust and loose paints will be removed. If you have a wood floor that is bare, then you have to have this sanded and then primed. A floor with a varnish finish, on the other hand, would have to undergo sanding for the removal of the gloss and then it has to be primed before it can be painted on.
Choosing the Right Paint Type
The next important thing about applying checkerboard paint on your wood floor is choosing the right type of paint. You could use a latex floor and patio enamel that is self-priming, which needs no sealer. If the area, which floor you are painting, is used for much activity, then it would help if you apply an additional layer of polyurethane that is water-based to protect your hardwood floor from the usual wear and tear.
If you don’t want to be inconvenienced during clean up time after your paint job, never use paints that are oil-based. Take note that these paints take too much drying time as well.
Applying the Checkerboard Pattern
Now that you have sufficiently prepared the surface of your hardwood floor and have chosen the right type of paint, what is left is the painting job itself. Paint your wood floor in that checkerboard pattern by putting in the background color first before the checks. Know how to paint in these checks by looking up books on painting jobs. You will be given an idea on how to apply these checks in the best way possible that is sure to gain you the best results after.