Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Painted Floor Photos

Here are photos of the painted floor in my son's bedroom.

We added a garage sale coffee table for building Legos and a $20 rug to catch the sprawl. (Here's how we store the toys.)

July/August is a good time to look for inexpensive rugs. Walmart, Target, etc. roll out bound carpets for college kids.

Case study: to what degree will Lego bricks abrade a painted floor?

Ask me next year.

51 comments:

Connie said...

I love both rooms. Beautiful, but still perfect for playing and reading. I never realized how light filled a room could look by just painting the floor white.

Laura at By the Bushel said...

found you on 'give a girl a fig' have been searching through your posts and love your site. I plan to make the silouette profiles you mentioned, and enjoyed finding her site(nissa) per your suggestion. Thanks! btw, love the rooms! Soo cute, also love the 'big art'! Especially the bubbles. Laura

Candace said...

Meridith, I must sat that you have an absolutely delightful and whimsically decorated house. I love the children's rooms. I totally want to paint my floors white and my walls yummy colors now....er, that is if i didn't rent and if my landlord hadn't installed new laminate flooring before we moved in. I love the look of a painted floor, I always have. I tried to convince my dad to paint our floors white in high school when we moved into a 106 year old house with the original, scarred hardwood floors. He being a mechanic who works outside under cars all day didn't see the necessity or practicality of painting brown floors white.

or to put it more simply~ I love the makeover.

Candace said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mama k said...

I love the floors. I have seriously considered doing the same in our bedrooms as the carpet is BAD and I know there is some ugly hardwood under there.

Maybe next year!

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

What a sweet and cozy room for your son. It looks like a great place to rest and create. My 11 year old STILL loves his Legos...

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to have this look...but I have concrete floors. Even upstairs! Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Wow, that looks great! So easy to clean too I imagine! It looks so bright and airy. :)

Shannon said...

Andrew's room looks great. Being able to see the little toys and sweep them right up will be much easier with little John crawling around!
I'm really surprised at how spacious the rooms look with painted floors - I never would've guessed it would make such a difference.
I'm thinking painted floors will be perfect for our downstairs (if we ever get that far!).

Nicola said...

both bedrooms look incredible! we painted our kitchen subfloor as a temporary solution. color choice is key, as is good quality paint. yours both look/sound fabulous!
nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com

Kristina said...

Oh, Meredith! I LOVE the floors in those rooms!!! You have inspired me!! Thank you!

Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said...

Oh Meredith, how beautiful! You really do have a gift.

A. said...

Both rooms look just amazing. I love them!

Unknown said...

When you originally asked for suggestions about the floor, I was a 'Paint the whole thing' voter.

Looks like you agreed and the results are wonderful.

My husband now looks at the pictures on your blog because he too finds your frugal home improvements inspiring!

Anonymous said...

I love it just as much as the first room.

Anonymous said...

I love it just as much as the first room.

gregandlori said...

Your floors and your childrens' rooms look awesome! It shows off the space, the light, and allows the warmth of your beautiful furnishings to shine through. LOVE IT.

Best,

Indiana Lori

Tubo Family said...

What a great room for a growing boy. I love how you've had the furniture grow with Andrew and added pieces to reflect new stages--the coffee table looks wonderful for protecting legos from swiping little hands. My 5 yo has a daybed and 2 yo has trundle (it's very low since rolls instead of pops up & we use it pushed against the adjacent wall to keep it still) and I recently started using the space under the daybed for legos in a underbed plastic box--not as efficient as deep bins but easy to spread out tiny little lego pieces.

Julieann said...

Everything looks just FANTASTIC!!!!

Julieann

Christina said...

Love the painted floors. They look clean and crisp. Your house looks great too. Both of your childrens rooms are just darling.

I also love the yellow kitchen. My sister Beth has a yellow kitchen very similar to your color and it has always been such a bright spot.

Valerie Stills said...

I love it!!! It makes me wish we didn't have hardwood floors!!! I would so do that!

Lori said...

I just realized that there are no chests or dressers in either room. Where do you store folded clothes like pajamas, underwear, t-shirts, shorts, socks, etc? Are the chests in the closets? I love the spacious look but can't imagine no toys about or drawers for folded items. I would love to hear your solution for storing clothes.

Heather said...

Girl, I just love your ideas. Hubby is going to die when I tell him that I want to tear up the carpet..lol. I may wait a few years till a few more kiddos come along. I just love your blog. Thank you and keep up the good work.

Vivian said...

think that would work on cement floors?

TJ said...

I am loving your home updates! Both of my kiddos rooms are in need of help, but our 1980's house has nothing nice under the stained carpet. I'm still finding wonderful ideas from you on bedroom furniture!

I can't remember, how do you store your children's clothes? That is our biggest issue right now. We only have 1 dresser and it isn't in good shape. My daughter was using dorm room style cubes, but they keep falling apart. And I'll need to store the boys' clothes too once they come... actually I should start sorting and storing now.

Janel said...

The paint job is wonderful! Great job!!

Bobi Jensen said...

Looks great!

Nicola said...

meredith, i am back to add a question (although i am sure if i looked in your FAQ, there would be some sort of appropriate answer, so off i go...)

HOW do you do it all? i do A LOT, but i cannot imagine painting two bedroom floors on my own with my kids present. (and i only have 2, not 3!)

nicola
http://whichname.blogspot.com

Brenda said...

The rooms look great! I love painted floors, although I have no experience with how they hold up to wear and tear, but I would think they should do well.

I'm sure you have a practical reason, but why does John share Elise's room rather than Andrew's? I noticed, too, that the rocker that was once in the "nursery" is now in John's room. Is that where you rock the little one to sleep? There is absolutely nothing that I love more than rocking babies! I sometimes travel for five hours just to rock my two year old granddaughter and put her to bed. In fact, I did that Saturday, and drove back 5 hours on Sunday, and it was worth all the time and money!

Anonymous said...

Oh, boy, do you have the wheels turning in my decor-impoverished head. I have no knack for these things, but your photos make me think, "Hm...maybe..." I'm thinking it could solve our family room dilemma. The carpet is probably 30 years old, and I've dreamed of hardwood for the past 8 years, but the carpet remains. Maybe I could roll on some porch paint and buy time??

tchrmom said...

You manage your family SO well; you inspire me. Two questions: 1) what is the best way to keep up white floors? (I'm considering porch paint colors for my recently enclosed sunroom w/ concrete floors.) 2) when does shopping for a bargain become a disadvantage? My hubby mentioned that his mom always bought the same brands of everything, which made me wonder if my bargain shopping is worth all the work. I'd love to hear your advice b/c we homeschool and live on one income w/ 3 kids also.

Jackie said...

I love all of your budget decorating tips, but painting the floors is such an awesome idea!

Tracey said...

I LOVE THIS IDEA...WHAT ARE THE FLOORS MADE OUT OF

BlueCastle said...

Beautiful floors! I painted my sons' bedroom floor white a few years ago, but I used cheaper paint and now it's in sad, sad shape. I want to paint them again, and this time I'll get some better paint. I really love the look of painted floors.

Kelly said...

I LOVE the floors. You've decorated your kids' rooms so beautifully. I feel so inspired. And I think the coffee table in Andrew's room is brilliant for Legos. I'm going to keep my eyes open for one like it.

Ginny said...

You did a wonderful job on the floors! I would love to try that, but I am afraid to even start. The rooms look awesome!

Tammy said...

Your floors look beautiful. I love the tidbit that caring for them with a new coat of paint is no more work than mopping them.

But I'd be nuts with thinking that my kids would be putting black marks and scuffs and scrapes in the paint.

I guess for me to paint them it would have to be black. :D

Or maybe a few coats of poly kind of protective thing?

Tammy and Parker
www.prayingforparker.com
www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com
@ParkerMama on Twitter

Tammy said...

Forgot to add that I love how you have put a picture up at preschooler height. I've done the same thing with a picture in Parker's kitchen area.

Tammy and Parker
www.prayingforparker.com
www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com
@ParkerMama on Twitter

emily freeman said...

The rooms are lovely!! So much better. It looks so fresh and new.

Anonymous said...

I love the white floors. They look bright and cheery. Lovely!

Jackie said...

Your sons room is lovely. Bright and airy. Perfect for a little boy.

God bless.

Janette said...

The flors are wonderful. Why did I never think of that?
My son took his legos to college and has them in his apartment as a twenty something. some things they never outgrow!

SchrefflerFamily said...

Your house always looks so gorgeous. I'd want to live there!

Workin' MAMA! said...

Meredith - you have done a splendid job with the floors! are you allowing shooz on the floors - socks only?
Did you cover it with a top coat to prevent knicks and scrapes?
So many questions b'c I'm thinking of doing the very same thing - following your lead as usual... :)

guess who's back and full of southern belle charm and unbelievable southern neccessities packed down in all of her suitcases?

A great trip for my fam - betcha didn't even miss me... :)

lol -

latrice

Workin' MAMA! said...

I missed your blog so much!
I was blabbing all about your blog down south to my relatives at the family reunion and several have already chimed in and are too chicken to write something! They talk about you on my facebook.

You should be hearing from them soon... :)

Karen said...

Oh Meredith, they turned out great and wow with the painting! I love to paint -- I don't love to prep, but I love to paint. How did you do it with the kids around??? Was this a weekend project?

My kitchen is beige and I am thinking of going to a darker tan. Yellow would be very interesting. I'm not sure if I can commit to a yellow, but I love the sunshiney-ness you have gotten. A good friend has a burnt orange kitchen and it is Fabulous. She has a lot of decorating objects that break up the color.

Candace said...

Your painted floors look wonderful. What a great idea. I have no carpets anymore and cement floors with vinyl that looks like wood (people always ask if it is real wood) and although I was worried that it would be too hard and cold I haven't seen any big difference, and I don't miss carpets at all. I can't believe how much dust gets under the beds each week and can't imagine how dusty the carpet under the beds must have been. When it is time for new floors (hopefully a long time from now) if the cement is in good condition, I think I will try painted floors.

Workin' MAMA! said...

Meredith, would the same paint you used be good to use on wooden cabinets? I've been thinking about painting my dark dark cabinets beige gloss - lots of wood grain in them -
too chicken to act solo - I need help thinking this one through - any advice?

Scooper said...

I LOVE those painted floors. It's wonderful when necessity dictates such resourceful and fabulous results. I really enjoy your blog and all your clever ideas.

Elizabeth said...

Well, it's beautiful. I hope it is also durable.

God bless,
Elizabeth

Qarin said...

"Case study: to what degree will Lego bricks abrade a painted floor?

Ask me next year."

Hey, so, it's been almost a year, is it time to ask? How has the paint on the floor held up?