Roll On: Revitalize Your Floors with Paint

More than most other parts of a home, floors take a lot of punishment. From daily foot traffic to moving furniture to overexcited pets, flooring rarely gets a day off from wear and tear. As such, anyone who owns a home for any significant amount of time will inevitably face the question of what to do about less-than-pristine flooring. Thinking about the challenges of replacing or repairing wood floors can make a homeowner’s head (and wallet) ache, but a less commonly used alternative could be exactly what the doctor ordered: paint your floors instead.

Why Painting Floors Is a Winner

It’s a budget-friendly option. Like many home improvement projects, having your flooring redone can very quickly become a costly proposition—easily reaching thousands of dollars—not to mention time taken off from work and the disruption that accompanies major projects of that kind. Painting wood floors can be a drastically cheaper alternative. It can be done without professional labor, and the necessary materials can be easily picked up from your local home improvement store. Depending on how complex your paint scheme is, it’ll just run you the cost of cleaning supplies and some good paint.

It’s easy. Painting wood floors couldn’t be any easier—no worrying about paint dripping or splattering—just be sure not to paint yourself into a corner. In addition to saving money on labor, you get the satisfaction of completing the project yourself. What’s more, instead of taking time off from work to supervise strangers in your home for a day (or more), painting your floors can be a fun weekend project. If you’re just doing one or two rooms, contractors may be less likely to take on the job, or they may charge a lot more, so it might make sense to simply do it yourself. If you end up hating the results, the solution is as simple as painting over it, whereas having carpet or wood flooring redone is likely to come at considerable cost, both in terms of dollars and time.

It allows you to indulge your inner artist. Painting means a lot more freedom in terms of the end product—your floor can be a work of art. You don’t have to rely on predetermined patterns; your options are limited only by your imagination. Geometric shapes, patterns, or floor murals (for the truly ambitious) can all be fantastic additions to liven up a room. Painted wood floors can easily transform the feel of a room and open up a world of exciting new decorating possibilities.

They’re easy to maintain. Painted wood floors are very easy to care for. The resilience of the paint means that a little soap and water is all that’s needed to keep your floors looking sharp. A painted concrete floor also offers the additional benefits of protecting the concrete and cutting down on dust.

Painting is a great way to transform old, worn-down flooring into something new and exciting. It can be economical and fulfilling—not to mention fun. So if you have some floors that need a little love, consider picking up a paintbrush and laying it on thick.