After completing our large concrete block and beam terrace it was time to decide what paving to finish it with. Painted concrete was never on the agenda.
In my mind was a rustic yet natural finish of sandstone or terracotta.
At over 75 square metres, the cost of of the job with a tile was adding up. My basic choice began at €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The hand cut sandstone look I adored was €120 PER SQUARE METRE!!!!
Budget, as usual was a driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.
The decision
The decision was made to try painted concrete. As usual with this house project, naivety and enthusiasm along with budget relieving ideas, I had no experience or real knowledge of how to do this so that it was both beautiful and low maintenance.
However, a quick look at Leroy Merlin’s website and learning about cost per square metre, I came up with a cost of €200-300 for all materials needed. In other words, the whole project could be completed for the price of two and a half square metres of my preferred sandstone slabs. Decision made!
The Look
I decided I wanted to try and mimic my much loved stone slabs and also add some featured elements that would look like Persian carpets. Hopefully it would not be too obvious as being only painted concrete.
However, it needed to be tested. Husband was fully on board with the idea although telling him it would be similar paint finish to a Formula One pit garage might also have helped.
Perfecting the idea – the painted concrete pantry test
Firstly, I lugged the four tins of concrete paint down into some old chicken coops we were about to demolish. Their old concrete floors would be a great place to try out my skill. We bought these first tins at Leroy Merlin. Here is a link to give you an idea of the colours and prices available. Leroy Merlin range of paints
The Ripolin brand is more expensive than the Luxens but seems to be a better quality.
Armed with various rollers, brushes, rags and sponges, some stencils and rolls of masking tape, I set up the laboratory of concrete painting.
My early attempts eventually had promise but the look on husband’s face showed he needed some more convincing. It may have been the way I was presenting it or the environment I had chosen among the old tangled chicken wire and overgrown brambles we had to climb through to view my test patches.
The pantry was an area that had been used to store fruit and veges over the winter by the previous owners. It also became a temporary tools storage/workshop during the massive kitchen project adjacent.
It was a very rough diamond to start with as you can see in the photos but it had a concrete floor and that was what inspired me to get on and renovate the area. Adjacent to the newly finished kitchen/dining and living area, the timing was perfect.
The Process
Obviously a tidy up was to come first.
We decided that the old freezer left behind by previous owners and move it around as needed. It was full of our supplies and getting it out was just too hard for a husband and his mildly strong wife.
Then after a quick rendering of the walls, acid cleaning the floors to remove centuries of grease and grime, we had a blank canvas with which to work. Painted concrete tile floor – here we come.
What you need – materials
- a few tiles/stones or printouts of look you want to achieve. (this helps you emulate the colours). I had bit of old limestone and a few cheap tiles I picked up out of a remnant bin.
- Cement acid wash/de-greaser – we used hydrochloric which we mixed to 5% with water.
- Base colour high intensity traffic concrete paint. Check tin for square metre coverage to judge quantity. Exterior paint is higher wearing but more expensive. It would depend on the wear area you are painting.
- At least two highlight colours of concrete paint to create your tile look. Only small tins needed as you will not need as much as the base coat.
- If wanting to create more colour options but not the expense of whole tins, buy paint tint tubes – much cheaper and gives you plenty of options to mix your own contrasts.
- A tin of top coat if you wish to seal it – optional and again based upon intensity of traffic to area. The hardware stores do recommend it.
- Masking tape for “grout” areas. Obviously the thinner the tape the more realistic the grout. Unfortunately 14mm is the thinnest I can find here in France – I would love thinner and trying to cut the rolls down proved a disaster for us.
Tip: If your masking tape tears as you unroll it, microwave it for 20 seconds.
- Large roller and edge brush for the base coat.
- Sea sponges – different textures and densities produce differing patterns.
- Touch up thin brush for any grout touch ups later
- Cardboard or sturdy stencil of your tile shape
- Stencils and contrast colours for any more decorative elements such as a mat or carpet or decorative edging.
- Rags and paper towel to smudge with.
- Rubber gloves as the sponging is a messy business.
Step one: The base coat
After all surfaces were spic and span, the first coat of Pierre (stone) coloured concrete paint was applied using a medium density roller and a smaller foam roller into the corners.
The base colour/coat needs to dry for 24 hours.
Our concrete stains and wear shone through so we decided on two coats of the base colour.
Step Two – The masking tape to create your tiles
The laying down of the masking tape is important as it forms your tiles once painted over and a removed.
Ruling lines and measuring would have taken me ages, so I made a cardboard template of the size of “tile” I wanted. I decided on a 20cm x 40cm size.
I began my first tile at the furthest corner (as if a cut tile). This gave me a starting point to work backwards from.
Whatever your pattern, I suggest you start at the furthest end and work towards your entrance/exit area.
With a bit of contrasting coloured chalk and using my cardboard template, I laid down long diagonal strips (horizontal) directly along the edge of the template. Then I ruled lines for where each tile would finish (vertical).
Long lines of masking tape soon filled half the room and I went back to then divide each portion into its individual tiles. You can see this in the photo below.
Laying down the painters/masking tape to form your tiles.
This photo shows the first areas of “tile” masked up and the contrasting edging I decided to do as the walls were far from straight.
I also had a play with masking up other shapes and feature areas as a rehearsal for the terrace. Photos below.
Working on the diagonal was much easier for me than trying to get straight lines across the room which would be more obvious if slightly our of alignment.
I also decided to make a light coloured border around the room to disguise the crooked old stone walls. By running this as a straight line and simply leaving the base coat exposed, it tricked the eye into seeing only straight lines.
Creating the tiles – trompe l’oeil
Now came the fun part – creating the tiles!
I decided I wanted a stone/travertine look after experimenting with terracotta tile, marble and other possible effects. My limited artistic ability and the time element involved all came together to help make this decision
After much trial and error in the old chook pen, I found using a sea sponge was the best and easiest way.
I used four different colours of concrete paint; light grey, taupe, cream and a pale yellow. I dolloped a quantity of each colour paint on old ice-cream container lids. Any plastic surface with a lip would do.
Then dipping the sponge in a colour, I started to dab it around. Alternating colours with each dob as I worked tile by tile around the room. I wanted to make sure that some “tiles would be darker/lighter than others to give a more natural look of “real stone” tiles. Different pressures of dabs and smudges will obviously create different texture looks.
Stand back and review your work regularly!
A good trick is to keep standing up and stepping back to see how your tiles are evolving. If too dark or too patchy simply layer on some more colour or smudge it more as you go.
REMEMBER: make sure you build up your paint up and over the masking tape or you will not get a definitive line of “grout” when you reveal your finished area.
Allow to dry 24 hours. Then gently peel away all your masking tape to reveal your masterpiece.
Do any “grout” touch up with your base colour as needed with a fine brush.
Stencil features
I also played with stencils to create a door mat effect at the door using stronger colours of red, white, ochre and navy blue. At one stage I had thought I would do an brick style floor and played with other shapes under the soon to be installed wine racks.
At this point I learnt a lot about concrete paint and stencils. It is sticky stuff that forms a skin very quickly. The paint ruined my stencils and the concrete paint even in small quantities on my stencil sponge had a habit of bleeding. It was at this point that I knew a different method was going to be needed if I was not going to blow the budget buying the many very expensive concrete/floor stencils available.
I have compiled a large reference library of these stencils on my Pinterest page since this project and have a few ideas of where I can attack next, especially with smoother surfaces. I have a wood floor upstairs that is crying out for some magic. Stay tuned. Here are some of my saved inspirations. Painted carpets Pinterest
The finished pantry
We added a nonslip top coat especially for painted concrete to the finished area. Although it said matt finish on the tin, it proved glossier than I would have liked. However, I hardly notice this anymore.
Note the fun I had painting the old freezer with home-made blackboard paint for frozen food stock control. I always forget what’s in the freezer. This has helped enormously.
What goes in is chalked on and the family is under threat of death if they don’t wipe off what they have removed! It makes shopping a breeze and makes me feel organized – a bonus for anyone in renovation disarray.
Now for the terrace project…
So much learnt, it was time to take on the real painted concrete project that the pantry was a test for. You can see the process and results here…Painted concrete Part 2 terrace