Painted Tiles: Hallway & Bathroom makeover by Jen S

We all know ripping up tiles is a huge project not to mention an equally huge expense. Many of us can relate to that "oneday" we'll replace the tiles / floors but that one day is often a very loooong one day away. Doesn't mean you have to put up with what you have until that one day arrives.

Before 

Painting floors in Artisan paints and products is a lot easier than you might think. In many cases; after painting the floors; our customers often take that "oneday" off their future to do list. So it's been great to receive these photos from Jen S from East Auckland showing us your typical dated tiles through the Hallway and Bathroom and the impact created by  changing it up with Artisan Paints and products. (Interested? We're about to give you some pointers below).

We love how the change has modernised the entire space, crisped up the walls and given the floors an almost slate like look, with a can of Artisan Paint and a can of Artisan Lacquer and a few right tools, it's a low cost, quick project with little to no prep that repays with high impact when it comes to transforming a space. Painting your floors WILL completely change the look, feel and mood of your space and with 67 Artisan  colours, the choice is yours when it comes to creating your space.  

Jen has done such done a great job here. After watching our Artisan Washed Floors video online she was inspired to tackle this area.(To watch click here)  She left out the decorative washes  and went with a one colour finish, modernising the space and making the project even faster than what was shown on video. If you are hesitant about the colour ;have a chat to an Artisan Retailer  or get in touch for some advice or test a little bit of the colour in an area to get a gage of whether or not it's what you are after as Jen did first before committing (third image) 

When it comes to painting existing floors the approach may vary only slightly depending on what substrate you are working with.  But generally you will be looking at either Artisan Premium Chalk Paint or Velvet Luxe with a top coat of Artisan Lacquer; little to no prep other than a good clean and some masking. Wooden Floors, Teracotta, Concrete, Plywood floors are all completely doable and many of our retailers have painted floors in their stores as well and are able to guide you through your specific project more or you can also contact the team here directly with too if you don't live close to an Artisan Stockist.

Some Key things to consider: 

If you have some time Watch the Video Online  
Just select and add it to your cart online and go through checkout. There is no charge, as this is one of our complimentary videos capturing the basic methods as we were doing our Studio floor. So once you go through checkout  


The Right Roller 
Whether you're using Artisan Velvet Luxe or Premium Chalk Paints to paint your floors we always recommend rolling on with a Wooster Roller for an effortless seamless finish; for smaller areas like a toilet area a Staalmeester brush will also work a dream. Artisan Paints are rich, luscious full bodied and creamy and paired and need to be applied with the right brushes or rollers for best results.   

Floor Projects must always be lacquered with Artisan Lacquer:
There's no ifs or buts about it, customers often mention that after painting with Velvet Luxe it feels strong and is wipeable and will often question the need to lacquer. The answer is. you must always apply our lacquer over the top for durability, and function. The artisan lacquer will act as a top coat and is designed especially for floors (although we also use it for furniture, decor, pots  and all sorts of things) whether you're doing a flat one colour finish or a decorative effect on your floors the lacquer will seal and protect and make it long lasting and functional. 

Which Lacquer: 
We have Matte, Satin and Gloss sheens  in our Artisan Lacquer range, our general advice is Matte for high use floors, it shows up a lot less, is forgiving on those older floors with lots of imperfections as it absorbs the light, Satin is a nice in between and Gloss for low use areas as it will reflect the light and show things up a lot more but ultimately the choice is yours. 

Colours: Select your colours and neutrals to tie in with your home or to re-create your space. Bear in mind that dark colours and whites will tend to show up dirt and dust a lot more  than say mid tone colour or a neutral like Potters Clay or Parisian Grey

Painted Floors and Use 
Don't drag the fridge across your floors after painting, it is a painted floor after all; and just like a wooden, vinyl or plank flooring you should not be dragging heavy objects across it ;  as  it will damage. For general use;  painted floors can last a very  long time, this time varies and differs on how you use it . To give you an idea, we have painted floors in commercial retail spaces that have held up to the high heels and foot traffic of a commercial space, all day, all year no problems, customers have painted floors with indoor dogs and pets and cleaning is easy with a general light mop over the lacquered finish.  The other neat thing about painted floors is that on the off chance that  you damage it from say dragging a fridge across the floors, you have the tools and know how to touch it up and fix it.  If you are painting a dining area, a good tip is to place some felt under neath your dining chairs. These chairs will get dragged across painted floors daily and by putting felt underneath you will  prolong the life of your painted floors and it also makes it easy to slide your chairs in and out. 

Whether its a one flat colour  or a decorative paint effect,  painted floors is completely do-able with Artisan Paints and Lacquers. The hardest part is choosing colour.