Monday, August 8, 2011

Finished floors.

So, yesterday I showed ya’ll the first post of the priming, painting, and stenciling process we did to our faux brick vinyl flooring in our kitchen. Well, we’ve finished four coats of polycrylic on our kitchen floors, and in a very humble way, can I just say that I’m really proud of ‘em! I love how they turned out – SO much better than they were before! How about we start with the fancy before & after comparisons, since I’m so psyched about the results {for just $80.}

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Can you believe that’s the same floor, just with a little {or 7 layers} of paint and poly? Crazy!

Okay, now on to our process.

We used this poly because it is water-based {meaning it supposedly won’t yellow like an oil-based.}

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The saran wrap is a super helpful tip Eugene found online. If ya cover the lid with saran wrap then the dried bits of poly won’t fall into your fresh gallon of polycrylic.

Before each coat of poly, you have to sand the floor with a fine sand paper {we used 100 grit}, and then clean it all really well.

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These two steps were by far the worst part of the whole process, although the hours stenciling weren’t really a blast either. But the sanding & cleaning left me with a battle wound…

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My leg looks weird, but the point of the picture is to show you that I have a big red blister on my KNEE! Who the heck gets blisters on their knee? Well, I’m one of the few & proud I guess.

The first coat we did, we went the slow rookie rout – foam paint brushes. Then we got creative & bought four foam mops at the Dollar Tree. I simply dipped some Dixie cups into the poly, poured it on the floor, and mopped it around evenly. And surprisingly…it worked really well!

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One nice factor is that the poly only has to dry 2 hours between coats. Here’s the poly drying – exciting stuff…

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And here are some more pictures of the pretty shiny “new” floor we’re left with…

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The picture below is pretty true to color…

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We still need a metal strip to go between the two floor types & need to fill in the piece of wood floor where we opened up the half doorway.

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And here are two in natural lighting without any of the ceiling lights on.

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How’s that for an affordable solution to faux brick vinyl flooring?

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I had to add $3 to the total from the first flooring post for the mops we bought…

Primer – $0 {already had, but it’s around $18 in the store}
Stencil – $3
Stencil brush – $1
Floor paint – $25
Poly Sealer – $45 {not used yet, but will be in a post coming soon. I hope.}
White paint – $0 {already had, but it’s around $25 in the store, but didn’t use more than a cup full}
Foam Mops – $3

I’m pretty darn happy with the results! The kitchen’s certainly come a long way from the bricks, apples, and checkered wallpaper days! {To see all the kitchen updates, click here.} :)

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Project linked to:

http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2011/08/transformation-thursday.html
http://www.houseofhepworths.com/
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/
http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/
http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/
http://lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.com/
http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

23 comments:

  1. holy cow, C! that is amazing! never would have guessed that the before and after pictures are the same place. belongs in some magazine or something. great job getting the house in the shape you want it before the little ones come along, then its not so easy :)

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  2. Wow!! very nicely done! never know it is the same place. We are about to re-do a cottage & this may be something I do for a quick fix...
    Thanks for sharing

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  3. Love it! I've been wanting to do this to my icky, yucky, ugly kitchen linoleum and you've inspired me to give it a try!

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  4. Beautiful! I am dying to do this in my bathroom, and if it doesn't work out, its okay because we need tile anyway. Your kitchen looks AMAZING!!!

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  5. I think they are great! I so want to do that, but I would have to paint on plywood because my vinyl is not in good shape.
    Great job!

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  6. Wow, great job! what a transformation! I painted a floor years and years ago and swore I'd never do it again but I have to admit after seeing yours - I'm tempted ;)

    Dropping by from Power of Paint.

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  7. Hiya! Wow, that is an amazing transformation - you must be so proud of yourselves :) We are also remodelling a house and had to pull up two layers of tiles before retiling the entire floor, so I can really appreciate the hard work and effort you have put in. Well done!
    Cas x
    p.s. I'm now following along, so I can see more of your great work :)

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  8. What an amazing transformation!! Way to go!!

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  9. This is really great! We have a couple of small areas with linoleum on them in the basement that I will definitely have to try this technique out on! BTW- LOVE the chalkboard in the kitchen! I'll have to save that idea too!

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  10. What an amazing transformation! You must walk in every morning and smile:) I am in a rented house and I hate our kitchen lino, I wish I could do something like this! Well done.

    Bianca

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  11. What an amazing transformation!! Thank you for sharing!
    I'm hosting a link party today over @ For Mamas. I'd love it if you stopped by & linked up!

    Chrissy
    www.formamas.blogspot.com

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  12. Oh wow, this is seriously brilliant! I'm featuring this next Thursday the 18th on my blog! I've got it written up and scheduled so be looking for it next week! Absolutely awesome job! I will so remember this if I'm ever in a house with linoleum that I hate!

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  13. btw I'm a new follower! Anyone who has the guts to paint a linoleum floor is awesome in my book! :)

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  14. wow! kudos for painting all those :)
    I'm your newest follower!

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  15. What a transformation!!! Definitely worth your wounded knee. I'm putting your floor in the PoPP Spotlight. Thanks for linking up.

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  16. Thanks so much, Maryann & Brooke for highlighting my floors on your blogs. I'm super pleased (and surprised) with how well they've turned out! :)

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  17. Love it! I wish I could paint my kitchen floor.

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  18. This is A-MAZ-ING! I would never know it was the same space! And the ingenuity you both used with painting the design on the floor blew me away!

    My house next??!! :)

    I'm your newest follower.

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  19. Great job! Love the stencil embellishment. I painted my kitchen linoleum about 4 years ago and I did a two tone tile effect. Some scratches here and there, but overall it has held up. I used a special polyurethane for floors though. If I do it again, I will probably do a white distressed finish so any scratches will just add to its charm.

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  20. Wow! That looks amazing. Great work!

    Kim
    kimberlyannblog.blogspot.com

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  21. I LOVE what you have done to your home! I live in an old farmhouse built in '29 and have done a lot to it, but want to do more. It is very small, but I like it. God has definitely given you a gift of creativity! Best wishes with your next phase. I look forward to seeing how it goes!

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I love to hear from people reading my blog. If you don't mind, please put your name so I know who you are. :) Thanks so much for sharing!

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