Faux Bois Floor ... or How I painted a fake wood floor

I just returned home from a relaxing 10 day retreat to my tiny cabin in the northwoods. It is my favorite place in the whole world. The cabin is  minuscule, just 20 x 20 feet.  It is an old bunk house that has been rescued from a fishing camp deep in the wilderness near the US and Canadian border and the  Boundary Waters Canoe Area or BWCA for short. It has  no running water, just an out house.  I have been slowly fixing it between kayak and canoe trips. Painting the plywood floor was my project this time. Picking blueberries was my other project!

I painted the plywood a pretty grayed blue. I liked it but I wanted to camouflage the plywood AND I wanted to put a pattern on the floor that would hide dirt. I decided to use a wood grain tool that I bought at my local hardware store.  I painted the top layer a very light gray over the blue. I think it inserts a sort of Scandinavian feel to my little getaway.

Here is what I did:

1. Scrubbed the heck out of the old floor. Let it dry.

2. Taped around the edges where I did not want to paint.

3. Painted the floor blue. I cut out the edges with a brush then used a roller. Let it dry.

4. Painted the floor a second coat. Let it dry.

5. Painted a stripe of gray paint over the blue and immediately used the graining tool to make the pattern. Rock the grain tool a bit to make the knots.

6. Worked in sections until the floor was finished. Let dry.

7. Painted on water based (made for floors) polyurethane. I covered it 4 times to get a durable finish.

I used latex paint, the kind for walls. I have been on a kick to get rid of old cans of paint in my basement so this color is the result of dumping three different blues together. I figure that the 4 coats of polyurethane will make the floor scrub-able.  You could use porch paint that is made specifically for floors. I would still poly it though. I think this process could be successful on concrete floors or even old linoleum. I would love to see other projects!

Here is the finished floor! It is suppose to be a temporary fix until we put in a real wood floor but I’m not sure. I never thought I would love it so much.

Here is the whole room again. I will post about making those chair slip covers sometime. I should also make a tutorial on the braided rug. It is made from old jeans.

The exterior of the cabin. It is a work in progress.

The reason I love to go north.

I did go blueberry picking!

Until next time – Peg

Linking to: Amaze Me Monday, Creative Bloggers Party and Hop, Tatertots and Jello, Sunday Showcase Party, DIY Home Sweet Home