My living room has a concrete floor, help me with cheap ideas

Question

My living room is open to the kitchen and has a concrete floor. I don't want to cover it with wood or ceramic. I want help on how to paint the concrete and what I need to use to make it look modern and clean.

Barb 'n Norm · Answer

Just waxing it might make the colors in it, pop! I think it is quite lovely!!

Sarina Correa · Answer

You could Unicorn SPiT it!! On facebook search 'Unicorn SPiT' and it will come up, it's a gel stain!

Sue c. · Answer

The big box stores carry paint and finish for concrete. Go get a color chart, dream on it and pick your color. Be bold! The staff as well as the paint/stain makers are ready to walk you thru this job. And let us see how good it looks when you are done!

Deanna · Answer

Research brown paper bag floors. Great for concrete and easily protected. Then show us what you end up with here!

Sue T · Answer

I took up the carpet in my old house and painted my floors to look like bricks in the living room. and in the hallway I laid a floral wall paper. The wall paper was the fastest and easiest, gotta  use strong wall paper paste , and seal with a satin finish sealer. The bricks were a little more artistic. I painted the whole floor grey, then picked out three colors in the same family (beige, brown, and chocolate) then pour  one small amount of each color in the paint  pan, (next each other but not touching very much) then use a 3 inch roller, dip the roller in all three colors, just dip, don't roll, and paint a brick sized rectangle (the roller is 3 inches wide, so make the 'bricks' 6 inches long ) and paint these 'bricks ' in any pattern you wish, I did two side by side, then under those two I did two going at a 90 degree angle, so two going this way (II) then two under those going this way (=)  If I can find old pictures I will come back and post them...

Cyndi Moore Tippett · Answer

One of the coolest ideas I have seen lately is to paint the floor then purchase a large stencil and use it to put a design on the floor.  The options are endless.  Modern, Traditional, Country etc.  After you paint and stencil put several coats of polyurethane and you are good to go until you want to change it again.  Post pictures when you decide.

Murphy · Answer

There is a product that makes concrete floors look just like hardwood!  Go to  YouTube and key, 'concrete floor looks like wood' in the search!  These ideas are beautiful and are supposed to be easy to DIY and uses inexpensive supplies!  Good luck!

Sue T · Answer

Hi Liz... The wallpaper was in a hallway so there was not much traffic on it, I put 2 coats of poly on it, and it lasted pretty well, 2 years when we sold the house. Of course the heavier the wallpaper is the better it will last. But three coats of Polyurethane or some other kind of heavy duty sealer should work fine for your living room. When you pick the pattern I'd say choose a random one, nothing with visual borders or discernable lines or anything, something abstract. I used a pattern or sort of small flowers with no real direction or design to the placement of the flowers.  In a bigger room like a living room you may be able to use a larger design (flowers or whatever pattern you like.) Please let us know how this goes for you! I'd love to know ,and see pictures of it~. A word though, DO let that sealer dry for a couple of days in between coats, making sure it is sealed and completely dry before doing the next coat.

Jart37 · Answer

I do not know if this is an old post or new.  I painted my livingroom concrete
floor with floor and deck paint, semi-gloss I did not poly as I have serious allergies and problems with odors I could not move out.  No children, we walked on it for five years until I changed  my room colors.

Marilynn Joy · Answer

My daughter-in-law wanted to do something unique in their basement after it was finished.She wanted to keep the cement so she got black shiny paint some thin masking tape and fabricated 'marble' floors.You would not know it was not marble. She used a script liner brush to paint the veins in the 'tile' .She did a marvelous job.Once everything was sealed it also held up....just like marble tile for about 50.00 and hours of labor.Beautiful.

Marilynn Joy · Answer

Hi,they have since sold and moved away. But I can tell you one very big reson they sold really fast was the basement floor. She measured and marked 2 feet square (she first of all scrubbed the floor with TSP). Then she used the very thin painters tape to square off the whole floor .It looked like a checkerboard.Then she painted the whole floor with a shiny black paint for cement.when dried she carefully pealed off the tape so the grey cement underneath looked like grout lines.She then 'Ragged 'it with 2 different color greys using  plastic grocery store bags using VERY little paint.Then for the finishing touch she use a script liner and painted in the veins.After everything cured she sealed it and boy it was absolutly beautiful.It was not a job she did in a week but the finished product was certainly worth it.,If you don't like black marble you always reverse the colors.I wish you well with your project and if it turns out anything like what my daughter-in-law did you will be proud of yourself.let me know how you do if you go this way.

Eileen Douglas · Answer

We had cement floors throughout our little house in CA.  We ground them down first to make them level, then painted them a stone gray color.  Then I drew flagstones with a pencil.  Next I went back and sponge painted the flagstones in several shades of darker gray.  Finally we sealed it.  Everyone wanted to come see it.  When we sold the house, it was the outstanding feature everyone talked about.

Hud9787086 · Answer

Can you tell me the name of the paint. And from where you get it. Thank you

Eileen Douglas · Answer

I don't remember specifically, but any home improvement store can sell you floor paint.  I just mixed and matched varying shades of gray for the flagstones.

Woo8655770 · Answer

Sounds like you want a concrete stain. Home Depot and Lowe's sells paint which is not the same. After you clean....clean....clean you apply the stain along with several other steps until you end with the top coat for the shine. It's really neat how the stain reacts with the different minerals in concrete. I purchased my supplies from concretecamouflage.com.

Ednaslone1971 · Answer

I have rock floors in large log home beautiful but floors are awful what can I do with it I can't clean it I need help I even had pofessional in here it's awful

Timi · Answer

I think it looks awesome the way it is! Maybe just add more sealer and wax to bring out the shine!

My living room has a concrete floor, help me with cheap ideas

Suggested Project Book

How to Get Backyard Privacy Without a Fence

Other

More

My living room has a concrete floor, help me with cheap ideas

Suggested Project Book