Buffalo Check Painted Floor

5 Materials
1 Day
Easy
Buffalo check is kind of one of my fav things in the decor world right now. So, I decided to paint the pattern on my kitchen floor. It is definitely in the category of 'disasterous nightmare turned okayish project'. You know, that category.
Anywho, if you decide to try your hand at your own buffalo check painted rug, take my advice and take my advice!
The green check matches my cupboards and my oven matches nothing (I mean, the oven was free).
And the baby? He makes everything look better.
When I decided to paint a buffalo check patterned rug on my kitchen floor I thought "No big deal". It is already painted wood plank flooring (you can see more of my floors here) so painting on top of them was going to be pretty simple and easy. Plus, I like to just go for it when it comes to crafty crap.
Boy, was I wrong about the simple and easy part.
I used the lines of the planks for the first layer of stripes. After laying the painters tape in a huge (some-what even) rectangle with 6" stripes between, I painted the initial layer of every other stripe..
At this point I had realized I had made my first mistake. Once the layer of green stripes were finished, the fresh coat of paint really made the old , original paint stick out like a sore thumb. With 10 people living and walking these floors, my kitchen sees a lot of traffic. And that traffic wears down the paint. So, I touched up the original green paint next. This would have been LOADS easier to do first before the new green stripes!!!!
Once all my long stripes were dry, I removed the tape, took my handy dandy yard stick and started measuring and marking 6" stripes now going along the width of the floor making 6x6 squares.
I didn't change my clothes before this "quick" project of mine.
#1 I was too lazy
#2 I didn't need to since this was going to be "quick"
#3 I was lazy


2 of these statements are fact and one turned out to be false...
Needless to say, I sat in wet paint and ruined my shorts.
This is why I don't have nice pants, people!
PSA: Do yourself a favor and wear paint clothes.
Once my new width paint stripes were taped, I properly labeled an 'x' where I didn't want to paint. Mom Brain is real, friends.


Tip: when taping your lines, make sure the tape falls on the interior of every other stripe (the interior taped squares are the ones you do not paint)! Otherwise you will have tape lines where paint is supposed to be once all of the blue tape is removed. This is why some of the stripes in my picture appear to be thinner than others. The thinner stripes are the no-paint zone areas.


Once my width stripes were all taped up and ready, I painted with the darker coat. It was just a few shades darker than the first coat.
I did not buy paint for this project. Staying true to my convictions of not spending money, I used what I had on hand and modified the colors. And by "modified" I mean I was Mrs.SirMixALot in my workshop mixin' shades of green to other shades of green to see what I'd get.
FYI
I can guarantee it's way easier to just go to the hardware store and buy 2 shades of your preferred buffalo check color. One lighter and one darker shade.
I removed the tape for the exciting Big Reveal.
And then I panicked.
What in the bloody love of green Scottish tartans had I done to my floor?
My 'kitschy' green buffalo check painted rug I had envisioned in my head turned out to just look like I had spilled McD's Shamrock Shake in perfect squares all over my floor.
So, out came the power sander. And the nervous sweat.
Sweet.
Here she is after I sanded her down a bit.
Now what?
Not going to lie. I had no idea.
I went out to my trusty workshop and pulled this out.
Everything's better "pickled".
Right?!?
Nope!
Pickling was most definitely not my answer to this problem.
It didn't really help my situation. I was kind of making a bigger mess.
So, I went back out and grabbed this.
Ah, good ol' chalk paint. It fixes everything.
I watered the chalk paint down and grabbed a clean rag.
Keep in mind, I still have no real plans here. Just trying to save this nightmare.


Side Note: I save all my cans. You never know when you will need one and they come in super handy with paint projects!
At this point I would like to add that while I am a DIY enthusiast, I am a mother first. While I was helping my little #7 take a potty break, my #5 snuck into the kitchen all ninja-like because he was thirsty. He scaled the outer edge of the floor where it wasn't painted, made his way to the fridge and proceeded to accidentally drop an entire gallon of milk all over the not-quite-dry floor.
This was the day I cried over spilled milk.
But, I pulled up my ruined and paint-stained big girl pants and cleaned the disasterous disaster up. The paint was in that in-between stage of dry and wet. So, wiping up the milk just gave it a more "distressed" look if you will.
Aaaaaand, back to the watered down chalkpaint.
I took the clean rag and soaked it into the paint can. Squeezed it out and started wiping the length of the floor boards over all the squares.
It was looking white-washed. And I didn't mind.
I went to bed that night with a migraine and a hope that it would look better to me in the morning.


It's not perfect, but it's growing on me. Really nothing in my house is perfect (most especially me), so I guess it fits in well around here.
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Kristin Gambaccini
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2 of 4 comments
  • Rachel Rachel on Aug 10, 2019

    YES You are amazing 👍🏼

  • Rachel Rae Prindle Rachel Rae Prindle on Mar 31, 2020

    The simple fact that you tried and some what failed! But came out of it with an awesome DIY to share with us. I can say in NOT going to try this today lol... but I loved reading every line and I felt your pain !


    Thanks for sharing! Have a blessed day!


    God bless you and your family!


    YOU are an inspiration!!!

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