Decorative Ideas for Painted Floor Projects

I was about to start a piece on my latest painted floor — a checkerboard — and I realized I have enough pictures of past projects at this point to do a review of all the possibilities. Painted floors need not look like the deck of a battleship.

Do a quick Google search and you’ll see the broad variety of what other people are doing: stars, dolphins and whatnot, though my tastes run to the classical. Personally, I look to ancient Rome for inspiration. Shapes can be octagons, circles, squares, squares and circles. Colors may be black and white, shades of neutral, or as colorful as you will. Even if you’re using black and white like in this week’s example, try Sherman Williams Bohemian Black 6908 and Agreeable Gray 7029. I allowed them to be transparent, which in effect gave me a rich palette of multiple hues.

Here’s a hint for the home enthusiast: use the linoleum or pine boards on which you paint as a square or rule, to help you with your drawing and to find the dimensions of what the room wants. Lino comes 12×12 inches, and is a perfect grid for a new checkerboard.

Also, there’s light veining and faux marble in the base, which is just sea sponges and turkey feathers, cold hands and a warm heart.