Hope for Old Linoleum

Some of my favorite Trash to Treasure ideas are faux finished. And I especially like projects that save huge sums of money or huge chunks of time. Even though this project took some time, it was well worth saving the effort of ripping out a floor, installing a new subfloor, and installing new vinyl. In the end, a faux finish saved both time and money. Cha-ching!

I was at my friend's house Saturday for a home party and I had brought my camera along since I had heard she had some trash to treasure gems. I wasn't disappointed! This bathroom floor is painted over linoleum. Vergene primed it and then she and her friend Maureen painted it to look like stones. Then they sealed it well with a poly coat. Believe it or not, it has held up well to use. See instructions below to paint your floor; it can save you a lot of money!



How to paint a linoleum floor:

• Wash the floor with ammonia to remove any residue or build-up of old wax. If it has a lot of waxy layers, wash it multiple times. Rise with plain water and let dry thoroughly.
  
• Prime floor with a primer such as Bulls-Eye 1-2-3 primer by Zinsser, or Kilz
• For the paint layer, choose something with high durability. There are floor paints but there are some acrylic paints with high durability that would work as well.
• There are many possibilities for faux finishes as well. In Vergene's bathroom, she painted the background a solid color and then painted "stones" over the top.
  
• Once you have the floor looking as you'd like, let it dry well. Then, top coat with a clear acrylic polyurethane. Let it dry according to the manufacturers directions and then coat again. Repeat process several times to get a good seal on the floor.
• It will take a few days for the paint to cure, so don't do anything that would scratch it during that time.