Have you ever had an idea that was just so crazy that you knew that it would either be brilliant or a big fat flop? Our guest today is here to share a big crazy BRILLIANT idea that worked and looks wonderful: a faux wood plank floor, made using brown kraft paper. Just feast your eyes on the faux wood glory (and it's not often that you hear me say that!)
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Fabulous, right? I'm so thrilled that Chris is here today to share the tutorial exclusively with our Remodelaholic community. Give her a warm welcome!
Stained Brown Paper Faux Wood Plank Floors
by Chris of Freckle Face Girl
Hi fellow Remodelaholics! I'm Chris and I blog over at Freckle Face Girl. I am so excited to be a guest at Remodelaholic today! I am a freckle face mama of 4 and a lover of projects. I think I'm a project-aholic. They keep me sane in this busy life of mine and they are how I spend my “me” time. If I'm not working on a project, I'm thinking about working on one!
Some of my recent favorite projects are the DIY Black Rubbed Pottery Barn Finish in my boys shared bedroom and my Ikea Chandelier hack with Rub ‘n Buff. But, my absolute favorite is why I am here today. It's got to be my craziest one yet!
This is after we moved in and threw everything that didn't have a home elsewhere, in here.
For the first makeover, I re-painted the room with stripes, painted the ceiling blue, added some DIY artwork, a new hanging lantern, and cleaned up the clutter.
But what I really wanted to completely finish the room was a dark floor. I looked into laminate, vinyl and wood. But there really was no reason to spend so much money in one room just because I had the desire for change.
And then it happened. I saw an idea where others had torn up builder's paper and glued it to the floor and in some cases stained it to achieve a richer color.
While they were beautiful, I really wasn't wanting the leather or patchwork look for my room. I really wanted the look of a wood floor. I decided to try and create a “plank” by cutting strips of builders paper, adding a faux bois technique and then staining and sealing the floor. The goal was to create the look of old, reclaimed barn wood, with imperfections and distressing.
This is what I used:
- Builder's Paper from Lowes $11 (or Amazon)
- 1 quart Minwax Dark Walnut Oil Stain $7 (or Amazon)
- Elmers Glue All $15 (or Amazon)
- Wood Grain Tool $7 (or Amazon)
- 1 gallon Minwax Polycrylic in Satin $45**
- Small amount of paint for creating faux bois technique (I used Sealskin by Sherwin Williams).
**Remodelaholic note: Polycrylic is not recommended for use on floors because it would require more frequent recoating in high traffic areas. Instead, we recommend Minwax Super Fast-Drying Polyurethane for Floors (available at your local store or on Amazon) or Minwax Water-Based Polyurethane for Floors (also available in your local store or on Amazon).
You can customize the stain to the color of your choice, or make your own combination. I chose satin Polycrylic because the higher the sheen, the more obvious any specks of dirt or imperfections are.
This is what I did:
Cut your strips of paper first. Turn on your favorite movie (or 2) and start cutting. I got into a rhythm and just zoned out. Before I knew it, I had cut enough strips for the entire room. I kept them in garbage bags until I was ready to use them (note the more crinkled the paper gets, the more the plank looks distressed when it's stained).
I used a piece of wood that was the width of the planks I wanted to create (5 inches). I rolled out the paper about 5 feet at a time, laid the board width wise on the paper (so at least my ends of planks would be straight).
Then I drew a line using the board as a guide. I did this over and over again and cut when I had about 10 or so planks done.
Then cut along the line.
You will repeat this process until you have enough planks.
I really wanted that reclaimed wood look, so a wood grain was required. You will need a garage or dedicated space for this part because you are going to apply a faux bois paint technique to your planks, and they need space to dry.
I had leftover dark brown paint that I used for this project (Sealskin by Sherwin Williams). Put your paint into a plastic container with a lid so you can stop/start without having to create more of your mixture. Add paint to the container and then add enough water so that when you paint your plank, the paint slides easily and quickly with no drag. It doesn't need to be completely watery, but not as thick as normal paint.
Quickly paint the plank top to bottom with enough paint to cover the paper but not so much that it is puddling or dripping. Just a thin coat, enough to cover the paper will do.
Now, quickly take your wood graining tool and, using the back side with fine teeth, pull the tool from top to bottom so you have these fine lines. Note that my paper has some small spots without paint, that is ok, perfection isn't necessary here. The paint will dry quickly, so you will need to move fast.
Now pull the other side of the wood graining tool down over the lines you just made, slightly rocking as you go. The more you rock, the more knots you will have. Again, there is no need to worry about perfection. This process goes very quickly. I think I finished all of my paper in about an hour.
I laid all of my planks out on my garage floor and they were dry within about 1/2 hour.
Rip out your carpet, pad, tack strips and a million staples. Clean the floor really well. Be disgusted at that pile of dirt that was hiding under the carpet pad! Yuck!
Because I had OSB plywood instead of a regular plywood, I couldn't get away with putting my planks in at this stage. I tried it in a closet and it gave a strange ripply appearance, because the paper highlights any flaws/ripples/bumps in the floor. I did try a practice board with a regular sheet of plywood, with the paper directly over it and that turned out great. I had to cover the OSB with something smooth, and plywood is expensive. So instead, I essentially created a floating floor much like laminate.
First I screwed down Hardboard Panels onto the OSB. Putty the seams and screw holes with wood filler and sand until they are smooth.
When you are ready to start gluing your paper down, you will need a bucket (something large enough to hold the glue mixture and a few papers while you are working). Add 1 cup Elmer's Glue-All to every 3 cups of water. Make just enough of this mixture to use while you work, you won't be able to save it. The papers will need to be completely submerged. Mix thoroughly. You will also need a small paint tray mixed with 1 cup glue to 3/4 c water.
Dunk your paper plank into the bucket of glue/water mixture until thoroughly wet and it softens and relaxes the paper. Only wet enough paper to work with in about 10 minutes. Lay paper on a towel or side of bucket until you are ready.
Using a paintbrush, use the glue mixture from your paint tray and paint onto the floor where your plank will go. A thin coat will be fine because your paper also has glue on it. Lay down your plank and use a squeegee to gently press out any extra glue or water under the paper, wipe up and continue this process. This will ensure the plank is completely glued down, without wrinkles or bubbles. It's a messy process, so be sure to not use too much glue/water mixture and allow the water to drip off the plank onto the towel a little bit as you go. Otherwise you will have big puddles.
It goes very quickly. I was worried about being straight so I used a carpenters square just to check every now and then. I was able to finish this part in about 1/2 hour.
Butt your boards up as close as you can when laying the planks. You can see some small gaps between my planks, because it's so difficult to cut a perfectly straight line. Don't worry about those. You will take care of that later.
Be sure not to lean your hand on the paper after you glue it down, or the paper will come up with your hand!
Turn a fan on and let the floor dry for a couple of hours or overnight. If you have any gaps between boards, this is the time to get your paint/water mixture and a fine paint brush and go dab it in the cracks.
Now you can apply the stain! I wore socks so my feet wouldn't tear up the damp paper. Using a rag or an old paint brush, I started staining in the corner and worked my way out from there. I gently and quickly pulled my stain and wiped with a clean rag if it looked too heavy.
Continue until you are finished with the room. It will not dry, it will remain slightly tacky until you seal it.
I applied my polycrylic with a brush because I preferred the control it gave me. I tried a lambswool applicator and I always got little bubbles and it was hard to control the amount applied. Don't put it on too thick or it will create a cloudy effect. You will be putting down about 7 coats or more depending on the foot traffic your room gets. But it dries VERY fast. I was able to put all of my coats down in 1 day! Because this room get's a lot of foot traffic, I put down 10 coats.
I decided to nail down small furniture tacks from Lowes that are square and resemble vintage nails to add to the reclaimed wood look.
How long did it take?
I had already cut the paper into strips when I had time here and there. Painting the paper took about an hour or a little longer. The rest of the process, from ripping out the carpet to laying the final coat of poly, took a full weekend.
It is a beautiful floor, resembling laminate. It feels similar to laminate, but without the hollow type sound they all have. It is abused every day with push toys, crafts, kids and the dog. So far so good. I did put felt pads on all of the furniture. If you get a scratch, you can wipe some stain in the scratch, and reseal.
I love it. I love that I created it. I love that it's beautiful. How beautiful is it?
I hope you love it too! Be sure to stop by Freckle Face Girl and say hello and follow me on Facebook to see what other crazy projects I dream up.
Thanks Remodelaholic and Cassity for letting me be your guest! It's a dream come true!
xo-Chris
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Thanks so much for being our guest, Chris — so glad your idea worked out and WOW, I love it!
Pay Chris a visit over at Freckle Face Girl and check out her fun and creative ideas, like her boys' vintage industrial bedroom and her Busy Momma's Guide of easy “immediately gratifying” projects, like a quick solar chandelier DIY.
Looking for more inexpensive DIY floor finishes? Try one of these:
Grouted Peel and Stick Floor Tiles
Whitewashed Floor
Leather-look Floor Using Brown Paper
Extraordinary! I never would have imagined this was possible. It’s gorgeous!
A-MAZING!!!! I would never have guessed this was just paper, paint & stain from looking at it! Love the nail accents – it added a lot to the realism too. Thank you for sharing this! Seriously, this is stunning! 🙂
I would like to do my kitchen floor but it has tile. I guess I could get something and level the cracks out between the tiles
So creative and the floors look so good. What a great idea!
AMAZING! I can’t imagine doing a project of that scale at my age but more power to you young people. It truly is beautiful!
I am still in awe at this amazing floor!! Love it!
Great job, Chris!!! I’ve seen it in person and it really does look awesome!!!
Thanks so much ladies for the comments! I’m really happy with how the floor turned out and am already dreaming (scheming) about doing more!
xo-Chris {Freckle Face Girl}
The best tutorial on brown paper floor I have seen. Thanks for sharing. Just wondering…can we make a white wash floor look by using white paint?
Hello! I just came across this and am so impressed! My husband and I are young and bought a house about a year ago. We haven’t really had the money to make any changes. The most I have done is tear up the gross old brown 70’s carpet, and found some gray tile underneath, but it is like the tile that is in a school and does not match. Do you think I could do this over it? How well has it kept up and is there anything that could be put over top of it to keep it safe from pets and kids(and husbands! Lol)? And do you think it would work in a kitchen or no? Thanks so much for the incredible idea!!
Incredible!! I can’t believe that the floor is painted paper! Amazing!!
I am amazed by this!! So impressed!
That is seriously impressive, wow! I can’t think up things like this so this type of stuff blows me away. Looks gorgeous!
That is amazing!!!!! I love it!
Pretty awesome! ! I Was wondering about price since you added the wood. I am debating this project!! Thanks
Hi Amanda! I did have to add the hardboard to cover up my super bumpy OSB-which the paper will highlight – ick. So my cost was minimally higher – but the hardboard comes in different thicknesses – I used the thicker one because the next room is tile and there is a bigger difference in flooring height – the hardboard was about $8 a sheet and I used 4.5 for this room- If I remember correctly, there was a thinner hardboard that was cheaper. BUT you may not have to do this step. The cost of all the supplies was about $100, but I have a lot of that product left, probably enough to do 2 more rooms. If you do try it, I’d love if you left a comment/picture over at my blog/facebook and let me know how it turned out!
xo-
Freckle Face Girl
Thanks
I’m interested in doing the faux hard wood floors with paper and the wood graining worked but is very muted the color of the paper isn’t showing through as much as yours and I wanted to know what texture of paint (flat, satin, etc) that sealskin was and what was the ratio of paint to water?
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that is kraft paper. It looks amazing, great work!
Wow! I wouldn’t have known this was possible, or that it would turn out to be so effective!
This looks amazing! Could I do this directly on my existing lanolium floor?
Hi Julie! You CAN do it over linoleum or vinyl sheet flooring, if it’s in good condition (eg no cracking/peeling/lifting etc), BUT keep in mind, that the paper, once sealed will show a pattern on the vinyl, for example, if you have a tile pattern with grout lines, the grout lines will be obvious. Hope that helps!
xo-Freckle Face Girl
Just amazing. Any chance of a video to help understand the wood graining tool technique a little better? I think I’d cut with a rotary blade cutter to make it a little faster.
Hi Bernadette- I may do one, but in the meantime, it’s one of those things that just takes a little practice. There is no perfect way to do it, and just takes a quick swipe of the tool to make the grain. The trick is not getting too much paint on the paper, or it will be sloppy, and not letting the thinner layer of paint dry before you swipe, or you won’t see the effect. Imagine the possibility, you could paint your paper white, and let it dry, then do a brown coat with the tool and create a double paint layer, like old peeling wood! So many possibilities!
Hope this helps!!
xo-Freckle Face Girl
Any idea if it would be possible to do this outdoors? We have a covered front porch that has kinda ugly flooring. Cement would be too heavy, wood or trex are waaaay too expensive for something we don’t use a lot, just want to look a little nicer. Is there any kind of sealant that would protect enough to work outdoors? Again, it’s covered, but on the other hand, we live in Seattle and there’s enough rain & wind that it will get wet.
Hi Shannon! You know, I hate to say go for it and then it doesn’t work (although, I say go for it, what do you have to lose?!), but when I was doing my research, I DID see someone in Hawaii who had done the same process (with torn paper) on their lanai (outdoor, UNCOVERED patio) and it was beaten by the Hawaii weather and was great. If will try to post that link to my facebook page if I can track it down again! The secret is in sealing the final product. You would obviously want a sealer that could withstand moisture. And the more coats, the stronger the final product.
You would also want to make sure there was a nice smooth surface for the paper to stick too, no peeling paint. I guess I don’t have a lot of fear when it comes to these things 🙂
xo-Freckle Face Girl
Awesome, thanks so much!
Kudos! Amazing floors! Spectacular Brains!
Aside from the floor, you also gave me another great idea. The wood plank with cabinets that serve as work shelf – great!
Could you do this on concrete floors? Same tactic? I need something for my daughters bedroom floor…
Elizabeth- YES! You can – do a little bit over research online first, but during my research, a lot of people did it over concrete – just patch any cracks/holes, and maybe try it in a corner / closet first – just a patch, to see how it works. I wish I would have had concrete under my surface instead of the OSB – Good Luck – make sure you come over to my Facebook and share pictures when you are finished!
xo-Chris {Freckle Face Girl}
I’m shocked at how amazing this project came out. I’ve been stuck in a master bedroom with carpet for about 3 years! When I found this my first thought was, NO WAY! You are an extraordinary visionist! I’m so impressed. My uncle has been putting down hardwood flooring for over 30 years. I showed him your flooring without telling him what it was..He could NOT tell the difference between your kraft paper floor and real wood flooring. Now, that is IMPRESSIVE!
Thanks so much for sharing your genius idea with everyone. I’m bookmarking your site for future genius projects. Keep them coming!!
Thank you!!
Hi there. I was wondering about durability. How long have you had this floor now? Has it held up well? Can you see any future issues arising? Thank you! It’s beautiful!
Did I read that correctly? You applied a water based poly on top of tacky oil based stain? “It will not dry, it will remain slightly tacky until you seal it.” If that is the case, I can’t imagine this will be a long lasting finish. Incompatible finishes like that will not bind together. Maybe you will get by with it for a while since you put so much finish on it, but it’s a water and oil deal. They don’t mix.
This is incredible!
This is absolutely gorgeous! I cannot wait to try this!! I love that it’s durable!!
I’m interested in doing the faux hard wood floors with paper and the wood graining worked but is very muted the color of the paper isn’t showing through as much as yours and I wanted to know what texture of paint (flat, satin, etc) that sealskin was and what was the ratio of paint to water?
Hi Leslie- Sorry it has taken me so long to reply! I didn’t see your comment. I used semi gloss paint, because that’s what I had on hand. But I don’t think it matters if you use flat/satin because 1) you are watering it down, and 2) you are sealing it. I hate to say I didn’t measure my water/paint ration. But I cut it at least in half. You want to cut it with water enough so that it doesn’t “pull” when you drag your brush through it. Start with half and half, play with it, go from there. The water will allow the wood grain tool to pull through the paint, showing the undercoat – whether that is just the paper, or a coat of paint you used to create a multi-layer look. Good luck! Come visit me on my facebook if you have any other questions!
Chris – {aka Freckle Face Girl}
First of all I would like to congratulate you for your awesome ideas! I was doing a search to find affordable ways of making concrete look like wood planks and I stumbled upon this site and I am so glad:) I want to do this paper floor project on concrete floors and would like to know if it can be done and if so do any of the products used on the project change because of me doing it on concrete versus plywood or wood underlayment?
Hi Bianca- Thanks so much for your nice comment! Although my process makes the floor look like wood planks, vs torn paper, etc., the process I followed to glue/seal my paper was just like everyone else. I DID use an underlayment in my experiment. But I found many people who were covering concrete with the paper – Some said they used the poly to glue down the paper (I wouldn’t recommend that), others did what I did. You should be able to lay it directly over the concrete assuming there is no moisture wicking up through the concrete. Try it as I did, minus the underlayment part, in a small area (closet?) with a paper plank or two, and see how it goes. I think it would be very successful. Good luck! Come visit me on my facebook page!
Chris {aka Freckle Face Girl}
Hi,
I have seen other DIY projects like this and can’t wait to try it because my carpet is disgusting (from my pets) and I can’t afford to put in wood floors, which I need since I have pets.
I saw on another site how someone made their floor look like wood planks using paper. Since I don’t want to take the time to paint the paper and then stain it, I was wondering if wood grain wrapping paper would work or if it’s too hard to stick down with the glue. I found that Paper Mart sells it in large quantities. I want to save time and money by doing this. I also have limited mobility and feel that having the “wood look” already printed on the paper would be so much easier for me. Thanks for any advise you can give me.
Hi!
I am trying this process right now for my home but I’m running into an issue with the Wood Graining tool and was hoping maybe you could shed some light on the issue for me or give me some advice :)! I’m using wall paint (Glidden in a Forest Black color – I plan on staining darker than you did). I watered down the paint (started with just a little and have been adding more as it’s not working and retrying). I spread the paint on with a brush like you did. However, on your sheets when you pull the wood tool down it wipes most off and shows the brown underneath and leaves only the paint in a woodgrain design. Here is my issue – when I pull the wood grain tool down it’s like the paint has soaked into paper already (not wiping off). It leaves a faint mark but isn’t really pulling up any of the paint. What am I doing wrong? Should I not use regular wall paint? Am I adding too much water?
Thanks!
I am having the same issue. Trying it out tonight. I keep adding more water but the paper just soaks up the paint. I am using a sating dark brown Sherwin Williams paint.
I am having the same issue as Julia. I am using a dark brown satin Sherwin Williams paint. I keep adding more water and it is still just soaking into the paper. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
This is such a creative idea. I would never have imagined this could have been done with paper. Does the floor feel smooth or does it have some tackiness to it?
Thanks!
Crystal- it’s smooth- no tackiness whatsoever. I have resealed my whole floor w/ Varathane brand “floor finish” and it’s a dream to work. I have not had any problems with dogs or kids hurting the floor. And it has fooled EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has come into my home 🙂
Chris (Freckle Face Girl)
Hmmm. Ladies I wish I knew why you were having troubles. Would you mind coming to my Freckle Face Girl facebook page so I can be of more help- just post to the wall. 1) is your paper thick enough? 2) too much water/ too much time for the water mixture sitting on the paper? Mine didn’t have time to soak in- I literally slipped in on and very quickly wiped it with the tool- if I let it sit just a minute, it was drying (very thin coat-) but it sounds like you need to add some paint back in. Please come over to my facebook page- I can help right away and you can share some pictures too so we can get it right. Thanks for your comments!
Chris {freckle face girl}
How do you seal it after the stain? Meaning it is tacky and I can’t walk in it. I did and left a footprint.
I only did my walk in closet to experiment ad want to do the rest of the room but how do you deal if you can’t step on it?
I am sure I am missing something. Thanks.
Katie- you are right- it will remain tacky in the paper- I put on a pair of non shedding sickes, tip toed carefully into the corner with my brush and a container of sealer and started brushing it on- thin coats- or it will be hazy- my new favorite sealer is Varathane brand Floor Finish- water based. I do satin. Coat the whole floor- put a fan on it and walk away for 30 minutes. Then check it. It should be dry- unless you have high humidity. Mine dried enough I was able to do a couple coats before coating again the next day. Thin coats remember- the more layers, the better the protection. Don’t forget felt pads- even wood scratches- . Great job getting started! You’re almost there! Come share on my facebook page please!! Freckle Face Girl and come ask more questions there if you need more help 🙂
Chris (aka Freckle Face Girl)
Amazing floors & idea, love it. We live in New Zealand and would love to try this on our floors. I cannot locate the brands you used here, do you think other brands of glue, paint, polyurethane etc will be as effective. Thanks Sheila
Does the floor get tacky to the touch. I did my counter with polyurethane and its tacky to the touch:( I wouldn’t want that on my floors 🙁
Lol! I had this idea and then googled it to see if anyone had done this before. It looks amazing!! So I’m not the only one crazy enough to try this. Amazing job.
Chris, I loved the floor with Kraft paper made into planks. I plan on doing that to my living room/dining room – I have all the ingredients and will start to cut paper soon. I have one question. My room is large, an I am the caretaker for my 96 year old mom who is bed bound. Could I start and stop any of the processes? I don’t have room to put the furniture out of these two room so I’m thinking I would do half of the room till it is complete and then move the furniture to the completed section and then finish the other half. Also I never know when mom will need me so it is almost impossible to finish the floor in one sitting. Any thoughts would be very appreciated.
Lora
Your floor looks amazing! After living with this floor can you tell me if it scratches easily? Would it hold up to pets? Is it easy to maintain? Thanks and keep the creativity flowing!
UH UH, no way! This has got to be the most amazing “redo” I’ve ever seen, bar none. I hope you don’t mind, but I simply have to share this with everybody I have EVER known! On second thought, I might just keep it to myself and use it in my new (used) house to amaze everybody I have EVER known. Kudos to you!
We NEVER mind sharing! 🙂 Thanks for reading! We’d love to see pics when you’re done 🙂
Yep- totally. What she said. I want to do this over my icky vinyl floors( only whitewashed) but how do I prep them ??? Sanding? Stinky tsp? Any advice appreciated.
Ann
The floor looks amazing! I got all the supplies ready to do this project. My one question, though, is did you crinkle up the planks as you stored them in the garbage bags? It looks like the plank that you use to show the faux bois technique is not crinkled, and it is difficult to tell from the finished floor photos whether the planks had been wadded up before painting.
Thanks!
Hi Sue! I did crinkle them up when I shoved them all in the bag for storage. Some got really crinkled, some not so much- the more wrinkles created more realistic wood depth under the faux bois. It was pretty interesting. I also would crease some planks before applying glue mixture – I would crease them length wise, it would create a really create a great depth and absorb glue and stain differently. If you have any more questions, be sure to come to my facebook page, where I try to help people through the process! Thanks so much!
Chris – aka Freckle Face Girl
Thanks so much for the clarification, Chris! I’m definitely going to finish this project in the next couple of weeks!
i WATCHED A FRIEND DO THE RIPPED SQUARES. THE ONE MISTAKE WAS IN USING STINKY STAINS. i WOULD USED STRONG TEA OR VINEGAR BASED STAIN. (JAR OF VINEGAR WITH A BUNCH OF PENNIES MAKES GREEN STAIN), i HAVE TO KEEP EVERY THING NON TOXIC. SHE OPENED THE CAN OF STAIN AND i DIDN’T KNOW IT, 2 DAYS LATER I WAS IN ER WITH ASTHMATIC BRONCHITIS.
Hi, like at least one person above, I’d had this idea cross my mind also (as opposed to tearing up squares) and was also so glad to let someone else take the risk first lol it looks great! When I read about trying to cut straight lines, not my best thing…I recalled the perfect product I happened to notice while scrolling through items at my local ( smaller but well known) hardware store: brown ‘masking’ paper rolls in many sizes, I think it was meant for masking off car parts for painting…being 6 inches wide and…well many many feet long, cant remember. It was like $3.50…would take several rolls for a larger room I think but dont recall it being much more than wider rolls. And hardly any cutting! Straight lines! Woo-hoo cant wait to start.
Great idea, Amy! We’d love to see how it works for you!
I’m so glad you said this! I can’t cut straight for crap and I get bored with tedious tasks easily so this will be awesome! What store dos you find it at for $3.50 a roll? The cheapest I found was 6″ X 180ft for $8.07 on Amazon.
Can you do this over an exsisting hardwood floor? Or would you need to pull up the hardwood? I have the ugliest hardwood floors ever and id love to do this.
Thank you!
Did you have trouble using the wood griping tool? I have tried to use them, but it doesn’t come out right for me. I t just looks splotchy. Any hints with this?
Im definitely trying this! How do you keep this clean?
To keep clean, I just wipe down like I do my tile floors, with a little bit of vinegar and water. I vacuum them with the beater bar on my vacuum and no problems. They are holding up to a family of 6 and dog beautifully!
How is the surface for your dog? Is it slick/slippery for him/her? I have 4 dogs and one has arthritis, one has bad back knees and one is a tripawed so I don’t want a slick surface for them and have them be miserable. I was going to use the vinyl “wood” planks as they seem to be the best surface for dog comfort (besides nasty carpet) but when I came across this the cost savings would be amazing and it looks fabulous! Great job and thank you for the tutorial!
Hi I got to say I’m SUPER IMPRESSED with your floors..How are they holding up with a yr of walking ? Just awesome. 🙂
Can this be done over concrete?
Can you do this over a faux wood laminate floor without removing the existing floor?
I love this! Any idea if you can do this to a coffee table with success or would it just look too fake?
Can you explain the plank part. Do I cut paper the size of the plank and put the paper on it and paint the plank with the paper
So stunning–I would recommend laying two or more “planks” between matching seem lines to give a more authentic look though. Otherwise, hats off to yall!
Its absolutely beautiful what you have done here! Thank you so much for sharing…I love the whole paper flooring concept after discovering the technique on Youtube…my excitement soon got me experimenting myself…I initiated a revamp project on a community space…the owner was very pleased with the results…am currently doing my own personal living space! Creativity Reigns!
I agree, creativity reigns! We’d love to see your paper floors if you have pictures. You can email me or fill out the form here: https://www.remodelaholic.com/share-brag-post/
I just redid my kitchen in gray ( did painted cabinets and countertops) I would love to do my floors in a gray wood, I wonder if a gray stain would show up on the brown paper? I have recently witnessed people using the bag floor but no glue, they are using poly to stick it to the floor, have you heard of that?
Wow! Beautiful! I have done paper bag flooring (like Oregon Cottage) on a bathroom floor and on a playroom floor of 700 s.f. I now want to do a stairway with 13 steps. I love the look of the planks like yours and want to try this on my steps. I was wondering if you think it would be okay to wrap the paper around the square bullnose of the stair tread or, do you think cutting a strip of paper to fit the bullnose would be better? The bullnose is 2 1/2 inches. I will probably just have to test it out myself but was wondering what your opinion would be. Thank you so much.
I’m working on this right now! Although my brown paper is much too thin. The wood grain is very thick
If you get an overflow of new pins, I did my floors and listed your pin 😁
I used white paint for “whitewashed” wood. Love how they came out!!
https://www.facebook.com/JunkInTheTrunkCentralLa/posts/456797241147417
Brittany, it looks great!! May we add your photos to the post so people can see your variation on it? And if so, could you email them to me, hello@remodelaholic.com? Thank you so much for showing us!!
Hi There – I do not have any leftover dark brown paint, so will need to purchase some. I assume I wouldn’t need an entire gallon…but is 1 pint enough to do this project as you have it laid out? Any insight you have is greatly appreciated!
Absolutely, depending on the floor you have to finish, a pint or quart should be fine since it’s watered down. I used very little paint for my whole floor. Good luck! Chris (Freckle Face Girl)
“Butt your boards up as close as you can when laying the planks. You can see some small gaps between my planks, because it’s so difficult to cut a perfectly straight line. Don’t worry about those. You will take care of that later.”
Hi, how much shrinkage did you see between your planks when you butted them up (instead of overlapping them)? Most people mentioned you have to overlap the paper due to shrinkage, so I was wondering if you had to do a lot of spot treatments after the fact (go over every line with a marker), or if there was no shrinkage and you only touch spotted where the lines were not cut straight. Thanks!
Mine came out horribly dark and don’t show the wood grain at all any ideas???
Hi what did you do about the seams between the heavy board?
Would there be any way to make this appear white washed? I’m remodeling my basement and would like a lighter floor. Thanks!
Beautiful pictures. Did you make that desk in the office? We are looking for something similar
Do you have to put a stain on. I have used white paint and glued all the peices down and love the look without stain. I just dont know what will happen if I dont stain it and apply the poly?
I am in awe of you. The project is very cool. I don’t think I have the patience. But, applause applause.
LOVE this idea!!!!!
So cost efficient, good project for family to help with & looks awesome.
I was thinking of doing this in my kitchen. I have very high end heavy appliances, 3 dogs, & lots of foot traffic ( we love to entertain ).
My kitchen has linoleum, can I do this over the linoleum or should I rip it up? There are a few rips/holes, how would I cover these?
This is AMAZING! I can’t even believe that worked and looks soo beautiful!
Ps how is it holding up after a couple years?
Hi, I love your desk! Do you have a tutorial for the desk as well?