I didn’t think the very first thing I would be painting in our new home would be the guest house and I really didn’t think it would the floor! But that’s just what I did on move-in day. We had all of the Brazilian cherry flooring replaced in our main home, but we left the guest house as is, knowing that we’d likely renovate the whole thing at some point down the road.
The guest house was a huge selling point for us–it has its own full kitchen, bathroom and large walk-in closet and a private exterior entrance. With my mom coming just a couple days later, I made the guest house priority one! I wanted her to feel at home and comfortable so she would stay as long as she wanted and come back often! Ha!
The only downside of the guest house is that it’s pretty dark. It has a lot of windows, but they all look out into the surrounding foliage and forest. Beautiful to look out to, but it does keep the space naturally darker and the dark cherry floors weren’t helping.
So I decided to do something outside of my comfort zone and paint them. It felt like there was absolutely nothing to lose so I went to Lowe’s and picked up some primer and porch paint and got to it.
I used this primer, this durable glossy floor paint in white (classic!) and this roller that’s for extremely smooth surfaces (and it wouldn’t shed!).
I didn’t sand, but cleaned the floors really well. I rolled on one coat of primer (but I probably should have done 2 because the floors were so dark.) And followed it with three coats of glossy white paint, waiting 8 hours between each coat.
The last coat took the longest to dry. And then we waited to recommended 72 hours before loading any furniture in. (More on that in a sec!)
Although there is a lot more I can’t wait to do in here–paint walls and cabinets (I wasn’t super careful around the cabinets knowing I was going to paint them, but I should have just taped them off!) Â and get new window treatments–I can’t believe the impact that JUST painting the floors made. Everything looks so much brighter and peaceful. Even the cabinets look better.
We gave it a good 72 hours before bringing in furnishings, a whole 2 hours before my mom got here. We were even able to shoot after photos without any lights on! The glossy floors feel really rock hard and durable (I’ll definitely keep you posted about how they wear) and I love the way they reflect light everywhere.
We brought in a bunch of furniture we already had from our last house–a mix and match, really! The headboard and nightstand from the guest room, the chest that was in Faye’s room. The rug from our bedroom.
I put the chairs from the girls’ old homework room and a vintage table I found a couple years ago to create a small dining area in the kitchen.
These might not be much of after photos, but the first project I did in our home had to be shared! And the best part? How much my mom is loving it. She said it feels so private and cozy and she could LIVE there. … Sending for my dad! ;)
Sources:
Rug, Chest, Side Table, Headboard, Bed Frame, Mattress, Duvet Cover, Floor Lamp, Leather Chairs, Tabletop Mirror, Floor Paint
Looks so good! Always impressed with your energy and how quickly you complete these huge projects. Congrats!
Looks amazing! Did you use the white color straight out of the can or did you use a specific color?
Just the white that is available in this floor paint. There were 30 or so tones to choose from.
Loved it !!!!! It looks so much modern a and clean , and very coazy. Loved The chest and the dinning area makes every thing look so chick . Keep doing thing out of the box.
WOW! What a transformation!!
I can’t believe you actually painted over such beautiful floors!