How I painted a Buffalo Check Floor

This is how I painted a buffalo check floor pattern and it looks so good! This is an inexpensive way to update a floor when you are not able to add new flooring.

My floor was over 10 years old and it was in bad shape. I know that I am going to have to have a new floor eventually but maybe I can put it off for a while by painted the floor. Seeing this project being done many times from people I follow on Instagram and they have said that it has held up well. Even Better Homes and Gardens has shared this project.

The picture above is before I started the project and after. The entire laundry room was made over with paint. I painted a faux marble subway tile behind the sink. You can visit the tutorial for the Faux Marble Backsplash. This room is proof that there is power in paint!

The Paint

The project cost around $40 for this entire makeover and that was for the floor paint. I researched which type of paint would be best. Erin from Lemon’s, Lavender, and Laundry used Porch and Patio Paint and it is also made for concrete. Since my tile is a natural stone, I think it would be best for my floor. Asking the employees in the Home Improvement store is my favorite way to get information and that is what they recommend.

You need four colors. A light color, a dark color, and two colors in between the light and the dark. The paints I used are white for the light and Hale Navy for the dark.

The Project

Honestly, the hardest part of the project is figuring out how to paint the pattern. I found a great video from Ace Hardware and I recommend watching this video before you start. It explains the process better than I can but I want to share some tips I learned from doing this project.

Sand the floors with a sander.

I really disliked the way dirt would get in the grout space so I filled the space with a flexible grout filler plus I want the floors to look smooth. You can use premixed grout. I used the flexible filler because that was recommended to me at the store. It works well but it takes longer to harden than the package says. It will take over 24 hours.

I have painted marble and stone before and the most important step is the primer. Glidden Gripper Primer will work well because it will adhere to stone so well and this is what is recommended to me.

I learned something important from Erin at Lemon’s, Lavender, and Laundry. After you prime your floors, you need to wait until the primer cures before using your floor paint. I waited several days because I wanted the primer to really stick to the floor.

The Porch and Floor paint are extremely thick and it dries super fast. I have never painted with anything like it and I feel it will hold up well. Be sure the paint is dry before you paint the next rows.

Taping

I highly recommend this painters tape for this project because it doesn’t bleed if you press the tape down well. Following the Ace Hardware video, I painted my lightest color first which was white. TIP: I place a piece of tape on the rows that I am not painting yet so that I will not accidentally paint that row.

I paint the other rows with light blue and place the piece of tape on the rows that will not be painted.

Let the paint dry overnight before you paint in the other direction. Paint these rows with your medium color paint.

Use painters tape to block off the darkest square. It is the square where your light and medium squares cross. This row will not use as much paint because you are only painting the square instead of the entire row.

Touch up any errors that you have with the same color paint.

 

The Results

This is how I painted a buffalo check floor and I will update with how well it is holding up. I did talk with someone who used this paint 6 months ago and her floors have held up well. Visit the link below to see the other blogger’s projects.

See More Update With Paint Projects