The painted concrete floor in our renovated pantry was our first attempt and practice project. We learnt a lot but it was only a rehearsal for the real project, our new terrace.
You can see the pantry project here Painted concrete part one – the pantry
Weight, budget and choice – decisions!
At over 75 square metres, the cost of finishing our terrace in tile such as thin travertine would add up to over €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The tiles I was eyeing up would have cost over €4000 so I was actually looking for an interim solution whilst we decided.
Budget, as usual, was the key driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.
Husband kept reminding me to minimize the weight of paving to the terrace. As we intended to host large parties on this terrace, weight was to be kept to a minimum.
The terrace is south facing with bright sunshine year round, so highly reflective surfaces were also off the list.
Seeking a WOW factor
Designed as a natural extension from the inside to outdoors, it forms our “FFI” factor (Fab first impressions), from the entrance out through the newly installed French doors to our lake.
We chose flagstone look-alike tiling from Pavan for the new hall and kitchen/living areas. It was important to me that this look flowed through to the terrace.
Of course following our aim of a rustic modern old French house was also important to the overall effect.
Painted concrete offered a low cost, low glare/low weight option even if a bit labour intensive to create.
A confession at this point. It took nearly two years before I finally decided on painted concrete – even if just a temporary option. I am so glad I waited for the right inspiration.
The plan….
With our usual naivety and enthusiasm motivated by a budget relieving idea, the terrace was approached with a “can do” attitude, especially after the pantry test success.
Like the pantry, the plan was to mimic stone tiles. However, this time large Persian styled carpets would become feature areas left and right of the french doors.
Husband and I had both admired a very simple painted concrete idea at Bab al Shams resort outside Dubai. This became the basis for my inspiration.
Here is how we did it.
Step one – Preparation of surfaces
Basically it was the same process as the pantry – only many times the size. Also it was outdoors in the elements creating other complexities not the least being weather dependent schedule.
Husband was well and truly on board from the start and helped with the power washing, acid wash and vacuuming of the terrace. All of this was much easier on an outdoor project compared to the pantry prep.
He left me to the creative part in the later stages which I was secretly pleased with.
Step 2 – the base coat colour
Husband agreed to be chief painter’s assistant for the painted concrete base colour. Both armed with rollers and extender poles, it was completed in a relatively short time.
We chose to use Taupe for the first coat as a darker “grout” look than the stone colour we had used in the pantry.
After painting the areas to have faux tile applied, we masked off the two large areas for the Persian carpets and painted them in a lighter contrasting colour.
Like the pantry, we added a lighter coloured contrast edging to get us a straight line around the exposed stone walls and step out from the doors.
Like any floor surface, plan where you will start and finish so as not to paint yourself into a corner.
Try not to apply first coat in the heat of the day but ensure your surface is bone dry and concrete well cured before applying paint.
Clean, dry and cured – a must for painted concrete projects!
Dampness under your paint will lift it over time – we learnt the hard way.
Allow to dry 24 hours without walking on it. Cats ignored this advice but luckily most concrete paints are touch dry in a few hours.
Step 3 – taping up the tile elements
As mentioned, we to create a flow from inside to out. We marked up the area immediately outside the french doors with the same pattern and dimensions as the interior tiles.
However, beyond this to the left and right we decided on a simple pattern to the larger size of tile from this pattern. The time and effort to try and replicate the “Versailles” tiling grid was mind numbing.
No one has noticed and it saved a lot of time, effort and masking tape.
As with the pantry, we made cardboard templates from our actual hall tiles to help with the laying down of the pattern and tape. We did the Versailles pattern strip first as shown here:
Ensure your tape joints neatly fit one another. Any gap or overlap will show up when you remove the tapes after the next step.
Step 4 – Painting the tiles
I applied the “tile look” paint to this area first to test the look. Using the same sea sponges, a scratchy brush and the assorted colours on plastic lids as I did in the pantry, the look emerged.
We finished the central “tiled” area and then I decided to get started on the carpets and after I would carry on with the “tiles” extending outwards from them.
Step 5 – Painting the concrete carpets
With a lot of the hard work out of the way, I was finally going to start on the area I was most looking forward to.
I chose strong Persian carpet colours for these areas that I had previously tested in the pantry. Red, dark blue, grey, yellow and soft green plus a few custom highlight colours I made from paint tints as I went.
Look for inspirations
At this point I could be seen running backwards and forwards between various actual Persian carpets inside the house for inspiration.
To form the base carpet pattern I taped off concentric portions from the outside in and painted alternate colours with a wide soft brush.
Be careful not to allow it to bleed under tape – although it can be touched up later.
Then came the feature areas in the centre of each carpet. The aim was for them to match in colour and style but be different in design.
I outlined some of the feature areas with pencil and painted the edges free hand, whilst more simple decals could be taped as per tile and stripe method.
Note the vacuum cleaner constantly on stand-by to keep surface clean of dust and grit.
The pantry painted concrete experiment proved that a large amount of stenciling wasout of the question. The size and nature of the concrete paint meant I had to devise alternate ways to apply the smaller details and design.
I used stencils at the corners of the carpets and in large motif areas in the centre of each carpet and then free hand, added simple colour highlights and details.
Experimenting with different ways of applying detail, I found lots of easy ways to create what looked like fine detail but was in fact simple to produce on a large scale.
By layering these up and repeating around between the solid colours, patterns that were simple gave an overall impression of fine detail and complexity.
The trick is to make sure you keep multiple colours in these design areas and make each stripe of design a repeat pattern or with some form of repeating element.
Easy home-made embellishment tools
Here are things I used to apply the decorations:
- The end of a chopstick dipped in paint made fantastic dot designs
- Various pencil erasers such as flower shaped etc from the dollar shop
- Cut up Wettex sponge into basic shapes could be smudged with paint and then pressed on stamp style. I made simple circles, squares, diamonds and even a paisley inspired shape.
- Rubber key rings in various shapes
- Fine brushes for the occassional straight line or flick in conjunction with the stamps
- An old schnapps glass rim dipped in paint created small circles.
Layer up the design elements and colours
The trick is to use simple easy to apply in bulk shapes and colour elements and then layer them. Below you can see a stripe, spot or serious of dots which when applied in various colours create a more complex effect.
If using a stencil, apply in one colour and go back to your various stamps or stabbers and make them look more complex by adding more colour and detail. As per photo below.
Easy colour block elements by taping & painting as per your tiles and easy dot and dash design elements. When viewed closely here you can see they are a bit wonky, but from afar not being perfect actually makes them more realistic.
Raid the house for shapes to trace
I drew around plates, bowls and other kitchen items to get basic shapes and then added a stencil or stamping and a bit of fine brush detail for large decal elements.
When viewed as one it looks complex but actually it is very simple and requires no artistic skill whatsoever. Please don’t tell my husband this though.
For the fringes, I used a piece of Wettex cut in a circle which I stamped all along each end to make the knots. Then with a fine brush I added a white swish on one side of the spot and a grey swish on the other.
With white and grey I then flicked lines with a fine brush to make the fringes.
Note: You need to let areas dry before adding new colour over them. So keep working colour by colour and come back to areas previously started once they are dry.
Step 6 – Completing your painted concrete floor
Finish off any tiles, detailing and area edges and stand back and admire.
Know when to stop – something my Husband doubted I was capable with this project.
Decide if you are going to use a sealer. In hindsight, I wish we had but I was terrified of the shiny and reflective surface from the pantry project, something we were trying to avoid in this bright sunny area.
The colours have faded a little but only I would notice. There are also a few areas that are wearing but if anything it has made the area look more organic and authentic.
It is now four years since we painted the terrace and it looks nearly as good as the first day. We love it.
Time and costs
It is hard to estimate how long this project took as I would only tackle it on fine days when it was not too hot. I suppose in reality it was a week long project once the base colour was down.
We spent approximately €250 on paint, tape and paint tints. A clear finish would have cost another €40 for a single coat.
I already owned the stencils and various elements used for dabbing and stamping.
All in all, we are delighted with the result, the costs and the fun of having something original and unique. With all we have done on the house here it is still the area that gets the most comments.
For a simpler look you could simply paint an area in one colour and add a carpet in one other single colour. Stripes, checks/plaid, wooden rocker patterns or even polka dots would all look great depending on your floor is situated.
Find an area to practice and have some fun.
Give it a try!
*Some notes on concrete paints in France
Over the various painted concrete projects undertaken, we have tried several brands in all their quality options.
In all instances we have opted for exterior paint only.
Whilst a little more expensive, the “intensive traffic area” paint proved best for large areas.
Decorative elements such as stencil highlights or small design areas are fine with the basic exterior concrete paint variety.
We only used the water based brands. Ease of washing out, quickness of drying and ease to mix colours all proved best with water based varieties.
To avoid having to buy a large number of tins to give you colour variations, the small tubes of colour concentrates available in most hardware stores work well in concrete paint. Purchase creams, white and/or light grey paints and various paint tint tubes to colour up small quantities.
However, for larger areas I suggest you use off the shelf colour for ease of touch up or repairing any damages in the future.
Top/sealant coats are available and we have sampled several. However all gave a glossy finish even though stated as matt. The non-slip variety did have fine granules in it but when dried, there was little visible or textural difference.
The best value and widest ranges of concrete paint we found here in France were at Castorama and Leroy Merlin. Dependent on quality and brand, large tins cost from €29- €60 and small tins cost €12 upwards.
The finest width tape (14mm) was found at Castorama although I had to order in extra supplies due to amount needed. Explaining what I needed it for tested my basic French skills to their exhausted limit. Confusion from man behind counter was worth the effort.