How To Apply Paint To Any Floor Surface

Painting your floor is an easy and affordable way to give your space an instant lift. Here’s how to apply paint to any floor surface

- Sally Conor

What colours are best to hide dust and dirt?

It pays not to go too light or too dark. Too light and you’ll see every speck of dust. Too dark and you’ll see crumbs and scuffing. A soft to mid-tone colour is more forgiving of everyday wear and tear.

How easy is it to change or touch up a painted floor?

If the paint wears through but is still mostly sound, a quick clean-down with a paintwork cleaner plus a new coat of paint should do. If you want a colour change, apply 2 coats of Resene Walk-on and finish with Resene Concrete Wax.

A few years ago none of us would have dreamed of painting the floor, but suddenly it’s all the rage and no one can remember quite why the idea of rolling a few coats of lovely sage green or muted grey onto the floorboards was such a no-no. Most paint products are now water-based and can be easily applied by home decorators. If you’re comfortable with painting a wall, you could certainly tackle a floor yourself.

Karen Warman of Resene, who helped us put together this guide, can see why the trend has taken off. “Painting a floor can be a very easy way to create a cohesive look in an interior, or sometimes it’s the ideal stopgap measure while you save up for a whole new floor,” she says.

And the beauty of a painted floor is that it can be whatever colour you choose. So bust out the paint chart and get creative! But be warned: although white floors are very popular right now, white is actually the least practical colour when it comes to showing dust and dirt.