Hi, Liz here, owner of the DIY shop, Redo Your Furniture, (aka Frame and Frills). Did you know that Fusion Mineral Paint is great for interior and exterior applications?! Yep, and it won’t fade in the sun! That combined with FMP’s amazing durability made it the perfect choice for this stenciled brick floor I just finished on our porch.
Selecting the colors was a bit surprising!
I was sure that Cranberry would be a main color, but when the sample paper I made was laid next to real bricks, Cranberry looked ‘cartoon-ey’ pinkish compared to the real deal.
Here are the colors I settled on:
I worked out of 2 paint trays, letting the colors mix on the brush and roller, but not mixing them in the actual tray so that the colors kept variation on the floor.
Starting with the dark accents of the bricks, I gently mixed some Chocolate and Soapstone on my larger stencil brush, off loading it on the paper towel before applying to the floor.
You can’t see in this picture, but I did tape the stencil in place on a couple of the sides. That helped immensely. I started out thinking I didn’t need to, but the stencil slid off it’s mark very easily without those couple of tape strips holding it in place.
For the dark accents, my goal was to do a few spots along one edge of some of the bricks.
This was a super fast treatment, not too careful, and not every brick got the dark accents. Just trying to create an organic look to the darker accents.
Because FMP does dry quickly, and this was a very light layer of paint, after I finished the dark accents, I immediately rolled the final coat.
For the rolling part, I had in the tray Enchanted Echinacea, Damask and a little Chocolate. (Enchanted Echinacea is retired and I only had a partial pint for this entire project, but it was plenty with this mix) If I had another floor to do, I would have to create a custom mix to replace the Enchanted Echinacea… probably a mix of Cranberry with Prairie Sunset and maybe a tiny bit of Chocolate.)
I loaded some paint from the tray onto the roller, and then off loaded the excess onto folded paper towels. This was an important step to avoid paint seepage under the stencil.
You can see how the colors still have variation and didn’t get muddy even though they are in the same well of the tray.
A couple of tips to keep the paint separate in the same well…
When it was time to add more paint into the tray, I always poured the paint into the same spot it was previously in. I also always kept my roller pointed in the same direction when I loaded more paint onto it, handle on the right, tip on the left. That way, the roller cover kept reloading the same color of paint in the same places on the roller it had prior.
The concrete floor I was stenciling already had a grey painted finish on it and the concrete texture was bumpy.
The microfiber roller worked perfect for the size of each brick and to get the paint in the texture of the floor.
This porch isn’t perfectly square, but the floor where it goes along the main wall of windows is the most visible, so I decided to run the stencil parallel with it and let the rest fall where it may.
Besides using Fusion Mineral Paint for this project, my other biggest tip for stenciling a floor project, like this huge porch, is this scooter my husband bought for me. This was a lifesaver, (and kneesaver, and backsaver…)! Being able to easily roll to the next section maybe doesn’t sound like a big deal, until you’re actually doing it. Take it from me, this old body doesn’t just spring up like it used to! If it weren’t for the rolling seat, I’d still be out on the porch stenciling, I’m sure.
BTW, he found this one at Fleet Farm, in the automotive department.
So from boring flat grey that felt like a warehouse floor to this:
A subtle stenciled brick floor!
Know the other good thing about this finish, because there is now so much variation, it’ll camoflauge the dirt! 😉
You can find every color of Fusion Mineral Paint at my shop: Frame and Frills, (shop online or in person) You’ll also find the small trays, liners, microfiber rollers and many more products to redo your furniture, (and floors!) with.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and Instagram! I appreciate you reading along.
You can also find me at my shop, Frame and Frills, stocked with amazing DIY products like Fusion Mineral Paint, Stencils, Roycycled, Prima and Mint by Michelle decoupage papers, ReDesign with Prima Transfers and more! You can shop in person or online.
Here are more posts about redoing something:
