The Painted Floor, Checkerboard on Hardwood

Black & White Checkerboard 

I've always loved the look of a wood floor painted to look like black and white tile.  So when we decided to salvage the damaged old hardwood floor in the kitchen, I knew right then what we'd do to make it AWESOME.

In this post I'll show how I create this beautiful kitchen floor.  Patience is key to this project, it was lot of work and took almost a month to complete (between work, holiday commitments, and curing time between steps).

The completed floor. The antiquing is perfectly done, but is not showing up in 
the photo as much as I'd like.  Over all the look and feel of our floor is just  beautiful, 
scratches, nail holes and all.

Starting the Project

To start out you'll need to prep your floors for paint.

• Step 1. Fill the large gaps between floorboards.
  - To fill the gaps I used a product called Plastic Wood filler,  use a mask the fumes are super strong and get the larger can because it's only half full when you open it (I didn't like that) 
• Step 2. Sand, vacuum the floor well and get the cracks good, than  mopped the floor.  
• Step 3. Choose your paint and paint colors.  I went with  Insl-X Tough Shield it's a Benjamin Moore Brand and good for high traffic areas in a Satin sheen. (High Gloss is not good for antique glazes)
• Step 4. Prime the floors for paint, I used Zinsser Bulls Eye Primer.  Every situation is different so check the manufacturer suggests for primer or not priming for whatever paint you plan to use.
  I primed before choosing my paint. Oops!
• Step 5. Paint the base color. I went with a soft creamy white called Roman Columns (color by Sherwin Williams).  Allow the paint cure for a 4 to 5 days.
  (If going for an antiqued look, don't be afraid of a yellowed/creamy white, even the soft white I used looked stark next to my soft almost grayish black)

This is what the floor looked like to start.  Scarey!

As you can see this floor has seen better days. Salvaging the hard wood was a lot of work. It included replacing some damaged areas and patching the exterior doorways where it had completely rotted away under the old linoleum.  We also had to fill the spaces where walls were removed between the kitchen and dining room.

Supplies for marking out the checkerboard pattern

• Chalk Line
• Measuring Square
• T Square
• Tape Measure
• Painters Tape*
• Pencil and Eraser
• Floor Paint for contrast color (black)
• Small Roller w/ cover and paint brush
• Small brush for touch ups
• Antique Glaze in 2 colors (I used black and brown)
• Thin brush for dry brushing the glaze
• Paper plates, rags, and paper towels
• Yoga or exercise mat (to save your knees)

*Definitely use the Green Multi Surface FrogTape . 
I used both the green and yellow tape for this project. The Multi Surface FrogTape lines peeled up much sharper and had way fewer paint bleeds than the yellow delicate surface tape .

A good square and a long 4 foot T-square will make your job easier*Not all supplies are pictured

Laying out the Pattern 

I love the look of the checkerboard pattern on the diagonal, the look is classic and whimsical. To achieve this, look at your space/floor as you enter the room. Find the wall that follows that prospective down the whole length of the room/floor.  That is the wall to start the pattern on by marking out half tiles down the whole wall. 

• I used 18 inch squares or tiles. For my 18" squares the diagonal is 25 inches 7 /16. 
• To figure the diagonal I used a calculator like this one  Square it Up.  It's very important to use the exact measurement.
• Next locate a long wall that is prominent when walking into the room.
• Along this wall make a chalk line to create a straight level edge along the wall.

 For my chalk line I used a seam that was straight and level
Our house is old and the walls bow out slightly, that imperfection would
throw off the pattern.

• Measure out and mark the exact full diagonal measurement, marking the halfway point for each tile too.
• From the halfway point, measure out  from the wall and mark the half tile measurement again using the square to keep a 90 degree angle.
•  Connect the dots to the outer edge of the tile using  the square to keep the lines straight and perfectly angled at 90 degrees and they should measure 18 inches exactly.

Once the wall of half  tiles are mapped out start expanding the whole square/tile out into the room.  

• Using the long 4 foot T-square carefully lined up and angled with the tile ends.  Draw a long line and mark off 18 inches along the line.  Then connect them using the square.
• Be sure to double check that the measurements and angles lineup, one mistake will throw off the pattern and you'll have to backtrack to find the incorrect measure.
  
  Yes! I screwed up, this is why I have the eraser.

After the room is mapped out it's time to start taping.  Before taping I wiped the floor down with a damp cloth to clean the pencil dust and smudge marks from my fingers.  I want the tape to adhere to floor good.

• Put a piece of tape in the center of each squares that is to stay the base color. 
• These are also the squares that will get taped on the inside of the tile lines.

To get perfect pointed ends use a putty knife to rip the tape. 

Beautiful sharp edges

• Before painting each square run your fingers over the painters tape* to be sure it snug and secure to the floor. 
• Paint each square the contrasting color.
  
  *As noted before the Multi Surface tape held to the floor better, the yellow tape started to peel up in some areas before I even finished taping the floor.

Important Note!  Do Not let the paint dry completely on the tape,  peel the painters tape up when finished painting.  Pull the tape up at a sharp angle and have a wet rag to wipe any paint splatters from the floor and to keep hands clean.

Touch Up & Age Up 

I like old things, they show character, so this newly painted floor in this 1800's house would look a bit out of place.  Adding a little brown and black glaze will highlight some of the imperfections and gaps and help mask the dirt.

Antiquing with a dry brush method 

• Dab the brush into into each glaze, and then dab most of the color off onto a paper plate before brushing onto the white tiles.  Keep the brush as dry as possible.
• Brush a little heavier around the edges of the tile and lightly go over the whole tile.  
• Using a paper towel or rag rub the glaze to smear the brush strokes.
• Try brushed into the gaps between floorboard to create a worn/dirt build-up look.
• Remember the poly used to seal the glaze in place will lift and smear the glaze a little when applying.   
  
  The key here is to "build up to" the amount of antiquing desired. It's easier to add to the look than try to take away or cover up mistakes.

Top tile is before antiquing, bottom is after. 
I choose to only antique the white tiles and keep the black tiles sharp. If desired the black tiles can also be antiqued by making rubbed/warn spot and blotting white to cloud them up.

The final Step is to apply a Floor Polyurethane to protect the glaze work.

• Swiffer the floor to get up any dirt and hair that may have collected on the floor.
• Use a synthetic pad applicator - DO NOT use a roller to apply the Urethane.  
• I used 2 coats of water based Minwax Ultimate Floor Finish with a Satin sheen.
• Allow the floor to dry 2 hours before doing the 2nd coat and 24 hours before walking on.  Allow the poly to dry for 5 days before regular use.

It's done and so pretty!!

This is the floor after antiquing and before the poly.