Painting a floor never sounds like it is going to work, but it is one of the quickest and easiest ways to freshen up a space for literally pennies. Even if you paint walls and update everything else in a room, if you have tired, old floors, it just detracts from the updated room. There are special formulations of floor paint that are made to withstand heavy foot traffic and survive the activity that a floor would normally receive. So when you are selecting your floor paint, make sure to purchase high quality paint; properly clean and prepare your floor before painting, and painting your floor will be one of the best decisions that you ever made.

Picking Paint
As you are preparing your floor for painting, you will need to calculate the amount of square feet that you have to cover, and then check to see how much paint you will need to cover that area. Before selecting your paint consider how you want your finished floor to look. While a high gloss finish is easy to clean, it can be slippery. If you select paint with a lower sheen, it may not be quite as slippery. For a high gloss finish you will want to use urethane paint, and for the lower sheen you will want to use an acrylic latex paint. You will also need to choose between oil based and acrylic paint. While oil based paint is usually more durable, it also takes a much longer time to dry, which can be problematic when dealing with a floor.

Preparations
To prepare the floor for painting, begin by cleaning it. Make sure that there is no grease on the floor, because your paint will not stick if there is. If your floor has been painted before, you should clean it with TSP before you paint it again. Remove any loose or flaking paint, and give it a light sanding to help the primer adhere to the old paint. Once everything is clean let your floor completely dry, and then you want to dust mop to remove any remaining debris.

Primer
If this is the first time that the floor has been painted, you want to use a primer that is designed for whatever material your floor is made of. After applying a thin coat of primer, let it dry completely. If you are painting new concrete, let it cure for about six months. Before painting a new concrete floor, you will want to make sure the paint sticks so you should etch it with muriatic acid before applying your primer. After it has completely dried, you can apply your paint.

Finish Coat
After your floor has been prepared and the primer is completely dry, you can apply your finish coat of paint. If you use an extension pole with your roller, painting a floor is very much like sponge mopping a floor. After getting your first layer of paint on, let it completely dry before applying a second coat. Then after you second coat is down, let your floor dry ad harden completely before walking on it or moving any furniture on it.

What Is the Color Wheel?
The first person to start using the color wheel was Sir Isaac Newton, who came up with this after performing an experiment with a prism. What he discovered was that pure white light had a wide spectrum of reflective colors. Since then, people have been using this spectrum of colors (otherwise known as the color wheel) for classifying colors and help in decorating.

The Classification of Colors Using the Color Wheel
The colors on the color while are basically classified into three different categories.
1. First, you have the primary colors, which are red, yellow, and blue.
2. Next you have the secondary colors, which are orange, green, and violet. These colors are created by mixing the primary colors.
3. The colors red-orange, yellow-orange, blue-green, and yellow-green make up the tertiary colors. Basically, all these colors are formed by combining the primary colors with the secondary colors that are next to them.

Monochromatic Color Scheme Explained
A monochromatic color scheme will look exactly as it sounds. Essentially, you pick one color and use only that color for the entire room. To achieve the monochromatic color scheme, you want to pick varying shades of that color, from light to dark. You can include the color white in the scheme as well, in order to help break up the color.

Analogous Color Scheme Explained
With an analogous scheme, you include anywhere from two to six different colors a room. You want to use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Consider the color red, for example. You might choose orange or purple as the accent colors, being that they are the colors next to red on the wheel. It’s a good idea to choose your main color first. Then you can look at accent color options.

Complementary Color Scheme Explained
When looking for a decorating scheme, people will often go with a complementary color scheme. When you decide on your main color, you then go directly across that color on the wheel to find your complementary color. If your main color is yellow, then the complementary color would be in the purple family. The family of pinks would complement the color green. Remember, you can always play with this a little and mix the family of colors; thus, green would go with pink, but it would also go with red.

Triad Color Scheme Explained
Homeowners also often choose to go with a triad color scheme. Here you use the three colors that form a triangle together on the color wheel. One example of a triad would be the colors orange, green, and purple. Here you have a couple of options. You can choose to make one of these colors your main color and use the other two as accent colors, or you can choose two main colors and then accent with the third.

No matter what color scheme you choose for your home, remember that both white and black are neutrals. Thus, they can be added to any colors without changing the color scheme too much. By playing around with the color wheel and some of these color scheme suggestions, you will be able to come up with some great options for the rooms in your home.

About the Writer…
For over four decades Leon Tuberman has helped people with their home furnishings and interior decorating needs. He owns and manages a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They have a large inventory of handcrafted American built solid wood furniture for your bedroom, dining room and living room. Are you searching for a nightstands for your master bedroom or a wood dining table for your dining room then they probably have everything you need.

Add White or a Neutral Color to the Room
If you pair the color with white or another neutral, you can avoid having a room that looks like it’s too matched or boring. Of course, you don’t want the neutral color to be the main focus in the room but rather an accent. In a blue monochromatic scheme, for instance, although the walls and furniture are blue, you might add in a blue and white area rug. What might also work is to paint the trim in the room white.

Choose the Color of the Room Wisely
When planning out a monochromatic color scheme for a room, you need to be sure that your really put some thought into the color choice. After all, you are not going to end up being very happy with the finished look of the room if you choose a color you’re not crazy about. So be sure to pick a color that you like to look at! Those of you who are new to the monochromatic look may also want to avoid bold colors for your color choice, such as red and orange. You need to remember that once you choose a monochromatic look, it’s going to be much harder to change the décor of the room, since everything in the room is going to be in some shade of that same color. Be sure that you think carefully about your color choice and try not to rush into a hasty decision you may later regret.

Mix Up the Shades of the Color
Once you’ve chosen your color, the best way to find different shades of that color is to visit a paint store and gather up some color swatches. Then you’ll be able to clearly see the different shade of the color that you have to work with. An important key to a monochromatic color scheme is making sure you’re not painting the walls the exact same shade as the furniture. Likewise, you don’t want your floor to be the exact same shade as the walls. By mixing up the shades of color, the room will have more character and interest. You might also use accessories like pillows, curtains, baskets, and candles to your advantage by choosing completely different shades from the rest of the room.

A monochromatic color scheme is not always the easiest to pull off in a room. You really have to be willing to put some planning into the décor, making sure that everything flows well and you have the perfect balance of color.

About the Writer…
Leon Tuberman has been in the home furnishings and interior decorating industry for 4 decades. He owns and operates his family owned furniture store. They carry a large selection of American made solid oak furniture for your home office, dining room and bedroom. Are you searching for oak tv stand for your family room or a wood dresser for your bedroom then they probably have everything you need.