Saturday 5 June 2010

my fancy bathroom floor

look! look! a post about something i have actually done in the house, not just am planning to do or idly dreaming about!

lack of funds and creative fussiness on both our parts led to an experimental and untested idea for our bathroom floor. there are no before photos, as for nearly four years, it was plywood painted with purple fence paint and spattered with various paints and adhesives as we very slowly made progress with the walls (unphotographable!).

mr lc wanted a green and white tiled floor like in the crash rooms in ER, i wanted to get some kind of patterned real linoleum, so we compromised and i screen-printed the floor!! my parents had covered a kitchen table with brown grocery bags and varnished it in the past so i figured along those lines and if it didn't work i could get my linoleum.


i have been using this pattern in black and white for years and we both love it, it is featured in a few places around our home already.




first i papered the floor with thickest lining paper and waterproof PVA, then tiled with the screen-printed thick art paper, and 3 layers of the PVA.  we may need to put a coat of boat varnish over the PVA as it still goes a bit cloudy when it gets drops of water on it, which does tend to happen a lot in a bathroom.



it does look ACE though!! now i just need to get a blind or some kind of "window treatment" so i can stop giving the neighbours a peep-show of an evening!!

44 comments:

Mise said...

That's ever so enterprising and it looks great.

rachellovecameron said...

why thank you very much!

Anonymous said...

I found this post through a link on Twitter. How absoloutely creative! It looks fabulous!

raena said...

this is definitely awesome! can you comment on what you mean by papering the floor with "thickest lining paper"? i wasn't sure exactly what this meant. very cool.

ABC Dragoo said...

Not sure how I ended up on your page... clicked a link from Twitter... BUT so glad I did!

I LOVE your tiled floor! Looks fab.
Well done, and my accidental click is a very happy accident, indeed!
ABCD

Colleen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Colleen said...

Rachel- I blogged about your bathroom over on Apartment Therapy DC. Thanks for sharing your lovely DIY project!
Colleen

frankenhut said...

Great pattern, the same as your mint cordial label! What talent!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

That is SOOO amazing! I just clicked over from the post on Apartment Therapy. This is super creative and looks amazing!

Laura said...

Love this! I'm going to try to use this method in my little used entry room. It needs a little punch of color!

Well done!

ID said...

I saw this on Lifehacker and thinks it looks great! I was wondering:

How does it feel under your feet?

I hope you will post an update in the future about how it holds up over time.

The Dean said...

pva?
like the glue?

Blue Eyes(tm) said...

I'm a little confused. As you are naturally familiar with the materials and the processes you use it, we have some questions. First, what is "thickest lining paper," where do we get it, what do we use to lay it down on the floor, what kind of measurements do you suggest? Any standards here to apply? What is waterproof PVA, where do we get it, how to we apply it, how long do we wait for one coat to dry, etc? Boat varnish? Same questions.

You make it sound so simple. :) But I think a lot of us out here could really use a little more detail and direction? And just how do we come about getting "screen-printed thick art paper?" Where? How? How much? HELP! We'd love to implement this and you have inspired us. Thanks! ///Gary

Unknown said...

Can I be your neighbour?

Anonymous said...

What Blue Eyes(tm) said.

Unknown said...

Ditto ditto what Blue Eyes said. You may have solved my bathroom flooring dilemma--we have good linoleum which does not need to be removed...except for its ugliness. I would *love* to understand more of the steps you took and materials. It looks great!!!!

skittles said...

PVA=glue

from "How stuff works dot com"

"White glue (polyvinyl acetate, or PVA): PVA glue is a white liquid, usually sold in plastic bottles. It is recommended for use on porous materials -- wood, paper, cloth, porous pottery, and nonstructural wood-to-wood bonds. It is not water resistant. Clamping is required for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set the glue; curing time is 18 to 24 hours. School glue, a type of white glue, dries more slowly. Inexpensive and nonflammable, PVA glue dries clear."

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/repair/home-repair-materials-basics-ga2.htm

from other info I found, there is a PVA waterproof version

Great idea!! Thanks for posting this!!

AffordableHousingJobs.com said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
koober said...

Hey, nice job!
Try and scroll the picture of the completed floor design on this page up and down real quick and see a real cool visual effect. I wonder if that applies when you're walking through the actual space?

Cheers for sharing!

Ten at Eat Your Sands said...

Where did you get the patterned paper? And did you paint over it with the pva to seal it? I think I can get pretty thick lining paper at the local mass hardware store, where did you get the pva? Did you glue in between the layers of papers as well?
Your photos make the floors look really professional, you did a great job!

rachellovecameron said...

hello everyone!
sorry, i didn't realise there were so many comments and qustions here!
i think skittles explained the PVA issue above, but it is VERY important that the waterproof version is used, it should be available in a large hardware store.
lining paper is the paper used under wallpaper, i used the thickest available.
i used pva at all stages, ie in between the layers.
and as for the screenprinted paper, i printed it myself!
good quality matt wallpaper would probably work, it just needs to be pretty thick.
oh yes, also it feels great underfoot - not cold like tiles-, and as the 3 coats of PVA have cured it seems to be getting even more water-resistant.

Brooke@SweetMintStudios said...

Wow! I am SO impressed! Thanks so much for blogging about this project. I have really boring bathroom floors and would LOVE to try this idea to get an updated look with some fun colors and patterns! I can't tell you how excited I am! ... Now I just have to convince my hubby!

hollybrick said...

i LOVE this and am seriously considering doing it to my kitchen floor. however, our landlord isn't wild about the idea. how possible do you think it will be to peel up, or somehow reverse? thanks, would love to hear from you!

mitsy said...

Now wait just a minute... Do I see you storing your shower essentials in old liquor bottles on your bathtub? That is FN genius, if so.

jitan said...

very clean and tidy floor, It's amazing and well designed.

Thanks
Mezzanine Floors

aldrin james said...

That bathroom look so neat and the green floors make it look more amazing. I do think that this kind of bathroom design is what I want to do in my bathroom.

bathroom flooring ideas

Evitasdesign said...

Hallo, I like your website. your contents is very good. I want to share all information about Dealta bathroom faucets and all.you can get information about: bath fitters, bathfitters, faucets direct, home decor catalogs, modular home prices, water softener reviews, and more. all information is free.

dig this chick said...

Hello,

Curious how this held up after a while? I LOVE it.

Thanks!

Hali Chambers said...

Hi!
Popped over from Pinterest. LOVE this & am so inspired to tackle my ugly kitchen floor! Thanks! :-) Hali

Unknown said...

I highly recommend your nice blog and i am waiting your new post. Thanks

Unknown said...

What a great project! I’ve added a link to our Flooring pinboard. Check it out at Pinterest.com/Homedepot.

- Chante LaGon for The Home Depot

merelyLooking said...

Could you give an update on how this floor is holding up now, almost three years later?

Unknown said...

Thank you very much for posting this article. Its a very useful article. We will be acquire lot of things from this site.So i want some information about this post.
Carpet

Unknown said...

It would be Fantastic!!! if you would do a detailed product list and a step by step tutorial! I was going to do the paper bag flooring in my daughters room. Then I seen this and I think my teenager would prefer this! I am a person that has to have all the details before doing a big project like this!

Zebra said...

Yes, I would like to hear the details-directions, on the "thickest lining paper" that was put down first. And was it glued down?
I would like to try this, thanks.

Zebra said...

Thanks Gary, you speak for many of us.

Zebra said...

Thanks Gary, you speak for many of us.

Kathy said...

I am looking for something nice like this for our bathroom floor at the coast. What is PVA?

Thanks

Mike Stathos said...

We are going through the same decision making processes now. We have decided to go full overlay - it's more cost-effective, looks just as great in my opinion and you maximize the storage space in each cabinet. I think it's a no brainier. It will look fabulous either way!
bath remodel Austin

anjalimehtus said...



Modular Kitchen DesignsIndia's finest decorative arts for luxury home furniture and interiors. Our collection is custom created for you by our experts. we have a tendency to bring the world's best to our doorstep. welfurn is leading Interior design company that gives exquisite styles excellence in producing and Quality standards. will give door-step delivery and can complete the installation at your home.

Anonymous said...

Love the floor. But would like to know how durable it is? I'm looking for something cheap to do to my living room and love this idea.

Pradeep Lamba said...

Great Work ! Thanks for sharing this information...Industrial Flooring

July Kieu said...

These best bathroom tile ideas are perfect for people redecorating, and they'll help inspire you for your next renovation.
floormost.com

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful. You may all want to check out brown paperbag flooring. Its similar and has been tried and tested. Instead of varnish, you use polyurethane to seal.