Painted Parquet Floor

This is my parquet floor in my foyer. You know....pronounced Par-KAY. 

But not to be confused with this Parkay.....

Before all of you Parquet Floor Purists get all in a tizzy, let me explain why I decided that painting our floor was the best thing to do. 

Our home once boasted cream colored carpets in ALL of the living areas; great room, formal dining, office, hallway. The carpet was not in good shape and we replaced it with espresso, wide plank, laminate wood floors.  We bought enough flooring to replace the parquet floors, but that stuff is glued down to the sub-floor and it was going to be a big mess to rip out. 

Other than a little water damage, which is repairable, and some cosmetic issues, the floor itself is in good condition. So, thus, the decision to paint it. 

When we bought this house, this floor already had some paint spatter on it, and we had planned on replacing it or painting it so I didn't worry too much about getting more paint on it during the two times that I have painted this foyer already in the two years we've lived here. I am the President of the Messy Painter's Club!

Besides the obvious paint spatter issue, there was the issue of the flow.  The orangey glow of the parquet floors clashed with the espresso floors in the rest of the house. This further bolstered my decision to paint it. 

So here's how I prepped the floor for painting.  

I sanded down spots in the floor that were a little raised from water damage. Then I filled in gaps with wood filler and sanded again. I only sanded the damaged area, which is a small area confined to right in front of the door. 

Once that was completed, I was ready for primer.  I used Zinsser primer.  I can't say enough about this stuff. It eliminates the need to sand. (The only reason I sanded was the damage.)


And here is the foyer with one coat of primer on it.  Even though it is splotchy, it is already an improvement. I will be working on this project today and will hopefully get it finished. I have to put one more coat of primer, the base coat of paint, then the paint treatment that I am doing. But I'm not gonna tell what that is yet.  You will just have to come back and see when I am finished! I hope you will!

**You can view Part 2 HERE!