| Creating a Faux Tile Floor
Use this easy method to create the faux tiles shown above. The result will be a realistic, weathered look, not perfectly coated tiles.
Here's how:
1. Start by scraping any loose paint and dirt off the floor and washing it well.
2. After the surface is dry, apply a floor paint primer. For the project shown above, I used oil-based paint and I recommend you do the same. Although there are floor paints available, my paint expert wouldn't give me any sort of a guarantee for use in a semi-exposed outdoor space.
3. After the primer is dry, paint the floor with the base colour of your tile work, that is, the colour that will show between the tiles and look like grouting. For ideal results, let this base coat set for a week.
4. Choose three shades of paint in the family you'd like for your tile colour (terracottas, clays, greys, whatever you like). There should be a fairly large range of intensity between the lightest and the darkest.
5. Cut a thick piece of cushion foam in a square that's the size of the tiles you want (15 - 20cm squares works nicely).
6. Lay out a green garbage bag. Pour some of the middle paint colour on the plastic then add smaller amounts of the other two colours. Swirl them a bit with a paint stick. Lay the foam piece in the paint and press down firmly. Lift the foam up and press carefully onto the floor. Repeat with the same puddle of paint 2 or 3 times. Then add more paint to the garbage bag and repeat the process.
7. As you go, you'll have some tiles with more swirls than others, and some that are lighter and darker in colour. That's good - it gives the floor a natural look, especially as it wears.
If possible, let the "tiles" set at least another week before you walk on them. You can finish with a layer of polyurethane varnish if you want, but the pictured project didn't have it and is now entering its third year looking great.
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