Brown Paper Floors

Brown paper floors??? What in the world is that? How do you it? How about I share what I did and you'll see? I waited 18 years for a designated crafting space and way before it got started I was scanning Pinterest and magazines for unique ideas. But as the room progressed so did all of the associated costs and I had no flooring yet!! Well, needless to say we used up the assigned budget so what would I do now?  Hah, I would just paint the sub-floor over and stencil a pattern over the top as shown here via Chairloom images.

Then one day I stumbled upon these tutorials for brown paper floors that emphasized cheap and easy, "yeah right" I said to myself in disbelief. But, no they were the real deal and from reading all the reviews it was easy, unique and most importantly, CHEAP!!! So off I go to find the supplies : 

•  4 rolls of Brown wrapping paper (Walmart @ 3.97 each)
•  1 gallon of White school glue (Canadian Tire costing about $28.00)
•  1 gallon of Polyurethane make sure it's "floor-grade" I chose satin finish (Canadian Tire cost was about $50.00) 
• 1 quart of Oil based Minwax stain (local hardware store and it cost about $15.00) I chose the color Fruitwood. 
• I already had floor leveler on hand to fill in the any indents made by screwing the sub floor down or any other obvious dents and cracks.
• Paintbrush, latex gloves and a bowl to mix up your glue solution in.

I cannot say I wasn't nervous about the project because I was, it could end up being a total flop! I took a deep breath and pretended like I knew what I was doing and started off by setting everything out that I would need. I applied the floor leveller as per instructions on the carton and allowed for the drying time, you may need to give it a light sanding after it has dried. Finally, make sure to give your floor a thorough vacumm before you begin laying paper down to ensure that you have a clean, dust-free surface.

I began tearing up the paper into jagged 6"-12" assorted pieces and crumpling them into balls, it was great tension release therapy! But to move the process along faster I enlisted my dear Mother-in-law to tear and crumple and toss them into a laundry basket while I was gluing and spreading the ones I already had prepared.

The glue formula you need to prepare is 3 parts water to 1 part of white glue. Mix and use up and repeat as you work through the project. I poured some of the glue solution into a bowl and I added four of five balls at a time to saturate, then I placed them in another bowl to rest while I began applying. You shouldn't allow them to soak in the solution for a long time or else your paper will become too fragile to handle. I also dipped the brush into the glue mixture and applied it to the floor before laying the paper onto it. There's no right or wrong way to lay the paper out, unroll the crumpled ball and spread and smooth with your gloved hands, don't be afraid to overlap a little. If your paper has dry spots when you unroll it just dip it into your solution one more time.

"Are you soon gonna be done"? Yes, it took awhile but it got easier as I went and if you had a friend or two to assist in the gluing and spreading it would be a breeze to complete in a few hours! I, however did it in two sessions and there was a discoloration where I joined up because of the need to re-glue the already dried edges, panic set in!!! I continued on and calmed myself by accepting that I might need to buy a rug to cover up the boo-boo!

I know it looked pretty fragile to me too! But again I calmed myself with the mat idea and I rested and gave the floor 12 hours of dry time before moving on to the next step of staining. Below is the picture after being stained lightly with a cotton rag and the Fruitwood stain, the paper just soaked up the stain so a light hand is all that is needed. It was recommended to use a lambskin pad but I had found that an old t-shirt worked well in the past, so I went with that again and it was fine. DO NOT overlap, just blend lightly as you go to ensure even color over the entire floor!

Again, there's a waiting time before the next step of 24 hours, which gave me time to search for a cheap mat, haha! The last step is applying the satin finish polyurethane which I applied with a roller brush and a tray. Satin finish has less shine than a semi-gloss finish and would be better to hide any imperfections. This went super fast even the drying time because it's water based and I had fans turned on as well. It was suggested to sand the floor in between the applications with a 220 grit sandpaper. I  didn't because I was in too big of a hurry and I felt it wasn't a big deal anyhow, since I was going to be the only person going in that room! I applied 6 thin coats of the finish with a 2 hour dry time in between. How did it turn out.....AWESOME!!!!!

Here it is with the furniture added, I didn't need the mat to cover the boo-boo's but it helps protect the floor from the wheels on my office chair that I use.

Here's a close-up view of the floor and I think it looks a little like  torn pieces of leather. I love it, it's durable and I just clean it as I would clean my hardwood floors, often with Avon Peppermint bubble bath and warm water. If you damage a section you only need to reapply the paper, stain and varnish in that spot, easy! If you want to freshen it up just apply a few more coats of polyurethane, piece of cake!

Are you finished now?? Yes, sorry about the long post but if you want to try it you are now all set with the instructions to try it yourself! Have Fun! We did!