Painting Hardwood Floors to Look Like Moroccan Tile

I’ve seen painted floors online and thought they were so creative. Why not paint- if you already hate the floor, and want to replace it someday anyway? So that’s the story with this floor.

Oak parquet ran through the entryway and powder room of our home, and I despised it. It glowed orange! Someday we want to replace it with real hardwoods, but in the mean time I came up with a more creative solution. I decided to paint then stencil it to make it look like Moroccan tile, which is very popular in design these days. Read on to see how easy it was to do!

Don’t be afraid to scuff it up throughly!

First, I vacuumed the floor. Then since the floor had worn spots throughout, I grabbed a pole sander with 120 grit sandpaper and gave it a good sanding. Once done, I cleaned the floor with 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. I used a spray bottle and paper towels.

Next, I taped off the baseboards and perimeter with 2″ painters tape because I can be messy.

I chose a dark gray floor and porch paint. I used a brush to paint, but a roller would’ve made the job quicker. I let the floor dry to the touch, then did a second coat. I then let it dry overnight before stenciling with an off white color.

See below where I found custom stencils

The easiest way to stencil with the least amount of bleed-through is using a foam roller. JUST DON’T APPLY TOO MUCH PAINT!!

I started in the back corner of the room and planned my “tiles” out from there. I painted 10 “tiles”, then while the paint dried washed the stencil with warm water. I bent and taped “partial” stencils as needed.