Let’s talk about the floors. Thankfully there was nothing but good news hiding under the ugly laminate. In fact, we liked the color and texture so much we briefly considered just applying a clear coat. But we knew paint would really help your eye focus on some other bits of the room.

Unlike the wall color, choosing the color for the floor was simple. Pantone Charcoal Gray (18-0601) all the way! It’s the most perfect gray paint swatch we’ve ever seen. (It’s in the center in the picture below.)

The only problem was that Lowe’s couldn’t match that swatch for the floor paint we needed (Valspar Latex Porch & Floor Paint in satin). Aaron did a quick scan of the possibilities and landed on Valspar’s High-Speed Steel, which is a shade darker than the Pantone swatch.

Painting floors may be my new favorite thing. We questioned the thin consistency of the paint when we opened it, but it covered like a dream! It was by far the easiest thing I’ve ever painted.

Here’s a side by side of the bare concrete and wet paint.

The paint really smooths things outs. Here’s a close up of the dried paint.

And some before and after shots that make me immensely happy:

I think it took just over an hour for Aaron to edge and for me to roll. We applied two coats with 24 hours in between.

So far we are pretty impressed! Aaron caused a small blemish when a piece of the duct work slipped from his grasp and hit the floor when he was working in the room the next day. It’s a small mark that will be easy to touch up. Later in the day, he dropped something else and it didn’t leave a mark. So we’re pretty confident that this paint job will last.

Here’s a great comparison: Before, after painting the walls, and after painting it all.

We’re chugging right along with this makeover!

• Remove laminate floor
• Demo closet
• Scrape loose paint from windows and caulk
• Paint window casings white
• Paint captain’s room and bathroom
• Scrape the paint off the conduit
• Texture the random metal panel in the ceiling to help it blend in
• Paint the bedroom floor
• Replace the duct work
• Install trim along the brick wall
• Design and install new lighting
• Replace all electrical receptacles and switches (we do this in every room we work on)