Coastal Cottage Refresh – Today I’m excited to finally reveal the blue and white checkerboard pattern I painted on my kitchen floor, as well as the little update it inspired! Here are all the details and how to!
Our kitchen is only about 5 years old and I love it. With its two-tone cabinets, blue tile backsplash, large BlueStar range, and of course the water views, this is my happy place.
Coastal Cottage Refresh
When we were building the house, however, I had to make a lot of decisions. A LOT of decisions. Many of them are based on a budget.
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You can read all about our home building story in my post Chasing a Dream: Our Coastal Maine House Story, Part 2.
Even though our house is fairly new, I wanted the feel of an old coastal Maine home to have passed down through the generations.
Random width pine boards, reinforced with old fashioned cut steel nails, and sealed with a clear poly/oil finish were an economical way to get a floor with that “old home” look.
The thing with new pine, however, is that, unlike the old heart pine floors I was inspired by, it is soft and damages easily. The dogs and life in general have already taken their toll. And while I like the look of pine as it ages, it can turn a little too orange.
Coastal Cottage Refresh
I have a lot of natural wood furniture in the house, including red birch lower cabinets in the kitchen. Sometimes I felt that the combination of wooden floor and furniture felt too heavy. I wanted something a little lighter and brighter.
Read all about this bathroom in my post Chart Your Way to a Classic Coastal Bathroom. There is a blue tile shower to match the painted floors and the best custom sea chart wallpaper!
The design wheels started turning in my head as I looked at painted floors on Instagram, in design books, and magazines. It was like the perfect cottage vibe for our home. And the kitchen was the perfect place to try it.
I just had to work up my nerve to do it! Because once I started, there was no going back.
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I bought the supplies and one day I grabbed the primer and the paint brush. I hesitated a bit as I held my brush above the floor.
Before I get to the technique, I will say that painting a checkerboard pattern on your floors isn’t difficult, but it is a lot of work and requires strict attention to detail (not the stay my strong suit….). It took me a while too. The right tools will definitely help. And I learned a few tricks that I will share with you.
1 – Wash the floor with TSP heavy duty cleaner to prepare the surface for painting. 2 – Use painters tape to protect any vertical surface that comes in contact with the floor. (Baseboards, cabinet toe kick plate, etc…) 3 – Using a paint brush and roller, paint the entire floor with primer.
I was making a blue and white pattern, so this was white for me. I needed three coats in addition to the primer.
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5 – Measure your space and decide how big you want the squares to be and how you want them to be designed.
The rest of the cabinets, the island, and the appliances and the U-shape of my space made measurement and layout a bit difficult. I decided that I wanted the design to be based on both sides of the island. This is more my engineer son’s wheelhouse than mine, so I enlisted his help in figuring out how big the squares would need to be to achieve this arrangement.
Keep in mind if you are making the checkerboard on the diagonal like I did, you must use the diagonal measurement of the square. If you don’t have a son to do this for you, there are online charts and calculators!
In the end, the design wasn’t perfectly aligned on both sides, but it’s close enough!
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I cut a template from a piece of cardboard and secured the sides with packing tape to create a smooth edge.
Note: My line was the “visual” center of each side, not including the part of the floor under the cabinet/island.
It was easy to center the diagonal squares on the straight lines by joining them up corner to corner!
At this point you don’t need to measure each square. Just use the straight edge of the ruler to extend the edges of the squares you found with the template, checking every few squares to make sure the size is still correct.
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Keep in mind that if the size of some squares is too small, it won’t be noticeable. Just make sure the lines are straight and you should be good!
You only need to tape the squares that are not the base color. For me it was the blue squares.
It’s easier to get sharp corners if you tape and paint in two stages, alternating squares in each stage.
I did it in one step. I just wanted to get all the taping out of the way at one time, so I had to be very careful taping the corners. You can get a more precise corner if you mark the corner on the tape with a pencil and then use scissors to cut a straight line. Some of the corners I painted freehand. In retrospect, it probably would have been faster if I had used the two-stage method!
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Note: Some people don’t tape their pattern, but do it freehand. My hands are not so steady! Go for it if yes, because tapping is kind of a pain!
12 – The fun part! After the paint dries, remove the tape and look at your checkerboard floor!
I’m a perfectionist, so I went around with tape and a foam brush and touched up areas where the line wasn’t clean.
And even though I got really picky with my lines, when you look at the floor as a whole, you can’t see the little imperfections!
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14 – I used Mr Clean Magic eraser to get rid of any pencil marks that were showing. 15 – Enjoy your new floors!
I turned out the peel and stick wallpaper behind my glass front cabinets. Adding paper to the back of your cabinets is an easy way to add color, pattern, and just fun to storage space. It also makes your dishes pop!
Keeping with the blue and white check theme, I went with a large gingham pattern that I ordered from Spoonflower. They have a large selection of unique patterns. This particular one was designed by Danika Herrick. I’ve linked it right below!
Hanging peel and stick wallpaper in a small space like a cabinet can be a bit tricky. The sticky backing bonds instantly to any surface it touches. The good thing is, you can just peel it off and start over. I found it easier to do the space between each shelf individually. The layered pattern of the check really helped me keep everything straight!
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Now that the floor and back of the cabinets are blue and white, I wanted to add more texture and a neutral touch to the kitchen.
To complement the new floor I ordered a jute runner from Etsy. It was sent directly from India! I love how the curved curved border contrasts with the straight lines in this space.
Since I spend more time looking at the inside of my cabinets, I decided to update my glass collection and combine it with new high, low and juice glasses in a simple striped pattern.
And I had to add some texture in the glasses cabinet too, with a set of four tumblers covered in wicker.
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The floor now compliments the natural wood cabinets instead of blending in with them. And I love how you can still see the character of the random width boards with their old fashioned nails. What a difference a little TLC makes to a space! Our once-neglected sunroom got a bit of a makeover this year and now we find ourselves bidding on who gets the space. From morning coffee overlooking the garden, a bright place to work from home, a happy hour to wind down the day, and movie nights curled up on the couch listening to cricket, the sunroom is Our coastal cottage has quickly become our favorite room.
I made good use of the decor I already had around the house with a few easy updates to enhance some elements. Additionally, I purchased a really beautiful throw pillow cover from Stoffer Home along with a sleek new shade for an existing lamp. New coffee table books to mix with our old favorites and a new woven rug to drape over our indoor/outdoor rug for warmth.
Similarly, I found a beautiful marble tray at Stoffer Home for the candles and incense I found at the cutest little shop in Petoskey called August. I especially love it when the kids walk into their room