Here’s to doing ALLLLL of the things we’ve been putting off lately.
Okay, well yesterday I literally didn’t get out of my pajamas at all. But this post is proof we’ve been at least a little productive. 😉
By addressing this icky front porch that needed some love:
If you follow me on Instagram, I shared how Robert cleaned our limewashed brick with a pressure washer on a low setting, in case you have limewashed brick too or ever wondered how to clean it. (This is the pressure washer I recommend.)
Plus, who doesn’t love watching pressure washing? Why is it so satisfying?
So after Robert removed all of the grody mildew, moss, and grubby stuff leftover from winter, I applied new limewash to the brick steps (you can watch that whole process here on Instagram stories).
But then the terra cotta tile porch floor needed love.
We went ahead and had it limewashed two years ago while we had the whole house done, but limewash isn’t really meant for floor surfaces that get lots of traffic, so we knew it would need something else on it eventually.
I’d always wanted to try doing a pretty stencil on our porch floor though. No time like the present. So if your porch is needing to be jazzed up, here’s the whole process.
DIY Stencil Painted Porch Floor
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)
Supplies Used:
- Krud Kutter Prepaint Cleaner
- Rags
- Broom
- Behr Porch & Patio Floor Paint Low-Lustre Enamel (I used the colors Battleship Gray and Ultra Pure White – I really should have gotten a quart of each because a little goes a very long way)
- Large angled paint brush
- Stencil paint brush
- Paper towels and a paper plate
- Stencil (I used this one)
- Painter’s tape
- Seal-Krete Clear-Seal Low-Gloss Sealer (I barely put a dent in my gallon of this and should have gotten just a quart.)
- Scissors
The Steps:
1. I swept the porch floor off completely first to remove any dust and debris.
2. Then, I wiped it down with Krud Kutter Prepaint Cleaner and let dry.
3. Using a large angled brush, I applied a coat of Behr Porch & Patio Floor Paint in the Battleship Gray. (I was totally out of paint stir sticks so I sacrificed a wooden cooking spoon.)
It only took 1 coat! This stuff is the jam! I was tempted to leave it like this and be done, and I probably could have but I made it complicated and fancy instead.
4. Once the gray paint was dry, I lined up the stencil so that the star design was centered on the front door. Use painter’s tape to keep the stencil in place.
5. To load your stencil brush, dip just the tips of the bristles into the paint and dab off any excess onto paper towels on a paper plate.
6. To apply the paint to the stencil, pounce your brush in a dabbing motion. Be sure not to have too much paint on your brush or it could bleed underneath the stencil.
7. On edges (pictured above), you can bend the stencil.
8. Once I was finished with the stenciling and just had the edges left, I cut up the stencil with scissors to more easily apply the paint to any corners and edges I missed.
9. Once the stenciled design was completely dry, I applied two coats of Seal Krete Clear-Seal and let dry for 24 hours before walking on it.
That stuff is ON there. I took my fingernail and scratched it and tried to scuff a few spots, and it didn’t budge. So I’m confident it’s going to last.
And look how pretty!!!!!!
It makes me smile every time I walk up to my front porch now, since clearly we’re having no visitors anytime soon.
I hope the USPS lady enjoys it at least. Haha!
And the good news is since I have almost an entire massive gallon of each left, I could use it on another project somewhere. If I figure out where that will be…
What do you think? Good choice on the stencil design? So many of you voted and helped me decide on Instagram, so I owe this one to y’all.
If you’re curious about the rest of the items on our front porch, I linked them all below:
- Ceiling color – Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue (My fave “haint blue” color ever for porches)
- Porch lights (similar)
- Magnolia wreath
- Welcome mat
- Planter boxes (similar)
- Boxwood trees (similar – ours came from IKEA 3 years ago)
BTW if you ever want to know anything about limewashed brick, you can see all of our FAQs about it here.
It you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here too:
Gorgeous!
Love love love this! And yes to this stencil- this is the one I voted for 😃
Very cute but I love your screen door! Where did you get that and does it have screens as well?
The screen door was here when we got the house so I’m not sure. Sorry!
Wow, wow, wow! This looks absolutely outstanding. I was skeptical at first, but this is beautiful. Kudos to you for such a creative idea and also using the perfect stencil!
This looks amazing! I can’t believe how well it turned out. Please make sure you give us updates over time on how well it is holding up.
You know I will! 😉
This is the Bomb!!!! I keep on thinking.. where in the world does she get these ideas??? So creative. ❤I was thinking of painting our grade entrance..the walls and the floor..it is concrete..when it gets warmer out ..I just might do it
Oh my Goodness! That’s gorgeous!! What a project, too. We have a long concrete front porch that’s pretty boring…I may just have to try this. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love it! I just painted and stenciled my indoor entry. I posted it on the Decorating Community and got hundreds of likes and nice comments that made my day!
That’s so great to hear!
What a timely post, I just ordered that exact stencil a few days ago. I actually abandoned my plan to use it on our tile so I was bummed but now I will totally use it on our back patio! Thanks for the awesome idea. Its fantastic!
Can you link the stencil please?
It’s linked in the post!
It looks so great!
Love it!
looks great!
Love it so much! So pretty!
Absolutely stunning!! No need to have a double mat now since you want to see the entire porch.
Oh my goodness, Lauren, that is beautiful! I appreciate this post because I love painted concrete but have struggled in the past with keeping it from peeling, so will definitely keep the materials you used in mind. We are about to move in our new house and have a small concrete step down (about 2×4’ from the back door to the back porch, and I think that would be a pretty way to dress it up and add some color and pattern. Take care and stay safe! I really enjoy your posts!
Beautiful. What size stencils?
We did the large one!
I think it looks amazing!! Brings a wow factor to your front door 🙂
Great post! Thank you!
Oh my gosh, so pretty, Lauren! I love everything about this—the color, the pattern, the way it looks with your whitewashed brick… you’re a wonder!
It looks fantastic! I 😍 that stencil! Good job!
Thank you so much!
Didn’t even know I needed to do this until I read this, & now it’s in the to-do list! Perfect for my porch, thank you for the inspiration.
That turned out gorgeous!!
Any idea of the source for your front storm door? I’m having a hard time finding something like that near me.
We get that question a lot and it was here when we bought the house. Sorry! 🙁
THIS LOOKS SO NICE! I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS DONE BEFORE BUT WHAT A GREAT IDEA! TAKE CARE! BLESS YOU ALL!
WOW, you guys – that looks amazing!!!!
I would’ve never ever thought of something like that. It is awesome.
Lovely! May I ask what size stencil did you use?
Your stenciled front porch looks amazing. I love that you ignored the broken tile and just painted right over it. Would love something like this on our cement front porch but it’s huge and my knees won’t allow. Maybe I’ll just find a nice textured paint. Thanks for sharing.
I love reading your blog but can you darken your font. The current font makes it hard on the eyes. Thank you.
I love it!! I’m thinking some of that grey paint would be nice on the two planter boxes 🙂
It’s really beautiful. I wish I was 20 years younger, I’d paint and stencil every tile floor in my house.
Where did you order stencil from
My goodness. There’s absolutely NOTHING that isn’t perfectly BEAUTIFUL about this project. I just love it.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Ok, this is the bomb!
I’ve stenciled our front porch at our old house. This is pretty so makes me want to do it at my new house, yet, I’ll hold off. Our concrete is so nice and new yet, that I hate to add maintenance before I have to! ha. Readers should be aware that while it’s important to etch and clean first – even doing it properly – it fades, it peels and it will have to be redone at some point. Ours did last quite awhile with just a touch up needed, but we rarely used our front door at that house so I think that helped. Also – while I love the gray and white, I think I would have done a black base since you have black shutters…but gray does soften it.
Your porch is not pretty, it’s breathtakingly gorgeous. I loved your porch before, and I never imagine it becoming better. I should have known better, because you always nail, your already nailed DIY’s As always, thank you for sharing. and you and your family, stay safe
Just stunning! What size stencil did you end up using?
The large one!
Such a fantastic makeover. Before, it looked really dirty but now it turns out to be amazing. I like that the star design. Thanks for sharing this awesome makeover. Great job!
What size stencil did you go with. I see a few different sizes. Thanks!
We went with large!
This is so pretty!
Great job!
What size star stencil did you use?
6″,8″, 12″…?
The large one!
What size stencil did you use?
It looks great and you did a great job!
Looks great! Any suggestions where I can get some ideas for my small front porch?
WhT size stencil please???
This is beautiful! What size of stencil did you use? I followed the link and they offer 4 sizes. Thank you!
We used the biggest one!
I love your porch! You did a fabulous job! I bough a stencil to do my laundry room floor tile which is beige and boring. I was concerned about wear and tear because we enter out house through that room-it gets very high traffic. Now I will use the sealer you mentioned and stop worrying so much and finally get it done. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Lauren! I know this is an older post but it’s been on my mind ever since I read it…so creative! Do you know if the paint and sealer would be slippery in the winter? I know it’s warmer where you live but I’m afraid of painting and my front step becoming a hazard. Thanks!
Love the creativity you have Lauren….love even more the play-by-play and humble comments you offer. We could be friends. At least if you allowed aged bossmares with strong personalities into your cache of friends. Or if you lived in the Bluegrass state. I mean, I NEED friends like you who love to paint anything not nailed down (me too). I am now inspired to try my hand at my own little porch-ette. Right now, I have been enjoying the blends of greens on the ‘crete. Think years and previous-owner eons of gutter crud mixed with rainwater run-off and mossy goo. It’s THAT kinda green. At first it looked rather interesting as it somehow grows and morphs annually, however, that is getting more gross than interesting. Thank you too for offering up your pressure washer recommendations. We were literally out shopping at Lowe’s today for one (we had a coupon) and the two we were hoping to find had all been recalled. Oops. So knowing that this Ryobi is well recommended for the same price is wonderful. I LOVE pressure washing. My goal is to have my interior space someday just as worthy of being power washed as the exterior. I may or may not be kidding.
Nonetheless – your home and ideas and talent are wonderful to behold. I am now inspired. I will go reorganize my earrings.