Original Brown Paper Floor Tutorial: A DIY Alternative to Wood Floors
Welcome to one of our most popular DIY’s at AOC! This unique brown paper floor technique has been pinned and viewed on YouTube more than a million times and was even featured in an issue of Cottages and Bungalows! It’s a doable DIY that anyone can do and results in a leather-look flooring that lasts a surprisingly long time.
Below you’ll find a bit more about the technique, the video tutorial we made that shows all the steps needed to create this floor using brown kraft paper and glue, and a supplies list.
Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them and purchase I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.
UPDATE: Check out the definitive FAQ for the Paper Floor Technique where we answer all the many questions we get about this cool brown paper floor solution to nasty carpet!
UPDATE #2: See our Brown Paper Floor Follow Up: How Do They Look 4 Years Later? video.
Wondering what the heck a paper floor is and if it’s really doable? It is a really cool, unique flooring method (which is basically decoupage) that I first created in our first house, a 1940 Portland bungalow.
We applied it to the stairs going up to a half story and all the floors in the upstairs, both an office and guest room-studio. I thought it would be temporary, but we were shocked how well it lasted, even on the stairs, and how much we liked it. We had no problem selling the house 5 years after laying for flooring – and the new owners thought it was really cool!
After moving to our 1980’s ranch, we knew we’d use the floor again to get rid of the old carpet, which we did for both our son’s room makeover and our daughter’s recent room makeover.
It’s been such a great alternative to expensive wood floors, creating a cool leather look while still giving the feel (decor wise) and easy upkeep of wood.
What’s wrong with carpet?
Brian and I are unanimous in our love of wood flooring and our hatred disgust dislike of carpet. Bear with me a minute as I get on a little soap box about wall-to-wall carpet.
Carpet is:
- expensive
- not an easy DIY project (more money for labor)
- hard to clean (pets? children?…hello?)
- “filter is full after 5 years” (exact quote from a carpet professional- translation: there’s no amount of cleaning that’s going to get it clean)
- dusty, dirty edges even with regular vacuuming
- an unchangeable color
- not great for certain allergies
- and, since we moved rurally, shows all of the dirt, mud and other dark things that routinely come in on people’s shoes…
OK, I’m down from the box and obviously you can guess where we stand. And while I know plenty of people who love their wall-to-wall, this video tutorial is for those like us who’d like to get rid of it, either because you can’t afford new or because you, too, don’t like carpet.
Needless to say, we are slowly getting rid of all the carpet that came in our ranch-turned-cottage and we are down to two rooms left: the master bedroom and the sunken living room. They will probably get some sort of wood, but for the kid’s rooms, we used this decoupage torn-paper technique we’re sharing with you that we’d used in our Portland bungalow with great success.
Wait? Really, a paper floor?
Yes! We love the doable DIY aspect of this as well as the look and the cost. It is easy, inexpensive and creates a (sort of) leather-look with minimal effort.
Does it last?
It’s coated with water based polyurethane so it has worn really well in the rooms we’ve used it, although I wouldn’t recommend it for high traffic areas.
How much does it cost?
How inexpensive is it? A 12′ x 11′ room cost just $65 total, or about .50 a square foot, which is actually amazing for new flooring.
Brown Paper Floor
Here’s what it looks like in our daughter’s room:
I love seeing this from the hallway now instead of the brown, stained carpeting. It looks a lot airier, too, and makes the room seem bigger.
Now we can get any color of carpeting we like and when it’s old and stained we can just buy a new one (and since this was just $25, it’s not a huge investment).
Here you can better see what the floor looks like. The pieces of torn kraft paper all came from the same roll, but they dry light and dark (I don’t know why), which I think creates a more interesting look than if it was all one color.
You can also see more of the finished floor in this follow up video.
Brown Paper Floor Tutorial Video
Interested in replicating this flooring option in your house? This tutorial video shows you all the steps and tools you’ll need, plus I’ve created a list of tools and supplies after the video:
Brown Paper Floor Supplies
Floor Preparation
- Wood filler for any gaps or holes in subfloor.Ā
- Sanding paper for rough areas and edges.
Applying The Paper
Brown “Builder’s Paper” – the 140-foot roll covered a 12×11′ bedroom and a 11×11′ for us:
- Amazon: Easy Mask 35-inch x 140-feet Brown Builders PaperĀ
- Home Depot (where we get ours): Trimaco Easy Mask 2.9-ft x 140-ft Builder’s Paper
Gallon Size Glue – one gallon covers a 11’x11′ or 12′ room:
Other Tools:
- Small bucket and stir stick
- 3-inch paint brush
- scissors
- trash can
- container to hold water
Optional Staining
This step isn’t in the video, but would happen after the glue dries but before you apply the polyurethane. See FAQs for more on staining; note that I don’t recommend oil based stains like the examples since everything else is water based:
Water based stain in a color you’d like. Here are two options:
Application:
- 9-inch pad applicator (to work with an extension pole)
- For edges use disposable chip brushes or 2-inch foam brushes
- Disposable glovesĀ
Polyurethane Coating The Paper Floor
Floor Grade Water Based Polyurethane – 1 gallon for a 10×10′ to 10×12′ room will give about 5 coats:
- Amazon: Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Clear Finish, Satin, or Varathane brand for floors in a single pack
- Home Depot: Varathane Satin Water-Based Floor Polyurethane (pack of 2)
To apply poly with a brush like I show in the video:
- 4-inch brush (attached with duct tape to a long PVC pipe pole)
To apply poly with a painter pad on a pole:
To apply poly with a roller (use only foam to minimize shedding and bubbles – these weren’t available when I first did the floors):
- 9-inch foam roller (attach to a roller with an extension pole)
- Extension Pole
Paper Floor Testimonials
Kee Kee 1/2019
Anyway, thank you sooooo much for sharing this flooring with the world. I am absolutely in love with the look, low maintenance, durability, and cleanliness of it. When we pulled up the Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring, I was absolutely disgusted by the what was underneath. The mildew and whatnot that was able to get through the crevices and fester. Yuck. The seamlessness of this flooring means I never have to worry about that. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dee 5/2019
I did this technique about 13 years ago in a bathroom – still holding up Havenāt even needed to repoly. Insane
I added stain to my glue mix and I also did over vinyl . No problems . I did small pieces of paper , crinkled . Love It 13years!!! poly poly poly poly ! It looks amazing! And it is a heavily traffic area – our laundry in there also. Simply amazing.
Please let us know if you use the technique- we’d love to hear (and see!) how it turned out for you!
This tutorial has been updated – it was originally published in August of 2010.
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
I saw this post on remodelaholic and I thought it was a super cool idea. I’m getting married in three weeks and my fiance and I are seriously thinking about doing this in the main portion of the house we’re going to be living in. We do have a couple questions:
1. How hard is this to undo – if we ever decide to do something else is this going to be a bear to cover over/rip up?
2. Have you ever tried using a different material than paper? Do you think this technique would work with fabric? I know it would be more expensive to buy fabric but we want to be smart about what “renovations” we make to the house.
This is an amazing idea! Thank you so much.
Idfritz- I think that’s one of the nice things about this- if you ever want to install wood (or, heaven forbid- carpet :-), it would go right over the top with no problem. About the only thing you couldn’t do would be to paint it- but not many people do that to subfloors, anyway. I’ve never even imagined it with fabric- I think you’d have a problems with edges fraying and not laying smooth. Probably wouldn’t have that leather-look also. Interesting idea.
As far as renovations go, this is a pretty inexpensive one, even if it’s just for a few years before you can afford something else. But as I said in another comment, we sold our other house with this flooring in the upstairs and the new family thought it was cool. Again, though, even though I’ve been surprised at how well it’s worn, I still can’t recommend it for high-traffic areas as there are still some bumps that with a lot of traffic can get worn down. That said, it’s easy to fix areas with a piece of paper and more poly! Best wishes on your upcoming marriage!
Jami – Maybe crazy is the wrong word … truly this is one of the niftiest things I’ve seen in a long time! I am going to be doing a remodel in our home office soon and I told my husband that this is what I’m doing for the floor. Thank you for the inspiration! (BTW – love the blog – it has become one of my favorite reads!)
Amazing! I have seen this done on walls using tissue paper but never on floors. I’m going nuts right now trying to figure out where I can do this! What a great idea!!!
Thank you so much for sharing it.
funwithnancy.blogspot.com
How do you think this technique would work on a plywood sub-floor? Great post!!
Oh Jami, you may have just saved me. I love the idea. We need to re-carpet before we put our house up for sale. My kids have a small room and I think this might work. I’ll let you know!
I’m a new follower. This is amazing, something I never would have thought of!!! Wow!
lifeofperks.blogspot.com
I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the new Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. š My hope is to share many of the fabulous projects I see everyday with the vast CG audience. I hope you will not only stop by and subscribe to CG, but will tell your friends about the new category! Hope you see some traffic from it!
Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/diy-video-decoupaged-craft-paper-floor/
If you would like a “featured by” button, you can grab one here!
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/
Wow- so glad you guys are liking this idea! Here’s some answers to your questions:
Kira- I probably wouldn’t do it over vinyl- it doesn’t seem like it would stick as well to the glossy surface.
Lisa- I clean it like I clean wood floors: vacuum regularly and mop with just water when needed. The polyurethane covers the paper completely.
andwhen- I think it would look great using white kraft paper! You’d just have to vacuum more often (and not have black, hairy dogs…). I’ve not seen it in strips, it gets harder when the pieces are bigger, though, so keep the pieces easy to handle and glue down. The torn edges and random sizes allow for easy application- more room for mistakes! š
Remodelaholic- Thank you! It lasted well and was received well by our buyer of our last house (I emailed you as well).
Amanda- Thanks, I’ll be sure to stop by!
El Marginalio- yes, it would work just the same on plywood as particle board, I believe. You may want to sand first if it’s not smooth, though.
I have a loft with plywood floors and was wondering if the fresh (never sealed or painted) plywood needs to be treated or sealed first in order for it not to suck too much of the glue when the paper and glue is applied. And about wear because of rough areas… did you just “patch” those areas as the paper wore through?
I am very excited about doing this, but just want to do it right. I am with you about carpets – more so after tearing up a few! Thank you!!!
While we haven’t done a whole floor on plywood, Hillary, we’ve done test areas (for the magazine spread) and found it worked great – almost better than our particle board floors, with less wrinkles. So no need to prep the floor with a sealer first. We have always tried to get the subfloor as smooth as possible, sanding and filling where needed to minimize the rough areas. But if an area wears down, yes, it’s easy to apply a paper patch over the top. š
I wonder if you could use white paper to give it a more modern look? Or, perhaps you could forgo tearing the paper and lay it out in big rows. Anyone ever try something like that? Great post and video. Thank you
Another idea is that the heavy butcher paper DOES come in colors if you want a different look. I have found burgundy, mustard and other colors, so might try a color technique on the wall after doing a floor. Can’t wait to get started!!!1
The polyurethane may yellow your white paper idea…be careful. I made a table in college and painted it white and then polyurethaned it to protect it but it yellowed it.
I too want to use white paper but want to know if this has been done and where do u get the paper?
Newspaper office end of rolls. I use it for lots of projects. Poly does yellow I read that water base poly doesn’t yellow has anyone tried i
How do you clean it?
Did you say you did this in another house? How well did it hold up? Also, I would love to know if it was okay for resale? Email me if you get the chance, I would be really thankful!
Either way, we love this party link and I wanted to let you know that we are planning on featuring it. We hope that you get a bunch of new visitors. (tomorrow @ 12:00)
http://www.remodelaholic.com
What a great technique! I am planning on renovating my tiny half bathroom (15 sq. ft. – seriously!) this Fall, and might give this a shot. Question: do you think I could do this right over the vinyl flooring I have now? (It’s in perfect condition, just a dated pattern.) Or do you think that’s too much of a shortcut and would really impact the quality of the results?
I doubt it would stick very well on the vinyl flooring.
Before you start and waste time and money on the floor, if you have a small piece of the vinyl try it on there first and if it sticks well, go for the short cut.
This is the most fabulous idea! The floor in my pantry is HORRIBLE, but I just haven’t been able to scrape the money together to tile it. I’m giving this a try ASAP!
I’m so with you about carpet! We went ahead and ripped ours out even though we didn’t know what we were going to do to replace it–right now we have painted subflooring because it was better than carpet! So I watched your video and immediately got my husband to watch it too and we’re thinking about using your technique! Great stuff, thanks so much for sharing!
~Angela š
(A fellow Oregonian)
My sister-in-law used this same technique on one of the walls in her house and it turned out great!
You could probably do this on furniture and all types of things!!
Love your site!
i have yet to watch the video, but just wanted to say i share your hatred er, disgust, i mean, dislike for carpet. awful for allergies, they create dust and as the underpad breaks down with use, you end up breathing all that in!
ok, off to learn more about your technique. looks interesting…
WOW! This is so interesting. You guys put together a really wonderful video tutorial, too! I would have never thought of doing this — so I’m absolutely amazed. I think I’ll be imagining this in my house the rest of the day. š
Thanks for sharing! The room looks great!
This is amazing and the tutorial looks great. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m not sure I’m ready to pull up my carpets just yet but should we ever move to another house (which I want to one day) this will be great to remember.
Your bedrooms look awesome š
Great job Jami (and Brian):) It’s very cool looking and very impressive for the time and cost. I’ll look forward to the in-person tour next time we’re in OR!
We LOVE love love not having a carpet in sight in the apartment we’re renting now! It has laminated wood flooring which is not quite the real deal, but it’s close. Most importantly, it’s very easy to clean and easy to keep clean. And, like you said, it makes the place look bigger and brighter.
any idea of the durability, if you do not use throw rugs or carpets?? Thanks, Anna
The floors have lasted for years for us, Anna! We do have rugs on them, but there are plenty of areas that show and get wear.
I read your previous comment about your floor drying with the wrinkles in it. I had the same thing to happen to my floor. (I’m actually installing it now). Where you able to get the wrinkles out and if so, how did you do it? Thanks
The wrinkles mostly went away when the floor was completely dry, Karinne. It gets pretty flat when the glue dries and then wrinkles up a bit again when the poly is added, but that relaxed when dry, too, though it took about a week for it to completely dry.
what brand of polyurethane did you use on the floors? I tried this before on a test area and it didn’t turn out right. I’m wondering if it was the kind of poly i had. Thanks!
We’ve used mostly Varathane brand poly, Marci, though I think we tried Minwax too and it was okay. The key is to get water based so it doesn’t leave oil marks on the paper.