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.
This is brilliant! I saw your video on this last year and kept it on my mind. Now that I have the opportunity to redo our floors I’ll be using this! Thanks!
Hi! Just getting started on prepping my son’s floor. I am noticing a lot of grooves and such from the staples. Did you use wood filler at all, or do you think it would work fine without. Thanks!
I filled large gaps and holes, but not the little holes left from staples, Claudia. Those won’t be noticeable. š
Jami,
I added an oil based stain to my glue by mistake (home depot guy told me it was water based). I want to know if I can cover it or should I rip it up? Just in closet, not whole floor. How do I rip it up?
You probably can just cover it up, Sharon. That’s what I would do in a closet. š
Thanks so much. I’m so excited to do this. My niece is doing it and now so is one of my co workers. Three different approaches. My niece let her daughter and family members draw on the paper first. I am using a stain and cut out lettering of my daughters name and my coworker is planning on putting paw prints on hers. All should look good. I’m considering the hallway and stairs.
There are so many different Kraft papers out there! I’m having an issue figuring out which one to use. Is there a certain weight I should be looking for? Some are 40lbs while others are 60lbs.
I’m sorry I don’t know about the weight, Laura – I just always buy the ‘builders paper’ that Home Depot sells. One time it was thicker than normal, though, and the floor didn’t turn out well, so I would suggest the lighter pound kraft paper. You want to be able to easily crumple it, as it’s the creases where the interesting lines and texture come in to play.
Have you ever heard of anyone doing this in a home that has wheel chairs in the home? We are very hard on our floors. We live on a farm and take in and adopt special needs children. (five still at home) I home school so we are home all day every day on our floors. We recently got money back from a local store for flooring they sold us that was supposed to hold up for 15 years and didn’t even come close to that in holding up. I just didn’t know if the moving around of the wheel chair would tear it up as when one turns their wheel chair it kind of pulls on the floor. Great idea and post. Am going to do this on a few walls in the home and as a back splash in the kitchen. Would like to do a few floors as well but wanted to check if anyone with wheel chairs has tried it and how it held up. Thanks so much! Blessings!
I haven’t had anyone tell me this, Susan, so I can’t say how it would hold up. Sorry!
Can I add color to the paper before I put it down? What did you use at the door frame or threshold? I am totally going to do this when it gets warm. My daughters carpet is disgusting. I want a little bit of color though. What about dogs? Do they scratch the floor?
Lot’s of people stain the paper before sealing, Sharon. Read the FAQ page for more info on that. We just used an oak molding stained to match our wood floors as a threshold – anything that works for you is good. I think some people with dogs have commented about how it holds up, but if you put an area rug, there’s not much floor left to show in a bedroom. š
What about countertops?
My decor throughout is very country,and I was wondering if it could be applied to countertops
I have not done that, Becky, so I can’t recommend it or comment on it’s durability. I can say, however, that a few readers have told me they’ve done this and that it held up fairly well and was easy to fix the places if something did come up with use. Diy projects are often a matter of trial-and-error. š
I did this method 2 years ago within 6 months it was tearing and coming up.
Sorry to hear that, Jeanette! That has not been our experience – our floors in this house are 3 and 4 years old and look the same as the day we finished them. They are, however, in low-traffic bedrooms which is what I recommend in the video.
Many readers have told me they’ve done it in higher traffic areas (some whole houses), but I don’t have any experience with how that would hold up. I do know, as I stated, that we had stairs done in our old house that were used quite a bit and looked great. I can only testify to how they hold up for me, applied like I described. Again, sorry your flooring didn’t hold up as well. š
Do you think you could do half of the room and later do the other? If so, would you do the poly all at once or can you completely finish one side then the other?
You probably could, April, though I don’t know if a line would be visible. If your goal is to be able to set furniture on one half of the room, you’ll need to poly half, let cure, move furniture and then repeat the process. Other than that, I’m not sure. š
My thoughts were to do a hallway to completion, then move on to the adjoining room without using a threshold. Just wondered if it would turn out ok. If I overlapped the adjoining areas, I guess it wouldn’t be much different than repairing a tear….as far as appearances. Thoughts?
You can certainly do that, April – I think it would look fine. My one suggestion if you know you will be overlapping an area later is to leave the edge with uneven pieces of paper – not a straight line – so when it was time to join the two areas, it will look a bit more seamless. ‘Course, you probably already though of that. š
Hey just wanted to thank you for this tutorial I am about to start gluing down the paper in my daughters new room less the nasty white carpet!!! Crossing my fingers!
Let us know how they turn out, Kelly (though I’m sure almost anything is better than nasty white carpet, ha!).
Has anyone with neighbors below them (I’m in a top floor condo) done this? My big concern other than how time consuming this will be is noise. I only plan to put it in the bedroom and den, but I do have dogs that wrestle and play in the bedroom and I worry that there may even be additional noise (creaking/squeaking) from walking. Would love to hear from anyone on how noisy it is.
Hi, I have tried this with old scores of music on a wall and it looks amazing. Im also wanting to use on my house in france but unfortunately our floor is concrete. The other issue is Im not sure what the French equivalent of polypropylene – any ideas anyone?
Hi Mandy! Have you checked out the FAQ page linked at the top here? There’s a section about doing this technique on concrete – readers have had good luck with it when they use only the poly to glue the paper down and then coat. Is there any type of home stores there where you can see what they offer for coating wood floors? That’s what you need – in a water-based application, though. Here’s hoping you can find something! š
I really want to do this in my house. However, the one thing that is holding me back is the dry time. The problem is I want to do my hallway and living room. The hallway leads to my own bathrooms, two of my bedrooms, to my stairs and my kitchen. I don’t know how I can keep my family away from all these areas for a long period of time. Any suggestions or answers would be appreciated!
I’ve never been overly adventurous but am stepping out into new territory here. I’m thinking of using this technique on the back side of glass as a tub surround. Any comments or advice?
It’s basically decoupage, Karlin, so it should be okay as long as it’s sealed behind the glass with no chance of water leaking in. Sounds very interesting!!
I know this is an older post but i must say i love the idea, i wanna try this in my bathroom i think it would look with my frogs and bamboo thats in there
It’s still super popular, Krista, and I get lots of comments and emails on this diy project! Go for it, it sure is a conversation starter, too. š
I just used this tutorial to do this with comic book pages on my son’s floor. Thank you so much for the info. If you want to see pictures http://www.facebook.com//572678262765049
Very creative idea, Megan – as long as your son okay’d the comic pages used. š
can this be done on a concrete slab floor?
Hey Billie – please check out the FAQ page link at the top of the post for answers to this and much more!
WOW! We have been living on sub-floors for a year and a half now. Just didn’t have the cash to invest into the floors. I googled alternative floors last Tuesday, I showed my wife Stephanie and we dove in. This truely was a God send for us, Thank you sooooooo much! Saturday morning Steph and I started tearing paper and crunching them up in to a barrel. By Saturday at 5:30pm the dinning room was papered.. We used smaller paper which took a lot longer to put down, Steph instead of using a brush used her hands to smooth out the paper/glue mixer. The sub-floor is OSB so it’s not as flat of a surface as plywood but we like the effect. We were going to stain it however when we woke up on Sunday it has turn a chocolate brown with darker veins. We loved the look! So no stain. I have put 2 coats of water based poly on it yesterday. The living room is next! Had kinda of a kraft paper crunch party yesterday afternoon, which yielded 4 rolls of crunched paper in to a 55 gallon trash sack for use this Friday and Saturday ( 4 more rolls to go sometime this week ). Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
Awesome, Bill!! This is so good to hear – and we totally felt the same way when we first did it years ago. š I’m cheering you on as you finish – enjoy your new floors!
Jami:
608 sq ft completed! Dinning, living room and Steph’s office. Steph papered all the rooms, I am very proud of her. It looks great, my wife is so happy. Moved furniture in this morning. We used 850 sq ft of paper, 4 gallons of glue and 5 gallons of poly. We applied 6 coats of poly. We used smaller pieces of kraft paper approximately 8″. For less than 400.00 and a lot of time (4 days total), we have a great floor.
Thank you again Jami!
Best regards,
Bill and Stephanie Espinosa
Wow, it sounds great, Bill – congrats! And it sounds like a ton of work all at once – all I’ve ever done is one room at a time. š
I basically used your technique this weekend and wanted to say thank you! I changed it a bit by using a book instead and I used my hands instead of a brush to apply the glue and smooth the pieces down.
http://myfamilybz.blogspot.com/2013/03/stepping-on-book-of-knowledge.html
I wonder what it would like like with pink or turquoise craft paper for a girls room?
Probably really cool and creative, Carrie!