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How to glitter a concrete floor

Let’s learn how to glitter a concrete floor!

Here is my DIY Glittered Floor tutorial! In the process of redoing our art studio, I wanted to go big and sparkly. We ripped up the icky carpet and found smooth concrete underneath. We went to Home Depot and bought a garage floor epoxy coating kit. I saw that it came with black and white decorative flecks, and instantly thought – “why not glitter?” We bought the sandstone color and I bought 6 jars of chunky gold glitter at Michaels.

UPDATE: Our floor has held up beautifully over the years, just as shiny and brilliant as ever. Swiffer does not work to clean, but a regular mop works fine.

How to glitter your COOLER!

Video link 

YouTube video

Here’s how I covered and sealed my floor in glitter:


Supplies:

1 garage floor coating kit (found at home improvement stores, this is th eone I used – click to buy it from Amazon)
2 paint rollers, handle, 2 trays
1 scrub brush for cleaning the floor before you start
1 bucket and mop
8 jars of chunky glitter (I used the above)
Bowl to hold glitter
1 brush for edging
1 gallon of water-based polyurethane varnish, high gloss
Fans, open windows!

Directions:
1. Use the cleaner in the kit to fully clean your floor. Mix it in the bucket, scrub, rinse with mop.
2. Scrape off any glue, patch holes, let dry.
3. Mix the two parts of paint mixture (NOTE: If you want a gold floor, use the tan kit!) according to package directions. Stir vigorously. Seriously, this stuff is just like resin, you have to mix it really good or it won’t work!
4. Pour into one paint tray, use a brush to paint the edges of the room. I suggest having someone help you, you will be able to work faster.
5. Now use one of the rollers to paint a section of the room.
6. Throw handfuls of glitter in the air so it lands evenly. Don’t throw or toss it like chicken feed or it will land in piles or splotches. It’s ok if some spots are more covered than others as long as you use a matching color of paint – as in the TAN kit if you want gold glitter. The light reflection will make the entire floor look evenly glittered.
7. Keep working section by section, make sure to add glitter to cover the section lines so it will all blend.
8. If you want light glitter, just lightly toss. If you want heavy glitter, spread generously (like mine!).
9. Let dry over night, extra if you live in a humid climate. Use push broom to sweep off excess glitter. Scrub away areas that are too thick, you want it to all be even. Sweep up extra and toss it. You want the floor to be flake free, you want all the glitter to be sealed down to the epoxy covering.
10. Open can of varnish, apply in a test area first. Make sure it dries nice and clear. Here in Arizona, it dried very clear, no issues, but it might be different in other climates. So do a test patch first! Pour in the second paint tray and use second roller to apply an even coat. Let dry and add another coat. Repeat four or five times. You want the floor to be smooth so you can wipe up any spills.
11. Let dry for 2-3 days before moving in furniture or walking on it.

How to glitter your corkboards!

TIPS:

– If you use the flakes that come with the kit, toss those first and then add the glitter.
– Keep the window open in the room, keep the fans going. It’s stinky!
– If you miss a spot, don’t try to backtrack while the paint is wet, your feet will stick to the floor. I know from experience!

Check out this other tutorial too!: How to Make Oilcloth Car Mats!

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YouTube video

 

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103 thoughts on “How to glitter a concrete floor”

  1. WOW!!! Coincidentally enough, we’re redoing our kitchen floor soon. I’m 100% positive that it does NOT have cement hidden underneath it, yet I must figure out a way to coat it all in glitter!

    Reply
  2. We had one of these floors in my church way back in the 70’s. The workmen wore golf shoes so they could walk around on the wet floor and get everything just right. It worked well for them. This looks gorgeous.

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  3. I think I just fell in love…will you marry me? What?….you’re already married and I’m a woman? So what anybody who loves glitter as much as I do….well she should be friends at least. I saw a glitter wall for a photo shoot and have been trying to figure out how to convince my husband to let me glitter a wall. If we were married it would be easy to convoke you, right? I had a secret crush on glitter before I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC- they have a Warhol that is all glitter. I now yell it loud and proud…. I LOVE GLITTER.

    Reply
  4. That is the prettiest floor I have ever seen! Yowza! Kathy, do you happen to know where to get Ranger Melt Art Beeswax in Phoenix? Having a hard time finding it without having to go out to the East Valley. Thanks.

    Leslie

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  5. Good question!

    Yes, big difference – paint is opaque. If you mix the glitter in, it will make the paint grainy, you won’t see the glitter, it will be covered in paint.

    If it were clear then you could mix it in, like with clear resin.

    You also would not want to mix glitter in the clear sealer because you want the floor to be smmoooth…

    Reply
  6. Makes sense, Kathy. I always thought that glitter ceilings were done by mixing the glitter into the plaster, but apparently not? I just read on the Internets that there is something called a glitter gun that can be used to apply glitter to wet plaster. I had no idea such a thing existed!

    Reply
  7. My mission in life used to be to acquire a life-sized dinosaur sculpture to keep in my front yard. I have a new mission- to convince my Landlord (who is also my mother) to let me tear up all the carpet in the house and do this. THE WHOLE HOUSE. Holo hex glitter.

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  8. Ahhh!! I can’t take it!! Love love love!! I always tell Aaron how when we buy a house we neeeed a glittery driveway or roof!!!! Love love love!!

    Happy Summer girl!!

    xoxo Jenny

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  9. Lowe’s has a glitter that you stir directly into paint then roll it on walls, ceilings or floors. I used it for several rooms in my house and everyone gives compliments!

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  10. OH to the EM to the GEE.

    This is the coolest thing ever. A gittered floor has never even crossed my mind until a minute ago, and now I wonder how I have ever lived without it!

    Reply
  11. Wow…

    This is breath taking.
    I asked my parents to do floor like that (but in red glitter and also red base color) and they said yes!
    I’m just in love with this idea, never seen anything like this.
    So, now my room will be redecorated and it will look awesome! They are going to redecorate the whole room just because of the floor. 😀

    THANK YOU!
    Ro.

    Reply
  12. I love it!!! Now I want to glitter the floor in our basement, only problem is … the basement is my husband’s workshop, I don’t think he’d agree. 🙂

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  13. I’m really psyched to do this in my studio- Yours is beautiful, and I’m surprised that I like the gold so much. I have a couple of questions, and I hope you haven’t addressed them in the video because I haven’t watched the video yet.
    1. How big is your studio?
    2. What size ‘jars’ of glitter did you buy? A regular little thing of glitter, even 4-6 of them doesn’t seem like enough to get the stunning effect that you did. I would hate to do this to my floor, only to have it semi-glittery.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  14. Yeah, how big/what weight were your jars? I am plotting my own glittery floor, and I’m going to have to by off the net, so I need to know beforehand.

    So impressive!

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  15. can’t thank you enough and (kismet!) found it just as my brand new concrete floors developed a crack. glittering starts in a half an hour, can’t wait! i went with aqua and turquoise with a tiny bit of red. i am also going to go with a clear epoxy coat on top – saves me 4 coats of urethane! wish me luck and THANK YOU!

    Reply
  16. ok, finally finished glittering the floor. I did a 10’x18′ room and ended up using a LOT of glitter, at least four of the little jars from michaels (6oz?), two lbs of chunky glitter that i ordered online, plus six of those really expensive fine glitters that you can buy at michaels. I wish I had just started with 5lbs, swept it up and used it for another project (there is a lot to sweep up the next day, but if the floors are clean, why not reuse?). i will say tossing it up in the air is harder than it sounds to get it to land evenly. turn off the fan until you’re done and wear a respirator! i also top coated with two coats of the garage epoxy in clear. on that second coat, since my glitter colors ended up being uneven as i started tossing in whatever i had, i added a tiny bit of resin dye to make it transparent blue and it’s GORGEOUS. now i just have to wait for it to cure and I can move in! thanks so much, again, i am going to love going to work in my studio.

    Reply
  17. Just the most wonderful in everyway.

    Clarifying question – you mention you painted the epoxy in sections and then tossed with glitter, then did another section. Was it difficult to keep the glitter off the non-yet epoxied sections? did you have to remove loose glitter from those areas if it got there or does it not matter? It seems like where the sections meet it might be difficult to get both the paint and the glitter even….

    Thansks!

    Reply
  18. I want to do this for a counter I have a piece of plywood and was hoping I could get the same effect is that possible???

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  19. Hi Kathy! This is one of the best things I’ve seen in a LONG time! My husband just broke the news that my girl’s floor is plywood under the carpet. 🙁 How could I do this on plywood flooring?

    Reply
  20. I love this too! I was wondering the same thing as RaquelitaMN, how you deal with overlapped glitter when tossing it in a section. Could you please explain?

    Reply
  21. How large of an area did you glitter? (I’m just trying to figure out how much glue to buy.) I’m also curious what you used to patch any holes in the floor.

    Thank you!!

    Reply
  22. Wow! This is amazing! I found you again through Stumble-upon. I talked to you about your blog/book deal at the Austin Maker Fair a couple of years ago and our girls had great fun making journals at your booth – they still have them.

    Reply
  23. This is amazing and I definitely plan to do the threshold to my den like this- 2 questions… 1- where can I buy bronze glitter in bulk 2- please clarify the size of the 6 containers of glitter you used

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  24. How pretty!!!!! Wow! If I wanted to use the sand color kit and use pink glitter I wonder if I would get a rose gold effect? We are doing this floor at the new salon we are building. I guess my question is would light pink glitter work on the sand kit or should I mix both pink and gold glitter?

    Reply
  25. I wonder about using this on a tiled floor. Soon after installing our tiled floor, small cracks are running all over the place. Faulty tiles, but we laid them ourself so no recourse. Looking for a fix so we don’t have to rip them out. The cracks are visible when you point them out, most ppl do not notice, but still…I wonder how this works on tile. And mixing the glitter ito the varnish…hmm.

    Reply
  26. What size jars of glitter did you buy? I just ordered about 10 oz of opalescent glitter for my room, I’m not sure if that is enough or not.

    Your floor is amazing!!!!

    Reply
  27. We just did our basement living room. We went over previously installed wood tiles. We cleaned the floor with warm water prior to using the epoxy and it bonded to the tile great (we did not use the “etching” powder provided with the epoxy). We did a mix of 6lbs black glitter and 3 lbs gold glitter over the dark gray epoxy (18×12′ room). As stated above it was difficult to get an even coating of glitter but the heavier patches actually add character to the already mezmarizing floor. Thanks for the fun idea!

    Reply
  28. Hi! I’d like to glitter the floor in a room, which size is around 3×3 meters. What do you think, how much glitter do I need for that work?

    Reply
  29. Hi! Was just wondering how this flooring is holding up for you after some time has passed? I’m thinking of doing it in a public art studio but thought I should consider any potential issues before taking the leap. Thanks for any insight you may have!

    Reply
      • Thanks Kathy! I appreicate your feedback. One more thing…since you didn’t use the flakes that came with the kit (but obviously replacing with cool glitter), is the surface of the floor slippery? Particularly when wet? Since I’ll be using it in a commercial application, I need to consider safety.

        Thanks again, and sorry to keep bugging you!

        Reply
  30. Love it! I was skeptical until I saw the rigorous inspection team. Then, I knew this is the real deal! A garage (man’s world) could be cool with silver and black glitter. So many things to try. Throw in some funky sequins, here and there. Your imagination is the limits with this project. Thank you for sharing! Great job, inspectors!

    Reply
  31. After watching your video, we’ve given our kitchen floor a makeover and have covered it in red paint, then red glitter, then 3 coats of epoxy varnish (the first coat having more glitter in/on it!), and it’s fabulous! Thank you for the inspiratIon 🙂

    Reply
  32. happy to see a do it yourself-er like you create an glitter epoxy floor using over the counter products. Came out really nice kathy. Good job. We usually install them using commercial grade epoxy flooring materials not commonly available to the public. How has the floor held up since installation? Especially under the chairs? Just wondering thanks.

    Reply
  33. I know this a few years old but how has it held up till now? I am considering trying this in my event hall. It’s 5000 square feet.

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  34. Alona, Did you do your Event Hall? Very curious if this worked in such a large space, and what the cost was. We also have an Event Centre with old PVC tile, and it looks so aged, it would be great to find a way to jazz it up.

    Reply

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