How to Faux-Finish Concrete Floor

Clean the concrete surface with hot water and mild detergent. If you have heavy buildup, use a wire brush to clean the surface.

Patch all cracks and small holes with concrete patch filler. Once it is dry, sand the surface with an orbital sander to level the patch with the floor.

Seal the floor with concrete sealer to prevent the concrete from soaking up the paint. To apply the sealer, roll it on with a lambs wool roller usually used for painting walls. Allow at least 24 hours for drying.

Roll on a coat of concrete primer with a paint roller. Coat the entire floor you plan to paint and wait 24 hours for drying.

Roll on a coat of dark acrylic paint. Use the darkest color you selected for this project. As an example, for chocolate marble, use dark brown acrylic paint. Again, give 24 hours drying time.

Place the next lighter shade of acrylic paint you chose into a paint tray. Crumple up a wad of plastic drop cloth and then dip the drop cloth into the paint. Dab the drop cloth against the floor to create a textured swirled pattern over the first coat of paint. Use your creativity. The more swirls of paint you add, the more texture the faux marble has. Add as much as you want. Again, allow 24 hours drying time.

Open two or three cans of paint. You will use these paints to create veining around the swirl marks you created. Trace the outside lines of the swirl marks with a fine detail brush. Alternate between colors and blend colors together to create texture. Again, this is where your artistic license comes into play. Allow 24 hours for drying

Roll on a layer of clear polyurethane to protect the painted surface and to provide the high-gloss appearance commonly found on expensive tiles. This makes the faux tile look polished. Allow 48 hours before moving furniture onto the floor.