Metallic Epoxy Coatings – Ideas for Retail Stores, Restaurants, Hair Salons, Museums, Art Galleries, Bars & Night Clubs

Creative Techniques for Designer Epoxy Concrete Floors

Designer Epoxy Flooring Inspiration for Every Project

Video 1: Colors and techniques that work well for garage and basement flooring.

Video 2: Popular color choices and application techniques for rental properties, retail stores, museums and the like.

Video 3: Get wild. Hair salons, tattoo parlors and daycare centers generally require more creative approaches for their flooring.

Video 4: Sleek modern flooring for art galleries, clothing stores and office spaces.

Video 5: Colorful and modern designs that compliment the atmosphere of restaurants, bars, night clubs and other entertainment venues.

The Ultimate Guide to Metallic Epoxy Flooring

Interested in designer epoxy floors? This inspirational video series exists to give you the basic knowledge and skills you need to create visually stunning flooring for all types of applications. From residential and retail spaces to entertainment venues and more, Bob Harris shares some basic color palettes and application techniques to help you create stunning, contemporary floor treatments.

With time and practice, you’ll be able to build upon the techniques shown in these videos and develop your own creative techniques to create custom flooring with your own signature style. This page is built to give you the ultimate guide to metallic epoxy and designer concrete floors.

Why Choose Metallic Epoxy for Concrete Floors?

You may be wondering, “What are the advantages of designer epoxy floors?”

Essentially, designer coatings offer the ultimate in beauty and provide creative options for concrete flooring. The number of colors available through mixing pigments and the myriad of techniques used to creatively apply a designer coating are vast. In fact, they’re so numbered that it’s easy to be intimidated by all the options.

However, the benefits of installing designer epoxy floors far outweigh the costs. Here are some reasons metallic epoxy is such a popular choice:

• It improves your floor’s quality: When paired with a top coat, your floor will be protected from scratches and chips. This lets you preserve stunning designs even in high-use areas.
• It sharpens your floor’s look: Unlike with paint, you can use suspended metallic microparticles in a clear epoxy. This combination gives concrete floors a mirrorlike shine and an eye-catching quality of depth.
• It sets the room’s ambience: Metallic epoxy is versatile and comes in a wide range of color combinations. Whether you want to create a bold statement or radiate a more sleek, professional feel, designer epoxies allow you to build a look and feel that will fit your space.

How to Pick Out a Designer Epoxy

With so many options out there, you may feel overwhelmed when it comes time to pick out a designer coating. Here are some quick tips for choosing that perfect metallic epoxy:

1. Determine the colors

The colors you add will control the feel of your floor and set the stage for the whole room. Before you pick out colors, determine how bold or subtle you want the flooring to appear. In general, darker, muted colors will produce a more refined effect, whereas brighter colors will grab an onlooker’s attention more quickly.

2. Pick out your desired style

In most cases, your color combinations, application technique, and color contrast will dictate your floor’s style. For instance, laying a vivid blue on a copper base color will produce a sharp and bold design. At the same time, combining silver and black will give your floor a sleeker style.

3. Keep end-use in mind

Metallic epoxy can produce an exceptional look, but you’ll want that effect to stay crisp and hold up to your environment. That’s why it’s important to protect designer epoxy with a top coat that fights off spills, chemicals, heavy foot traffic, and wear from daily use.

Techniques and Best Practices

Wondering how businesses are using designer epoxy to enhance their spaces? Of course, the final color and style of your floor is up to you. However, there are some common trends we see within specific industries:

• Garage floors and basements: In most cases, garage floors and basements need to look clean and attractive, but owners may not desire the flash of other flooring designs. In general, users decorate garage floors and basements with neutral colors. Some popular color combinations include jet black with quicksilver or cappuccino brown on copper.
• Retail stores and museums: If you’re updating flooring in museums or retail stores, there’s a good chance that you’re after a more refined look. Some popular color combinations include bronze, copper, and silver.
• Hair salons and parlors: Salons and parlors are often after vivid flooring. Pros within these spaces can grab a customer’s attention by using a combination of relatively intense colors, such as galaxy blue and Caribbean blue on bronze.
• Office spaces and art galleries: Most office space and art gallery owners are after a sleek, professional look. For flooring in these spaces, denim with sterling and khaki with mother-of-pearl are popular color combinations.
• Nightclubs, restaurants, and bars: When it comes to flooring in nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, bold designs are common. In these cases, you can pull in a visitor’s eyes by layering contrasting colors, such as cocoa, emerald green, and Caribbean blue.

How Long Does It Take to Finish Floors?

There’s little that’s more frustrating than starting a project without knowing how long it will take to see the end result. Here are some factors that will affect the timeline of your project:

• Epoxy quality
• Amount of detail desired
• Coating technique
• Square footage

Remember: Once you’ve laid down your metallic epoxy design, it’s important to preserve and protect it with a top coating. You’ll need to do this within 24 hours of laying down your designer epoxy. As long as it’s been less than 24 hours, if you have no outgassing bubbles or imperfections, you can add a clear coat over the top of the surface without abrading it.

However, if you miss that 24-hour window of opportunity, you’ll need to prepare the surface before you add a top coat. This preparation process generally includes deglossing the surface by sanding it.

Install Your Designer Epoxy Flooring

Ready to start installing designer epoxy flooring? If you’re new to the process, we strongly recommend that you watch our how-to video series on installing designer epoxy coatings.