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1 Decide how far from the wall you want the floor border to be. Use a pencil to mark the lines on the cement floor. Now stick the masking tape along these lines (see masking tape tips). Remember, the masking tape will cover those parts of the cement you want visible after you’ve painted – the light grey stripes that you can see in the ‘after’ photo (opposite) are cement, not light grey paint. 2 Now paint the strips, one colour at a time. Using the artist brush, first paint along the ‘inner edge’ of each strip next to the masking tape. Then do the cutting in along the outer edge where the floor and wall meet. 4 Allow the paint to dry before carefully removing the masking tape. Touch up any blemishes with the artist brush.

5 Measure and find the centre of the floor where the decorative design will go, mark with pencil and stick down ‘grout lines’ with masking tape to form 4 squares the size of your stencil. We used a double stencil for a two-tone effect. Stencil the first design in all four squares using Sherif’s Stone. Let the paint dry, then carefully place the second stencil on top of the first pattern and paint using Matt Black.

6 If you want to repeat the pattern on the side of the bath, as we’ve done, mask off ‘grout lines’ with masking tape and repeat step 5. Wait until the stencils are dry, then paint the rest of the floor in the colour of your choice (we used Matt Black).

To finish

3 Use the sponge roller to fill in the rest of the strip with the same colour.

Make sure all the paint is completely dry before sealing the surfaces with any polyurethane sealant; use a paintbrush for this.