Has anyone heard of or tried using paper bags for floors, counter tops, or stairs?

[reveriereptile]

I was looking up flooring and came across images of people that used tore up paper bags, Elmer's glue, stain, and polyurethane to cover their floors with.

When I typed in cheap flooring in the Google search I was expecting cheap carpet or even dirt floors but not paper bags. The even stranger part is that they look really good so I looked more into them. I found out people use them on their stairs, counter tops, and walls. One site had a couple saying how much cheaper it was to use the bags instead of carpet in their rental units and it lasted much longer.

Has anyone tried using paper bags for anything like this? Does it last good? I would like to have a different color than brown but now sure what types of paper could be used.

 

[Aeropennchick]

Really?

 

[reveriereptile]

Here is one of the sites I was read that shows the before and after photos. http://compulsiveintexas.blogspot.com/2011/11/brown-paper-bag-bathroom-floor.html

I may have to try this technique. I seen some photos of desk tops and stools that looked good.

 

[Aeropennchick]

Holy crap! It doesn't look bad at all! And after eight coats of polyurethane, I bet it lasts a while also.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Yeah, it's a technique I've seen and would like to try someday. They make colored paper bags, colored craft paper, and you could always dye them any color or pattern you want. Using marbled paper making techniques on them might be pretty sweet.

 

[Imp]

That's pretty amazing. I've made faux leather picture frames out of paper bags, but never thought about using it on the floor.

Imp

 

[mandelyn]

That's really neat! I'll use it on the coffee table, cheaper than buying nice solid wood for the top! I can cover it over just as it is!

 

[reveriereptile]

I told my FIL about it this morning and he is interested in trying it out on different stuff. He was wondering if he could take and use the bags and lay some leaves on them if it would work.

We might try and do several different tests to see how well it turns out. If It works out well I might even be able to use some of the not so good wood to make furniture and cover it up with the paper. I'll definitely take some pictures if we try it.

 

[EweSheep]

Try a floor sample first like a floor rug to see how it would stand up to foot traffic and spills. It is neat!

 

[redhen]

Neat!! But where to get all those paper bags? No place around here uses them anymore..:/