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How to Paint Stripes on Your Front Porch

DIY projects· Home Improvement· our garden

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This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Y’all don’t even know how excited I get about black and white stripes and today I want to share my striped concrete front porch makeover with you. Painting crisp black and white stripes on a concrete floor can be a little tricky but with my tips and tricks on how to paint stripes on your front porch, you will get clean and perfect results. Trust me, it’s a lot easier than you think.

How to Paint Stripes on Your Front Porch

a before photo of the old dirty concrete porch

The reason I finally decided to have striped concrete at our entrance is that the concrete on our front porch had become bad after living here for 16 years. The yearly pressure washing didn’t help and neither did any type of bleach cleaner anymore. Not to mention that most of the homes in our neighborhood look like ours and I wanted to make my curb appeal stick out from the rest of the homes.

Painting Concrete Porch Supply List:

  • one can of white and one can of black Olympic Rescue It and cleaner which I purchased at Lowes and I decided on this paint because it is tintable and you can choose from a large variety of colors. (UPDATE: we’ve had this porch painted for two years now and the color is holding up great!)
  • a good bristle brush (very important to get into all the textured parts of the concrete)
  • metal paint tray (I like lining mine with garbage bags which makes it easier for cleanup and covering the roller between coats and you can read more about my painting tips and tricks HERE)
  • painters tape
  • rollers made for really textured surfaces (HERE), roller frame (HERE) and an extension handle (HERE)
  • a large ruler or straight piece of wood molding
  • measuring tape

supplies needed for painted concrete front porch

 

Step-by-step Porch Painting Instructions:

1. Cleaning the concrete: I used a pressure washer in combination with the cleaner to make sure I really removed all the dirt and grime. I brushed it on according to their instructions and then pressure washed the entire porch and small walkway.
To be honest, though I felt like the cleaner was a waste of my money, not because it’s a step you should skip. Definitely not! It’s because it smelled like straight up bleach which it also proofed to be because it ruined the bottom of my sweatpants after pressure washing and you might just be able to buy bleach from the grocery store which is much cheaper to prep your surface with. So you can be the judge of this step whether you want to clean with the manufacturers recommended cleaner or just standard bleach. Regardless of what you use please be careful with yourself and the surrounding plants.

RESCUE IT!® MAX Prep Cleaner
power pressure washer

2. Let the cleaned porch dry completely before moving on!

Here is another view of the porch after I cleaned it. Lots of stains and discolorations.

dirty old concrete porch

3. I taped areas around the siding that needed to be taped and then painted the permitter of the textured concrete porch white with the hard bristle brush.

taping the edges of the front porch

Here you can see the painted perimeter:

cutting int he edges of the concrete front with a brush

4. After that it was time to roll out the first coat of white paint with the roller and paint. Remember I mentioned that I line my tray with a garbage bag so I can either keep the roller from drying out when I take a break or for easy clean up after painting.

5. I waited 4 hours and then rolled on the second coat. It’s very important that you pick the right weather for this which it certainly was for me. There was barely any wind, so no dirt and leaves got blown into my wet paint and the temperature was just what they recommend on the paint can. Always make sure you read the manufacturers recommendations on the paint can before starting a project.

6. After the second coat dried, it was time to figured out the width of the stripes. I marked them and drew them in with a pencil and my large piece of straight molding which served as a ruler for me (see below photo)

marking the width of stripes on your concrete front porch

7. I taped my lines with painters tape. The stripes that get painted with the darker color are sometimes hard to distinguish so I like to make sure to mark them with an X to avoid any mistakes later.

taping the stripes one the painted concrete porch with painters tape

8. And this is where things get interesting and my favorite painting trick comes in place. A long long time before I started blogging I went to the library and read painting and home improvement books and came across this tip in a book. I can’t remember which book this was though. I wish I could.

The trick is that paint always bleeds under tape. Have you ever noticed that? No matter how hard you push down the painters tape, when you pull it off the lines are a jagged. Even if you use frog tape who’s company claims that this won’t happen. So let the paint bleed underneath the tape!

Say what? Is she nuts? No I’m not… let it bleed with the same color as the base coat which means that I paint over the line with the same color as the underlying color of paint which in my case was the white. That seals the painters tape and the bleeding isn’t visible because it is the same color!!! Get it?

See in the photo below? I painted over the tape in the areas where the black will hit the tape and have it’s line.

painting over the tape with the bottom base color to let the paint bleed through
9. Then when that bleeding and sealing line is dry paint over it with your next paint color which is my black stripe.

rolling out your black stripe on the concrete porch

10. Make sure to roll on a second coat of black paint.

11. Pull of the painters tape and admire your crisp, clean and beautiful striped concrete front porch.

Let me show you a close up. You can barely see where the white paint bled through. Can you?

best trick for painting crisp lines and stripes every time

Here is my before and after of the porch:

before and after of concrete front porch makeover

black and white striped front porch

 

overview of …

My tips and tricks for painting concrete and stripes:

  • always read the paint manufacturers instructions before starting a project
  • thoroughly clean the concrete and let it dry
  • pick the right weather (no wind, rain or cold temperatures)
  • let the painters tape bleed with the bottom base coat to avoid jagged edges
  • pull the painters tape off before the second coat of stripe color is completely dry

 

If you do my trick, you get an ultra crisp line every time. No matter what tape you use and even on very textured concrete like mine.

letting paint bleed through painters tape to get crisp lines and stripes every time

How to get crips painted lines every single time and even on textured concrete

Oh and while I was at it, I also removed my lighting because it was dirty and bleached out and gave it a black spray paint makeover. I simple used black semi-gloss Rustoleum metal spray paint (HERE) after I thoroughly cleaned the light.

old and dirty porch light before painting

The porch turned out exactly how I wanted. Can you see my newly painted black light too? I also have on my list to paint the front door a different color. I think I will use a bright green, similar to that bush which I still want to rip out and replace with a smaller version of the same bush. It’s so overgrown. I can’t see the kids playing when I sit on the porch anymore and I hate that.

I had picked just the right time to paint because now all those pretty blooms are shedding and falling on the porch. It would have been a disaster had it all fallen into the wet paint.

black and white striped concrete porch in spring

 

striped concrete front porch with bench
striped concrete front porch makeover

Learn How to Paint Stripes on Your Front Porch

similar black planters HERE | HERE | HERE

black and white planter with faux boxwood ball

similar boxwood balls HERE, HERE, HERE and with black pot HERE | bench HERE

view from driveway of striped front porch

You can find a very similar door knocker HERE.

brass fox door knocker

Update:

I painted the front door and you can see the new color by clicking HERE.

 

black and white planters with faux boxwood balls

beautiful striped concrete porch

 

Check out my other related posts:

 

{A reader painted her porch black and white according to my tutorial and you can see more photos HERE}

Our tropical front porch (click HERE):

black and white striped porch with tropical colorful accents

Here is the porch decked out for Christmas (click HERE for tour)

black and white striped porch with lime green door and red wreath

And the porch with Halloween spirit (click HERE)

black and white Halloween porch

This all matches my cabana patio makeover post I did last year for Home Depot. (click HERE and HERE to see the post)

Cuckoo4Design_Patio_Style_Challenge_76

And I recently found this fabulous umbrella for our back patio at Walmart for $50!!! Not kidding, it’s amazing and even tilts. They are out of stock online (click HERE to see it) but have several left at our local Walmart. It’s from the Better Homes & Garden collection. Check anyways because you just never know and they might have it back in stock. Sometimes you can order online and pick up in store too.

 

black_and_white_striped_concrete_porch_25

Some other black and white striped umbrellas HERE and HERE

black_and_white_striped_concrete_porch_24

How to paint stripes on your front porch

Would you consider painting your porch in a bold stripe and do you like the porch as much as I do?

I’ll keep you updated to see how it wears, ok? So far it’s kept it’s looks for two years and we couldn’t be happier.

Tschüß,

 

 

 

 

 

 

black_and_white_striped_concrete_porch_22black_and_white_striped_concrete_porch_141

transorming_a_plain_boring_concrete_porch_2_Cuckoo4Design

front_porch_before

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. cassie @ primitive & proper says

    April 20, 2016 at 5:08 am

    that door knocker kills me every time! i LOVE it! and your porch- DREAMY! i would love to do this to our porch but i need to wait until we redo the entire exterior. or paint yellow and brown stripes. gross.

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 5:50 am

      That would look amazing on your big porch but I agree brown and yellow stripes wouldn’t be my thing either unless you are into bees, hornets and wasps 😉

  2. Marty Oravetz says

    April 20, 2016 at 5:25 am

    Oh my word, this is amazing. I love it. Such a statement.

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 5:49 am

      Thank you so so much Marty

  3. [email protected] says

    April 20, 2016 at 6:09 am

    This turned out amazing! Seriously, before/after is sooooo good! Can’t wait to see it with the door.

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:33 am

      Thanks! I’d actually love to do the brighter pink or coral as a door color but the hubby said no. I’m already getting my pink dresser so I guess I’ll go with the green 😉

  4. Diane Henkler says

    April 20, 2016 at 6:52 am

    I love what you did Julia! The stripes really make a huge difference and up the style and curb appeal of your home.

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 8:12 am

      Thanks Diane, I’m hoping they will last too 😉

  5. Emily @ Go Haus Go says

    April 20, 2016 at 6:56 am

    Oh my goodness! This is amazing! It was the perfect solution to the front porch. It looks so chic now!

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 8:13 am

      Thanks Emily. I shouldn’t have waited so long to finally do this. It was fun to see how much all the neighborhood kids actually love the stripes. They are really into it

  6. Julia says

    April 20, 2016 at 7:49 am

    Julia, Your porch turned out so lovely. The before picture actually caught my eye – I think the rocks on the front of your house are so classically American, and when you mentioned Pennsylvania I had a living history moment. I don’t know how old your house is though! Ha ha. Great job on the porch though, really fantastic.

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 8:14 am

      Thanks Julia! My house isn’t old at all. It’s all faux, even the stupid plastic shutters 😉

  7. Sueli says

    April 20, 2016 at 9:17 am

    What a fantastic transformation. Well done!

  8. Renee says

    April 20, 2016 at 10:54 am

    Love!!! If you think your porch looked bad I don’t want you to see the brown, ugly peeling mess of my porch. I don’t know that my house could pull off stripes, it’s a 1950’s California stucco bungalow….but I am painting it with this. I was waiting till I painted my house next year, but not anymore!

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 11:13 am

      Thanks so much Renne, I was driving the other day looking at houses imagining them with black and white striped porches LOL and I feel like any house can pull it of. A dose of black and white can’t hurt 😉

  9. Sheryll $ Critters. says

    April 20, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    So beautiful!

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 4:53 pm

      Thanks so much sweet Sheryll. How are you?

  10. Charlie Albright | Moments by Charlie says

    April 20, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    The transformation is amazing! I admire your patience and hardwork!

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 4:53 pm

      Thanks Charlie

  11. debbie says

    April 20, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    You did a fantastic job and it looks great. It is so amazing what a difference paint can make.

    I am wanting to get a pressure washer so would you recommend the one you have? I have been reading about them and it gets confusing as to what to get – gas or electric, etc?

    • Julia says

      April 20, 2016 at 4:55 pm

      Thanks so much Debbie. It’s actually not my pressure washer but my husband’s cousin’s and I love it. I’ve borrowed many different ones and this one is my favorite pressure washer so far. I’d definitely buy this one and I heard good things about this brand too. This one is gas and I think I would get gas too because there is just something about water and electricity that I don’t like 😉

  12. Jen says

    April 20, 2016 at 9:27 pm

    I love it! You did an amazing job!

    • Julia says

      April 21, 2016 at 5:03 am

      Thank you

  13. Pat Dowd says

    April 20, 2016 at 11:40 pm

    What a great job you did! I love it as big black and white stripes is one of my fave décor accents. Now, all you need to do is paint the frame of the storm door and the shutters black!

    • Julia says

      April 21, 2016 at 5:05 am

      Yeah that would be nice. We are technically not allowed to paint the shutters and doors. One of my neighbor’s painted their shutters black and some people flipped. The funny thing is that they forgot to add something about not painting the concrete porch LOL. And when I said that I’m painting my door a light green… that way I’m staying with the word green 😉 oh those rules 😉

  14. Margaret says

    April 21, 2016 at 8:12 am

    Love the stripes. Looking forward to seeing the new green door.

  15. Angie Green says

    April 21, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Whoa! That tip about the painter’s tape will Change My Life!!! Thank you so much for sharing that (and the patio looks great, too!).

  16. Amanda says

    April 21, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    I saw that umbrella the other day at the store, so cute! Would you say its more black and white or black and sand? I should have looked more closely! XO, Amanda @ lifeonlinton.com

  17. Kathleen Tweed says

    April 21, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    You are amazing and so talented – who would have thought of this idea???? So striking and different- I’m sure it looks so good from the street! Wonderful job! So creative!!!!

  18. Lisa | Shine Your Light says

    April 21, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    Julia I just love the black and white stripes – so fun for a front entry! I love your bold style, and I love those beautiful crisp paint lines!!!!!!!!

  19. Astrid says

    April 22, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    oh Julia it looks amazing, doesn’t even look like the same porch…what a transformation ….You did such a great job!
    Liebe Grüße Astrid

    • Julia says

      April 24, 2016 at 1:50 pm

      Vielen Dank Astrid

  20. Trisha D @ blackandwhiteobsession says

    April 23, 2016 at 5:12 pm

    Wow Julia, absolutely stunning as usual.

    • Julia says

      April 24, 2016 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks so much Trisha, I had a feeling you might like this 😉

  21. [email protected] says

    April 28, 2016 at 7:29 am

    black, white, and green–yes–love it!! The stripes are amazing, and painting that light fixture is such a big improvement!

  22. Kimberly Duran says

    April 30, 2016 at 1:52 am

    I realise I’m SUPER BEHIND with my blog reading so late to the party here but this came out INCREDIBLE!! I love the stripes and it looks so very ‘you’ now 😀 Super smart method and I love the combination with green. Oh also, we’ve been getting winter weather this past week and it’s rubbish!! Snow and sleet one minute, sun the next – it’s doing my head in. Bring on proper Spring so I can do some outdoor projects too! xxx

    • Julia says

      April 30, 2016 at 8:00 am

      You were on a fabulous vacation, no need to even catch up 😉 but thanks so so much. I love my porch now. It’s not as fabulous as your tiled entry and probably won’t hold up as well but I can always paint it again should it chip off right?

  23. Serendipity says

    April 30, 2016 at 5:16 am

    What a beautiful space! The black and white stripes changed the whole look of your porch. Looks like the perfect spot to spend a spring afternoon. I’m inspired to spruce up our place now!

    • Julia says

      April 30, 2016 at 8:01 am

      Well thanks and have fun sprucing up your space!

  24. Jennifer Griffin says

    May 2, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    Your stripes look amazing, Julia! I love that paint trick too for clean lines, worked like a charm on my daughter’s room! I can’t believe it worked so well on such a rough texture.

  25. krystine @www.KrystineEdwards.com/blog says

    May 4, 2016 at 10:09 am

    You’re amazing! please come to my home and do this!

  26. Vineta @ The Handyman's Daughter says

    May 9, 2016 at 11:04 am

    Wow, what a transformation! I’ve been debating painting our tiny front porch concrete, and this is giving me the push I needed. Someone back in the day had painted it hunter green, and there are still patches of it that refuse to come off. I think painting it will brighten it up AND hide the green!

    • Julia says

      May 9, 2016 at 5:05 pm

      Yes, it’ll hide the leftover green perfectly. Good luck

  27. Karah Bunde says

    June 25, 2016 at 12:27 pm

    This makes such a powerful statement and show great style. So awesome!!

  28. shanae barnett says

    December 5, 2016 at 1:56 pm

    I would like to know Julia I love the stripes! my question is because I am in love with this! I don’t have a front
    porch, I have four steps that leads to a straight walkway in front of my house. my question is do you think just doing my steps? I am thinking that if I do the steps & walkway would be too much? what do you suggest?

    • Julia says

      December 5, 2016 at 7:49 pm

      I think you should go for it. The nice thing with paint is that you can paint over it again if you don’t like it. That’s why I love using paint

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Cuckoo4Design


I’m a German citizen living in the US who is cuckoo for all things DIY, design and pets. This is my design journey of our small home on a budget. Come stay a while and look around.

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