To our minds, paint is about the easiest way to give something a new look without spending a lot of money. We have a special fondness for painted floors, since floors are a pain-in-the-neck and expensive to replace. We stumbled on this inspiring idea while leafing through Artists’ Handmade Houses, which is chock full of ideas. Sculptor, designer Costantino Nivola painted the kitchen in his Long Island home with industrial tractor paint in a sublime, deeply saturated yellow.

Nivola was given the yellow tractor paint he used to coat the kitchen floor by the Mobil Oil Company, for whom he did a commission. When the sun hits this remarkable surface, the room is bathed in a honey glow. —Michael Gotkin

Tractor paint!!!!!

Industrial, durable, in a color we couldn’t have imagined…