Paint Bathroom Floor Tile, step by step
I hear everyone who is asking for our annual Black Friday deals post and I am putting it together as we speak! But in the meantime, you folks have to see this excellent tile transformation that a reader named Angela sent over. She not only FULLY transformed her old blotchy beige bathroom floor, but it was especially wallet-friendly (UNDER $75! HOLLA!), and it has already held up for well over half a year without any issues. In a wet bathroom that gets everyday use, no less!
I know this is likely going to be hard to believe, but that striking bathroom above used to look like this. Again, she did not put down new tile – she simply painted it!
Even I was a little skeptical of the idea (painting a tile floor?! in a bathroom?!!) but Angela reports that it still looks mint after seven months of shower-dripping, toothpaste-splattering, and all that good stuff. So if you’ve got some tile you are not crazy about, but a full-blown gut job is not in the cards right now, this could be a strong solution to tide you over for a while.
So here is how Angela got it done:
Ordering The Stencil
First, she measured her tile size exactly, within 1/16th of an inch (erring slightly on the smaller side so the stencil would not bleed into the grout lines), and found this stencil on Etsy and special-requested that the seller make her stencil exactly that size.
In order to visualize what color combo she’d like best for her stencil, she tested out a few distinct ones on spare tiles and laid them on the bathroom floor (you could also do this with cardboard if you do not have spare tiles around).
Prepping The Floor
Ok, so Angela warned me that this part is not lively, but do not skip it!
Floor preparation is especially essential in order for the paint to stick. First she thoroughly cleaned the bathroom floor, then she sanded the floor with 120 grit sandpaper to take off the sheen and rough it up a bit (here is our go-to palm sander for jobs like this), and then she wiped it all down with a liquid deglosser (like this one). She was sure to remove all dust and debris so it was perfectly clean.
To assist keep the floor clean throughout the process, she even had a pair of clean socks that she would ONLY put on when she went into the bathroom so she would not track in dirt and crumbs. She even used a blow dryer like a mini leaf blower and blew out the remaining dusty stuff after sweeping AND she put caution tape across the doorway to block it off from any adorable little children who might accidentally wander in. YOU KNOW I ENJOY HOW THOROUGH ANGELA IS ;)
Lastly, she took blue painters tape and taped off the base of the cabinet, walls, toilet, and tub – so she did not have to worry about getting paint on those items when she was stenciling
Painting The Floor
She began by painting her floor the base color, using some leftover Rustoleum Chalk Paint in Aged Gray. Angela made sure to start at the furthest point from the doorway (you do not want to trap yourself in!) and used a high-quality paint brush (so it would not shed bristles as she went). She painted all the grout lines around each tile first and then filled in the tile with the brush. Her whole floor only needed one coat, but you can do up to three coats if needed.
After the base color dried, she again began at the furthest point from the door, taping down her stencil with painter’s tape over each tile and using a high-quality foam roller to roll on especially thin coats. Thin is the operative word, here! A thick application will bleed under the stencil, whereas thin coats make for much crisper lines – so you may want to even grab a paper towel and roll any excess paint off the roller. She applied two coats of Rustoleum Chalked Paint in White Linen for the stenciled parts.
Move the stencil to distinct tiles making sure to not overlap with any wet parts. In between coats she also used a blow dryer on the cool setting to speed up the drying process (she said in hindsight that purchasing two stencils so she could switch back and forth as one was drying would have sped up the process).
Once she completed all the full square tiles, Angela moved on to the edges. She had to get a little creative and find various awkward body positions that worked to reach those spots (I remember this fondly from this project of yore). You will want to bend the stencil up against walls to fill in any edges. Angela also used painters tape in places where she could not fit the stencil (taping off a little triangle or sliver that needed to be painted to make the pattern look complete).
At last, she took a small paint brush and touched up all the edges and places where it did not look ideal. This part is not difficult, but it takes patience. Angela also mentioned that she was glad she thoroughly cleaned her toilet before embarking on this project because she was so up close and personal with it. Ha!
SEALING THE FLOOR
Here is the straightforward part: sealing the floor. Angela used some Minwax Polycrylic in satin that she already had on hand (note: water-based sealers like this will not yellow like something oil-based, which is essential if you are doing a lighter colored stencil). Using a high-quality brush she brushed on four coats of Polycrylic (with two hours of drying time for each one, and a light sanding between each coat).
And that was it! An excellent $75 solution for her bathroom and an affordable way to get that cement tile look without a full bathroom gut job. Angela has been so glad with how it has held up so far. She’s not sure it is a permanent fix, but it is been such a strong way to live with tile that you do not enjoy until you can replace it. And she thinks that adding a coat of Polycrylic every year could assist maintain the floor and keep it nicely protected.
One thing to note is that Angela knew this was for a bathroom, and not a main area in her house that got a ton of foot traffic. So another step she could have brought in was to prime her floors with this Zinsser Primer. She also could have used Porch & Patio Floor Paint, but she had chalk paint on hand and hoped a low fume option since she did not have much ventilation and was working around her kids’ bedrooms.
So thanks so much to Angela for sharing her project! I enjoy following her on Instagram, so you can see what she’s up to right here. And feel free to drop back in on the journal this Friday when I share the best Black Friday deals I can find on furniture, accessories, and all that other lively house stuff. The sales are already starting and I do not want to jinx anything, but they are looking GOOOOOD.
PS: If you want to see another floor stenciling project, we stenciled our closet & bathroom’s basic old subfloor after ripping up the carpet. That lasted for FIVE WHOLE YEARS and still looked pristine except for one small seam in the subfloor that rubbed when we walked on it.
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