My DIY Painted Floor Tile project

tips and tricks – plus my 3 year review!

looking for a simple way to give your tile floor a makeover? try painting it!

Our small guest bathroom was in need of a major makeover! The dated tile floor was something that just didn’t match the vibe of the rest of our house. My husband and I were considering busting up all the tile and putting in something brand new. However, that just wasn’t really a project we were looking forward to. When I searched for affordable flooring ideas, to my surprise, I discovered that ceramic tile could, in fact, be painted! And that is how our DIY painted floor tile project began!

Are you hesitant about diy painted floor tile? So were we!

To be honest, we were ~~a little~~ okay actually a lot bit hesitant about this idea, lol. I don’t know anyone personally that has taken on this challenge so I headed to the greatest collection of inspiration: Pinterest. I can’t tell you how many blog posts I read and researched about this…it was a LOT.

Once we committed, we told ourselves, “Hey, if it looks awful when it’s finished, no great loss (besides my precious time!!) because we were going to get rid of the tile anyway.”

my floor has been painted for 3 years!

I understand a lot of you are thinking what I was thinking 3 years ago, “I know it looks pretty right after it’s finished but how well will DIY painted floor tile look years from now????” What I can tell you, is that I painted our floor in August of 2018 and I am writing this post exactly 3 years later. Spoiler alert: I still love it!

if you are on the fence, take a look at this

Ugly mauvy pinkish tile to beautiful white/gray stenciled tile!

my diy painted floor tile supplies

This white chalk paint for the base coats.
This mini foam roller kit to apply the base coats.
This stencil from Etsy for the floor design.
This gray chalk paint for the floor design.
These craft sponges to apply the paint for the design.
This painters tape to secure the stencil while painting.
Newspaper or Paper Towel for dabbing technique during the stencil process.
This clear coat for sealing and protection.
Something similar to this brush to apply the clear coat.

Step 1: clean your floor

The first step of the process is a very obvious step but it makes a world of difference. Clean your tiles really well so you can start with a dirt-free blank canvas.

Step 2: paint your base coatsss

I used this KILZ chalk style paint. I chose to do a white base with a gray design stenciled on the top.

You might have noticed I said base “coatsss” and that’s because it took 4 of them for me! If I would have chosen a darker base coat color this probably would not have been the case.

And I’ll just tell ya, I was having my doubts after coat one. See the pic below. Whew, makes me shiver. I was beginning to feel regret setting in and thought I’d be painting for daaaaays. But 4 coats seemed to be the magic number and in the end, I’m really glad I chose white.

Tada!! 4 coats later and we had a super bright white canvas to work with!

STEP 3: It’s stencil time!

I used this stencil from Etsy. It is great quality, durable, washable, and reusable. Embarrassingly, I now have to share a very important tip: MEASURE YOUR TILE BEFORE PLACING YOUR ORDER.

I ordered a stencil that was too large but I was too impatient to reorder the correct size. You will notice in the pictures below that I cut my stencil in half. This slightly modified the design and made things a little harder than they should have been but it worked!

my stencil process

I used this painters tape to keep the stencil in place. I used these little craft sponges to apply this gray paint. To paint my design, I used the dabbing technique. First, dip your brush on a little bit of paint on the lid of the paint can. Then, dab the excess off on some newspaper and dab the sponge over the stencil.

It should be noted, if you soak the sponge and immediately apply it to the stencil without dabbing the excess paint on the newspaper, it will be more likely to bleed under the stencil and prohibit clean sharp lines on your design.

carefully apply stencil. paint. let dry. lift. repeat.

This stencil process is fun on the full tiles but it is a bit tricky on those odd shaped tiles around the toilet and vanity. Good thing I do yoga because some of those tiles were tough to reach!

But seriously, this part was very tedious due to the required tricky bending of your stencil, extra taping, and maybe a bad word muttered after the 8th time you accidentally paint the toilet or vanity – but you will be so glad you went to all that trouble!

I will also add that it is best to wait as long as your patience will allow for the paint to dry before lifting and moving the stencil to prevent smearing. It is time consuming to wait but if you stick with the dabbing technique, the chalk paint should be dry in no time!

Admittedly, I had a few impatient moments that forced me to go back with white paint and correct some mistakes in the end…so just remember that it can all be fixed if you accidentally smudge or smear it!

Step 4: the layer of protection

I should have added Step 3.5: Double Check for Accuracy! Just like at good ol’ Mcds. In this moment, you will be tempted to jump right into the clear coat but the time in between step 3 and 4 is sooooooo important. After all that beautiful stenciling is finished and before you put away all your supplies, it is wise to conduct a serious inspection with your eagle eye because this is the last opportunity to correct smudges or chips without being really complicated.

okay moving on to step 4 for real now

We used this for our protective finish. I followed the directions on the back of the can for application and I chose to do 3 coats. That might have been a bit extra but I wanted to make sure I protected all my hard work.

I was really nervous about what product to use because I did not want anything that would turn an unpleasant yellow color. After 3 years, I am still really glad I used this!

step 5: enjoy your floor!

The last step is the best step and maybe it shouldn’t even be listed as a step but it is important to me and the most fun part. Take a few moments to close your eyes and think about the ugly tiles you started with and now open your eyes and look at your lovely artwork and appreciate all the hard work you put into it!

my honest 3 year review

Has there been some wear and tear? Yes. This is not the most heavily trafficked bathroom in our house but it does get daily use and there are some really mild signs of wear. However, most are only obvious when I bend down to take a closer look.

The most noticeable flaw was created RIGHT after the floor was finished, I dropped the new shower curtain rod and scuffed the floor. There are a few other minor scrapes but besides that, it has held up extremely well!!

would i do this again? absolutely!

After 3 years, the floor is still in good shape and I would definitely do it again. The mild wear on the floor doesn’t bother me and I love the way it brightened and changed the look of this bathroom!