Our first home in Minneapolis was a 1950’s rambler that had been renovated with builder-grade materials sometime around 2014. It was a perfect starter home for two young professionals, but we knew we likely wouldn’t stay in that house for more than 5 years. Which also meant we weren’t going to invest much money into any major upgrades. After upgrading to granite countertops in our two small bathrooms, it still pained me that the tan/beige bathroom tile just always looked dirty and ugly!

As winter in Minneapolis was starting to set in and the pandemic continued to rage on (we’re talking November 2020, the start of wave 2 in the US), I started getting antsy and needed a project. Thus, commence painting the bathroom tile. This is a high-traffic bathroom, as it is the only bathroom on the main floor and also the master bathroom (1950’s rambler life). I had seen a few posts on Pinterest and started doing my research on what type of paint to use, prep steps, stencil styles, etc. Ultimately, given the similarity to my bathroom size and positive reviews of how well the paint was holding up, this is the blog post and instructions I decided to follow. I’ll outline all my steps and in-process photos in this post as well, but I like to give credit where it’s due :) Thanks, Arin! Now, let’s get started.

Getting Started - Gather Supplies

• Stencil for the tile design

  • Make sure to measure your tile first! I purchased my stencils on Etsy. I ordered 3 of them and I am SO GLAD that I did. Because I had a small bathroom with a few rows of full square tile + several different shapes of partial tile pieces, it required a bit of strategy and eventually cutting stencils to make the design consistent. It was honestly a bit of a tetris game, so I encourage you to think through the order of tiles you will be stenciling!

• Base Paint Color (white) + Stencil Paint Color (gray)

  • I used Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen White and Aged Gray. Because my floors were a light tan already, I used the Linen White as a primer + base, and the Aged Gray as my stencil color. You can see my bathroom is quite small, so one 30 oz. can of each was the perfect amount.

• 30 oz. can of Polyurethane

  • This is your topcoat, it works wonders. Again, buy more if your space is larger.

• Sanding blocks or electric sander

  • I have this handheld orbital sander from Ryobi and I LOVE it (you do have to buy a Ryobi battery for this model). You can buy sanding pads with different grits and easily switch back and forth. I used 220 grit to sand my tile for this project

• 3+ small foam paint rollers & tray

• Round sponge brushes for the stencil design

  • These allow you to be really precise with your stencil design and control the amount of paint going on so you can avoid paint bleeding. I like these, but you can find them at any craft store as well.

• Painters tape

• Small paintbrushes for minor detailing

Step One - Prep Floors

Remove anything you need from your bathroom - toiletries, shampoo, etc. I took our shower curtain down as well. You’ll need to use a different bathroom in your house for a few days :) Make sure everything is off the floor and then I did a quick sweep of the floors. My husband then mopped the bathroom floor with a light mixture of soap and warm water, to get any scum or dirt off the tile. Make sure you don’t leave any soap residue on the tile!! This will affect the ability of the paint to stick to the tile.

I used my orbital sander and 220 grit sanding paper to give the tile a light sanding. I didn’t notice much of a difference on the tile besides a little sanding dust, but this step does help prep the top layer of the tile to easily accept the paint. I generously used our wet-dry vacuum to clean off all the sanding dust off the floors, and then gave the tile one more clean with just hot water. I let this dry for 2-3 hours before starting to paint. Your tile should be sparkling clean, and completely clear of dirt, residue, sanding dust etc.

Step Two - Paint the Base Color

Time to start painting! I used painters tape to mark off any areas I didn’t want painted, to help give clean lines. I like to be better safe than sorry, so I taped around the tub, toilet, wall edges and vanity.

Open the can of white paint (or whatever color you’re using for the background of the design), and stir with a wooden stir stick for 1-2 min. to mix the paint up well. Use a paintbrush to trim around all the edges where you’ve taped, and in the grout lines. I was very generous with the paint in the grout lines, as this was the dirtiest part of my tile and I really wanted it to pop with fresh white paint.

TIP: I would recommend starting in the back of your bathroom first and trim ~2 rows of tile, then use a foam roller to fill in the remainder of the tile. Then, move backwards towards the entrance of the bathroom and repeat. This way you can avoid stepping on areas you’ve already painted!

Once you’ve painted the initial first coat of white on all of the tile, let it dry for 2-4 hours. Paint at least one more coat of white, but more is better! I did 3 coats of white before I started my stenciling. Allow the final coat of white to dry ~24 hrs before moving to the stenciling step.

Step 3 - Start Stenciling

Prep your stencil paint (gray) by stirring the can with a stir stick for 1-2 min. and pour a bit of paint (1/2 cup or so) into a paint tray. You’ll be doing several light coats of your stencil paint by dobbing the paint onto the stencil area with the round paint sponges OR you can use a foam roller for this if you do very light coats! I did a combination of rolling the gray paint on, dabbing small detailed areas with the round sponge and a very fine paintbrush.

I knew I was going to be cutting down my stencils to fit all of the different partial tile sizes, so I started with the first full row of tiles. The first tile I painted was the middle tile in the far back of the bathroom. To ensure my stencil was securely in place, I taped down all the edges of the stencil to the floor, meaning the stencil extended into the tiles around the tile I was painting.

TIP: Due to this, I could not paint consecutive tiles because the tape from the stencil would smudge the tile I had just painted. Thus, I had to hop around a bit to ensure I could tape down my stencil without smudging tiles I had just painted. You can see this illustrated in the photo below. It felt like a game of Frogger and Tetris combined!

Once my stencil was taped down very securely, I rolled on the first coat of gray with the paint roller. I let this coat dry for 20-30 minutes, and then did another light coat of the gray. Two coats was generally enough coverage, but I did use the large (~1 inch) round paint sponge to dab the gray paint into detailed areas such as the corners of the stars and triangles. I let the gray paint dry for 30 minutes or so, and then I carefully removed the stencil. Any areas that required a touch-up, I went in with my fine paintbrush and fixed.

IMPORTANT TIP: Each time you remove the stencil from a tile, wipe down both sides with a damp paint rag. You want to make sure to remove any wet paint on both sides, so that you can avoid paint build-up, and your stencil will be clean each time you place it on a new tile.

You will repeat the stenciling step for each tile, and once you complete all the full tiles, you will eventually need cut your stencil to fit smaller pieces of tile. Start with the largest partial tile so that you can re-use the stencil as you cut it into smaller pieces. I used a permanent market to trace the shapes I would need to cut (i.e. around the toilet), and I was very particular about ensuring the consistency of the design. Sometimes, this meant hand-painting the design in an area where the stencil just wouldn’t fit.

Step 4 - Seal the Floors

I waited 24 hours for the gray paint to dry. Before painting my sealer, I went over the floors one more time with a broom to ensure all dirt, crumbs, paint bits, etc were off the floor! The sealer will memorialize anything into your floor, and especially with white tile I wanted it to be as clean as possible.

Use a fresh foam roller and paint a generous coat of your polyurethane onto the entire floor. Use a fresh paintbrush to apply nice clean trim lines of sealer around the tile and grout edges as well, this will protect from any water, soap, dirt etc. seeping onto the clean edges your design.

I waited ~2 hours for the coat of sealer to dry, then I VERY lightly sanded the entire floor with a small sanding block. Use a broom or wet-dry vacuum to clean up the sanding dust, and then repeat. I did 4 total coats of the poly sealer (do not sand after the final coat!). Once finished with my final coat of sealer, we waited 48 hours before walking on the bathroom floors.

Learn from me - I started painting my sealer on with a large paintbrush that I used in a previous project. All the bits of paint and crumbs from the paintbrush were painted on the floor and SUPER difficult to undo once painted on the floor. The paintbrush also leaves brush marks and bubbles, so I would highly recommend using a brand new clean foam roller.

El fin! It feels like a bright and beautiful new space. I must admit that this project was an absolute undertaking. I am so happy with the results and it was absolutely worth the time and knowledge I gained, but it takes a lot of patience, precision and pre-planning! Please comment, share, and send me your own version of this project! I’m happy to answer any questions or concerns or provide advice in the comments.

Cheers!

-Karlie