In searching for a stencil, I discovered that most over the counter ones were too small for my individual tiles.
Stenciling a Tile Bathroom Floor
In our pool house bathroom, the floor tiles were bland and dated with dirty grout. Since I have never done this before, I wanted to experiment on a bathroom floor that wasn't a primary one - master bedroom, for example. Though a bit time consuming I am extremely happy with the results. To see more about our historic property, click here.
In selecting a stencil, you will need to determine whether you want the stencil to fit inside your tile, or do you want the grout to be part of the design. Since I really didn't want to see distinctive grout lines, I had a custom made stencil to fit both the tile and surrounding grout.
In retrospect, I selected a rather complicated stencil design, custom made by Royal Design Studio s. Up to this point I wasn't sure if I would paint it one color, two or more. But inspired by this blue and white vase, I began my color selection.
Before I began painting the floor, I practiced with some different colors on a sheet of artist paper. Here I determined what color would go where.
Make sure you have good stencil brushes. Previously I had purchased some from Walmart and the bristles fell out during the painting process. This set is from Royal Design Studios.
Even before painting the stencil, it is so important to prep the tiles. Using TSP (trisodium phosphate), the floors are thoroughly cleaned. Be careful using this product and follow the manufacturer's instructions. A clear rinse followed.
Using painter's tape, I taped off all the baseboards and around the toilet.
Next, I primed the tile floor (tile and grout) with 2 coats of Zinsser's Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer. Let dry according to manufacturer's instructions. After the primer dried, I painted 2 coats of the white base coat chalk paint.
In priming and painting the floor, I used a roller for the tile and a paint brush for the grout.
I used Behr Chalk Decorative Paint for both the white base coat and 2 shades of blue. For the 3rd blue, I blended white into the darker blue paint, until I achieved the lightest blue shade.
Secure the stencil to the floor with painters tape. Check and double check that your stencil is square to the tile.
By dabbing the stencil brushes into the paint (and then dabbing the excess on paper toweling), I carefully added the 3 shades of blue.
Since all the perimeter tiles are not full tiles, you need to bend the stencil to fit. Securing with painter's tape helps a bit. Again, make sure your stencil is aligned correctly.
Once the tiles are stenciled and dry, then it is time to apply 2 coats of a protective sealer.
Apply the polyurethane (water based) and dry according to manufacturer's directions.
I cannot tell you how pleased I am with this floor. It was labor intensive as you are working on your knees or sitting on the hard tile floor. The bathroom had a total of 77 tiles (mostly partial ones around the perimeter). But I now think of it as a work of art!
To see a more in-depth tutorial, please visit my blog post here.
Resources for this project:
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Join the conversation
- Debra Hollandon Dec 1, 2020
I LOVE this floor. You did such a beautiful job!
- Patti Carver Harrison Jan 1, 2021
Absolutely beautiful and inspiring!
Have a question about this project?
Absolutely beautiful!
I agree! It’s gorgeous! I love it!
Is there anything I need to do to prep my grout before stenciling? I haven’t decided yet whether to cover the grout or keep it showing.
A friend chipped out all her old grout & re-grouted one bathroom floor - accidentally spilled toilet bowl cleaner in the second bathroom & found it cleaned the grout so well she only used that to clean the second bathrooms gorut -was a lot easier! Try it in an inconspicuous area first to see how your grout reacts if you decide to try it!
How is your floor holding up especially for cleaning or moping
You did an amazing job!!