Formica Vanity Tile Transformation

2 Materials
$100
4 Hours
Medium
My friend was in need of some help updating her vanity. I offered to take off the pink formica and replace with tile. She chose a small circular tile that comes on sheets and makes spacing the tiles very easy.
First step was to remove the formica. Wear protective glasses and gloves, the formica can get some sharp edges when you are prying pieces off.
I like using a small crow bar and hammer. A razor blade was useful to get the initial corners up, too.
I also removed the edge/side of the formica (even though it looks like it was left on in the picture). My plan was to wrap the tiles around the side for a finished look. In this picture I am prepping my sheets prior to glueing them to the counter. You could use scissors or a razor blade to cut off excess tiles from the sheet. Once I had all the sheets cut to the appropriate size, I glued the tiles down with adhesive caulk. Used about 1 and a half tubes on this 4 x 6 foot area.
While the adhesive dries, I applied citristrip (my favorite non toxic) paint and stain stripper, to the drawers which were getting a darker color stain to match other wood color in the room.
We matched the grout color pretty close to the tile color - the picture above is wet grout but when it dried it was much lighter. When grouting the edge, it's better to mix your grout a little thicker.
Here is the finished product - much improved from the pink formica!
Here is the finished product - much improved from the pink formica!
Here's an upclose view of the tile.
Suggested materials:
  • Tile   (Home Depot)
  • Grout   (Home Depot)
Flawless C Designed
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
 2 comments
Next