• privacy policy
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Shop the Home
  • Before & After Home Tour

North Country Nest

  • RENOVATIONS BY ROOM
    • The Exterior
    • The Entryway
    • The Living Room
    • The Kitchen
    • The Guest Bathroom
    • The Guest Bedroom #1
    • The Guest Bedroom #2
    • The Laundry Room
    • The Office
    • Master Bathroom
    • The Garage
  • DIY + DECOR
    • Cleaning + Organization
    • DIY Projects
    • Furniture
    • Home Decor
  • RECIPES
    • Appetizer Recipe
    • Breakfast Recipe
    • Dessert Recipe
    • Dinner Recipe
    • Drink Recipe
    • Garden Recipe
    • Lunch Recipe
    • Snack Recipe
    • Soup Recipe
    • One Pan Meal
    • Meals Under 30 Minutes
  • SEASONAL
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Holiday
    • Winter

A Bathroom Update: How to Paint Your Bathroom Tile Floor

DIY Projects· Master Bathroom· Renovations

18 Sep

Stay within your budget with this easy tutorial from North Country Nest on how to paint your bathroom tile floor with chalk paint! [post contains affiliate links, which means we may make a small commission, at NO additional cost to you, if a purchase is made. thanks for supporting north country nest!]

It’s been awhile, huh?!

I am so excited to share some bathroom updates with you today… and best of all, a tutorial on how to paint bathroom floor tile!

If you remember back to the original bathroom design plans, I mentioned giving the whole ‘painting tile’ thing a shot and I’m happy to report the results are well worth the effort! And bonus, it’s a fraction of the cost (and labor) of putting in new tile!

Here’s where we started:

And here’s where we’re at today:

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint

Before I dive into the full tutorial, this is what has been done:

  • Sanded and restained the vanity (still haven’t finished the doors, which are a pain in the you-know-what to sand)
  • Painted the window frame
  • Painted the walls
  • Painted the hardware (towel hook, towel rack, hand towel hook)
  • Painted the floor
  • Painted the mirror frame (same-ish color but cleaned up quite a bit)
  • Painted the light fixture and added two cage-covers

The magic of paint never ceases to amaze me!

Okay, enough small talk – here’s how to paint your bathroom tile floor!

Supplies list:

  • Floor stencil 
  • Chalk paint, Rustoleum Linen White
  • Chalk paint, Rustoleum Charcoal
  • Klean Strip Sander Deglosser
  • Cleaning rag
  • Paint roller, extra smooth
  • Paint roller tray
  • Sand paper, 100 grit
  • Palm Grip Sander
  • Paint brush
  • Polyurethane top coat (I used a one-coat that we had on hand, but if I could choose, I’d select a specific floor polyurethane)

Step One: Prep

After lots of research, the common theme with others who have tried this is spending a lot of time prepping and cleaning. So, I grabbed my new favorite sander and went over the tile with 100 grit sandpaper. Then, using paper towels, a bottle of Sander Deglosser and good ole’ fashioned elbow grease, scrubbed the entire floor.

Quick tip if you have animals: Clean your feet before you step into the space and don’t wear socks. Even being extra careful, there are a few spots with black dog hair stuck in the paint.

Step Two: Paint  

Once the entire space was dry from cleaning (I waited until the next day), it was time to paint the base coat (Rustoleum Linen White).

I worked in sections and before rolling, I used an angled brush to paint the all the grout lines. Then, I went back and rolled the rest of the tile using an extra-smooth roller.

Painting bathroom tile with chalk paint

I ended up applying two full coats of the base and then went back to touch up any spots that didn’t cover well.

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint

After one coat of paint

After allowing a full day to dry, it was time for the stencil.

If you remember, I originally was planning on doing a hexagon-style, but laziness won out and I wanted something that was large and wouldn’t take too much extra time. Thus, a larger pattern won the battle and I’m sure glad it did!

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint. North Country Nest

I first started with the full tiles and in the opposite corner from the door. You do NOT want to box yourself in so plan accordingly 🙂

Thankfully, the pattern was nearly the exact size of each tile so spacing wasn’t an issue.

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint. North Country Nest

With the first few rows, I would lay down the stencil, paint and then clean it off entirely. Once again, laziness won over and I started lengthening the time between cleaning the stencil and found that a clean stencil didn’t detract from the paint bleeding through.

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint. North Country Nest

Quick tip: Hold the stencil with one hand and roll with the other. Then, use the clean hand to pick up the corner and place it on the next tile. 

After finishing the full tiles, I left it overnight to dry.

How to paint bathroom floor tile with stencil and chalk paint. North Country Nest

Then, for the cut-tiles, I started with the largest one and cut the stencil to size. It wasn’t an exact science by any means, but it worked. I slowly started cutting the stencil until I was stenciling the smallest cut-tile with the smallest piece of stencil.

After I was done with that, I went back over and touched up the obvious ‘oopsie’ spots. I didn’t spend a ton of time on this because I wanted it done and not perfect, however, there were some glaringly obvious spots that look much better with a little touch up.

Step Three: Protect

Once the stencil was dry (again, waiting overnight) it was time to apply the top coat for protection.

In a perfect world, I would have purchased the same polyurethane I used for the plywood floors. However, this bathroom refresh is on a budget so I just used what I had on hand, which was a one coat polyurethane.

I applied three coats (waiting about three to four hours in between each coat) of the polyurethane top coat and then let it dry overnight.

Of course, the painting coincided with some unusually high humidity for this time of year so the floor was a bit sticky the next day, but seemed to harden after another full 24 hours.

How to paint a bathroom tile floor with chalk paint | paint floor tile in the bathroom | North Country Nest #northcountrynest #paintedfloor #bathroomtile #bathroomremodel

And that is how to paint your bathroom tile floor!

All our best,

Sharing is Caring

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related posts:

Project Update: Fall & Winter 2016 gallery wall starter kit12 Days of Craftsmas: Gallery Wall Starter Kit The Creative Gallery #238 Update your bathroom without breaking the bank with these modern rustic master bathroom decor ideas from North Country Nest!Budget Friendly Modern Rustic Master Bathroom Reveal

3 Comments

Previous Post: « Our New Retaining Wall + Front Porch
Next Post: Fall Home Decor for the Kitchen »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tamara says

    September 23, 2019 at 10:05 am

    Oh man what a difference. Keep updated on the longevity of the floor. Dying to know how it holds up. Great work!

    Reply
    • North Country Nest says

      September 23, 2019 at 11:22 am

      Thanks, Tamara! Yes, I am equally as excited to know how long it lasts! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Mia Tenille says

    October 11, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    Wow! I’ve never seen painted floor and when you said it was painted, I didn’t believe it at first! You did a great job and it looks sooo much better than the original tile! I might have to try it but it intimidates me a little bit for sure! Did you mess up ever and was it a big deal if you did?? I hired professional kitchen cabinet painters to update my kitchen space and would love to do the floor as a DIY project. Do you think it would work well in a kitchen or maybe a bathroom where there is a little less traffic?? Let me know your thoughts!     

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

oh, hi!

We’re Brett and Kelly! A husband and wife team tackling our first complete home renovation. We love all things DIY, our two furbabes and lazy summer days out on the lake. Our mission? To share the journey of turning a house into a home.

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

[posts contain affiliate links, which means we make a small commission if a purchase is made, at no additional cost to you. thanks for supporting north country nest!]

what we’re loving right now

Web Hosting

the archives

Who doesn't love a good before and after?!? Who doesn't love a good before and after?!?
Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the w Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the water at all – not once did we take the boat out.

Given the fact that we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I felt like the worst Minnesotan. How could we not enjoy the water when there’s three within five miles of our house?

This year? We've been able to get out on some body of water at least once per week - how cool is that?!

What’s been really great about these last few months is that we’ve seemed to have found a nice “balance” between go-go-go and taking time to enjoy whatever it may be.

While this season of relaxed work is probably not the norm, it's been a pleasant surprise that we'll be enjoying for as long as we can!

Enjoy the week, friends!
If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at ou If you need me, I'll be here gazing lovingly at our newly trimmed windows and painted walls 😍

We have to add trim to the slider, install the baseboards and frame up + install the pantry door.

And then...

This kitchen will be DONE! 🙌
Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in o Yesterday, #ontheblog we did a mid-year check in on our renovation list and shared two new projects we're adding (of course!)

The second addition? Giving a little refresh to this laundry room by pushing back the washer, dryer and cabinets.

We finished it wayyyy back in 2017 but there was a small frustration: the washer and dryer cover the window.

Every few months we'd circle back to the space and see how we could make it work. It was one of those little issues that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but here's the thing - you deserve to LOVE your home.

After four and a half years of constant projects, I often find myself wondering why in the hell we are doing this and I keep coming back to this idea that a home is meant to be loved, to share a story, to work for you, to be a space that you can relax in and enjoy.

So while the washer and dryer covering a window might be insignificant to a visitor, for us, it's something we see every day. And, after three years of brainstorming, we finally found a solution that felt good.

I guess that's the bonus of being four years into a reno - the idea of knocking down a wall seems like an easy project nowadays 😂😂
Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #on Just in case you missed it - new last Thursday #ontheblog is a tour of our front porch and a few summer decorating ideas!

Hope you all had a safe and happy Fourth of July! 🧨
Sometimes, it's not all rainbows and butterflies.. Sometimes, it's not all rainbows and butterflies... especially when it comes to neighbors.

New post #ontheblog today all about the lawsuit we've been in with our neighbor for the last year. And it started all because of our garage.

In short: three years ago the county required us to get a survey done on our property in order to build the garage. The results showed that the easement our neighbor was using to access her property was not in the right place - it was inside our property lines instead of outside.

Fast forward to July 2, 2019 when we were served lawsuit paperwork from said neighbor, claiming the rights to the easement location - and it's been a long, stressful process since then.

But, we received the good news last week from our lawyer - everything is finalized and we can finally put this whole mess behind us!

Cheers to starting the week off on a high note!
One more coat of mud on the walls and then it'll b One more coat of mud on the walls and then it'll be time for paint in the kitchen!

In other news, Brett scored big time and found a giant rug for our living room - it was half off and arrived last week. Now we're patiently waiting until we get the new floors down until we roll it out. Check the stories if you want to get a sneak peak!😁😁 Enjoy the day, my friends!
Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my si Spent the evening at my parent's with two of my siblings and their kiddos.

Brett showed up around dinner time and proceeded to spend the next hour in a water + cake fight with six kids under 10.

Yup, I'm married to an adult child. 😂😂 Kidding aside - I had one of those 'I love summer' moments, watching them all run around outside, laughing their heads off.

Hope you're enjoying the start to your week, friends! 🙌
So, here's the deal. The kitchen tile project was So, here's the deal. The kitchen tile project was not all sunshine and roses.

Two words: dried grout.

On the plus side, you can in fact clean dried grout from tile. On the negative, it's a complete pain in the ass... And doesn't get you back too 100%. #ontheblog today, I'm diving into all the details on how we cleaned the tile... And the (now funny?) story on how it even happened in the first place (hint: renovating with your husband on an empty stomach never has a positive outcome) 😂
The last four years have been a constant experimen The last four years have been a constant experiment of finding the balance between function and design.

We started this entryway with white built-ins and light walls. Damn it looked good in pictures but real life? With two black dogs and a lake... Well let's just say the functionality of the design choices were at an all time low.

So, we overhauled the space and darkened the walls and built-ins. While I was a little nervous to go so dark, I have to admit Brett's instincts were right one this one.

So, here's to continuing to find that balance of function and design - and I'd love hear, have you compromised anything because it just didn't fit with how your family lives in your home?!?

Copyright North Country Nest LLC © 2021

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.