The riveting journey of painting tiles

Square

The first pitstop for our house decoration tour is the upstairs bathroom. Well bathroom minus a toilet as you can see. Ours is across the hall – old style I know. Anyway, it’s a tough thing when you view a house and fall in love with the space but not the decor, especially when that decor is cemented to the walls and is a costly update. Being first time buyers our budget leaves little to the imagination, however, I only need a sliver of opportunity to squeeze creativity into any space. 

Tiles are a bugger, especially if you hate them and they have handles screwed into the walls and black mould creeping in at the corners. So first on the list was a DEEP DEEP DEEP clean –  yes capitals and repetition is warranted *insert vom face emoji*. After unscrewing the handles with surprise ease and filling all the holes in the walls we had a sort of blank canvas.

Firstly, a little inspo can go a long way with the right outlook. I whipped up some ideas of the feel I wanted from the room and settled on the idea of painting the tiles white. My thought process aligned with the idea that if I chose a colour it would look unnatural as you never grout in the exact same colour as your tiles. This, and also I was desperate for it to feel clean! I think the memory of the mould creeps into the corners of my mind no matter how much  bleach I use. I could see others had done this however was it really going to work? My imagination ran wild  with  thoughts of peeling paint and lumpy tiles. I compared  prices and brands and most  importantly reviews before settling on GoodHomes Durable Matt Wall Tile and Panelling Paint. It’s a bit of an odd paint as you need to mix the two parts together which relieves the need for an undercoat or top coat.  

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We decided that we still needed to use our bathroom somewhat and so segmented the tiling into areas so we wouldn’t be without a shower for long. We also used two tubs and needed three coats to get good coverage as an idea of how far it realistically goes. Using a foam roller we applied super thin layers and built them up to ensure an even finish. 

If I were to offer you advice, it would be to ensure your tiles are super duper clean before you start, use sugar soap and a light sandpaper to rough them up slightly. I would also say don’t be scared once it has dried those babies are totally wipeable (if that is even a word). 

If you need any advice or just have a quick question don’t hesitate to drop me a message. I hope  at least someone out there is as riveted by tile paint as I am:

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