Painting Floor Tiles Before and After
If you love the idea of adding a design or updating your tile or linoleum floors but the idea of re-tiling or replacing linoleum doesn’t appeal to you, then stenciling your floor is probably your best solution. In this tutorial, I share how to stencil tile floors, how do you keep paint from bleeding under stencils, and how to stencil the popular Spanish tile pattern on floors. Keep reading to learn How To Stencil Tile Floors and watch the time-lapse video showing you how I stenciled our Master Bathroom floor.
This shop has been compensated by Cutting Edge Stencils. All opinions are mine alone.
If you’re looking for budget-friendly stencils, keep reading!
What Kind of Paint Do You Use for Stenciling?
It depends on what you want to stencil. Use the type of paint that is appropriate for the surface you are stenciling. The brand of paint that I used for our jewel tile stencil floors was Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen and Gray.
Can You Stencil on Floor Tiles?
Yes! It’s so easy to stencil on floor tiles and I show you how in this post. The key to painting floor tile is to seal it properly with water-based polyurethane!
Easy Floor Stencils For Painting
I found the best stencils at Cutting Edge Stencils (I’ve used several of their stencils with amazing results!)
Cutting Edge Stencils
My favorite wall stencils are from Cutting Edge Stencils. I’ve used other stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils for various other projects, including stenciling tile floors 🙂
Can You Paint Over Ceramic Tile?
Yes, the tile in our bathroom floor is ceramic 🙂
How To Stencil Tile
In this tutorial, I share step-by-step instructions to use Cutting Edge Stencils to stencil a tile floor. If you have never stenciled before, I suggest practicing on a small area and deciding what paint colors you’d like to use.
You need to pick a paint color for the background and one for the stencil image. If you need help choosing paint colors, please refer to this detailed post.
Let’s get started with the supplies needed to stencil a tile or linoleum floor…
Supplies:
- Stencil (I used this Spanish Tile Stencil in size Large for our master bathroom floor)
- Painter’s Tape
- Stencil brushes
- Paint Brush (for distressing, touching up, etc)
- Paint Roller & Tray
- Paint (I used Linen Chalked Paint for the background & Gray Chalked Paint for the stencil design)
- Polyurethane Water-Based Crystal Clear Gloss
- Rags
Directions:
- Gather Supplies. Please watch the video below with more instructions and pictures! My stencil came with a grout line, however, I choose not to use the grout line on our floor. The grout line does make the tile look even more amazing if you choose to use it on your floors 🙂
- Thoroughly clean the floors (vacuum, mop, etc) and remove all items from the floor.
- Use painters tape to protect any surrounding walls, doors, fixtures, etc.
- Use the paint roller and base paint color to cover the entire floor with paint. Apply a 2nd and 3rd coat if necessary with at least 20 minutes of dry time between coats (I used a fan to help speed the dry time).
- Use painter’s tape to secure all 2-4 sides of the stencil to the tile. Cutting Edge Stencils has a handy video showing how to DIY a stenciled floor too!
- Use a stencil brush to apply your choice of chalked paint color in the stencil.
- Once all the spaces are painted inside your stencil, remove the stencil, and align on another tile on the floor. I did not paint the tiles directly around this first tile so I could let the paint dry since some of the stencil overlaps and you don’t want it touching the wet paint.
- Repeat this process until the floor is complete.
- The corners and around the toilet were the tricky parts. This is where ordering the 2nd stencil comes in handy because you can cut the stencil to fit the corners. I didn’t have a 2nd stencil so I bent my stencil and manipulated it to fit. I did have to go back and touch up some areas though.
- I also had to touch up other areas with bleeding or spots. These mistakes were mostly because I rushed to complete my floor and I wanted it to look perfect. If you take your time and let each section dry, you will not have as many mistakes as me, lol.
- Let the stencil paint dry for an hour or 2 before applying the poly.
- Use a foam roller to apply at least 3 coats of polyurethane water-based clear coat to your floor. Let each coat dry for 30-60 minutes.
- We let the entire floor dry without walking on it for a full 24 hours. After that, you can easily wipe up the floor to clean it!
I plan to use the Augusta Cutting Edge Stencil on our laundry room floors in size Large for our 12 x 12 tiles.
How To Stencil Tile Floors
Supplies
- Stencil (I used this Spanish Tile stencil for our master bathroom floor)
- Painter's Tape
- Stencil brushes
- Paint Brush (for touching up, getting corners)
- Paint Roller & Tray
- Paint (I used Linen Chalked Paint for the background & Gray Chalked Paint for the stencil design)
- Polyurethane Water-Based Crystal Clear Gloss
Rags
Instructions
- Gather Supplies. Please watch the video below with more instructions and pictures! My stencil came with a grout line, however I choose not to use the grout line on our floor. The grout line does make the tile look even more amazing if you choose to use it on your floors 🙂
- Thoroughly clean the floors (vacuum, mop, etc) and remove all items from the floor.
- Use painters tape to protect any surrounding walls, doors, fixtures, etc.
- Use the paint roller and base paint color to cover the entire floor with paint. Apply a 2nd and 3rd coat if necessary with at least 20 minutes of dry time between coats (I used a fan to help speed the dry time).
- Use painter's tape to secure all 2-4 sides of the stencil to the tile. Cutting Edge Stencils has a handy video showing how to DIY a stenciled floor too!
- Use a stencil brush to apply your choice of chalked paint color in the stencil.
- Once all the spaces are painted inside your stencil, remove the stencil and align on another tile on the floor. I did not paint the tiles directly around this first tile so I could let the paint dry since some of the stencil overlaps and you don't want it touching the wet paint.
- Repeat this process until the floor is complete.
- The corners and around the toilet were the tricky parts. This is where ordering the 2nd stencil comes in handy because you can cut the stencil to fit the corners. I didn't have a 2nd stencil so I bent my stencil and manipulated it to fit. I did have to go back and touch up some areas though.
- I also had to touch up other areas with bleeding or spots. These mistakes were mostly because I rushed to complete my floor and I wanted it to look perfect. If you take your time and let each section dry, you will not have as many mistakes as me, lol.
- Let the stencil paint dry for an hour or 2 before applying the poly.
- Use a foam roller to apply at least 3 coats of polyurethane water-based clear coat to your floor. Let each coat dry for 30-60 minutes.
- We let the entire floor dry without walking on it for a full 24 hours. After that, you can easily wipe up the floor to clean!
Watch the Quick How-To Video to Stencil Tile Floors (this video has Music Only):
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial with how to stencil floors in your home!
Finding the best floor Stencil can be frustrating because there are so many options available. The Stencils at craft stores can be over-priced and you are limited with options. You’ll find the best quality stencils and stencil brushes at Cutting Edge Stencils.
Did you follow this tutorial to stencil your floors or a similar version? I would love to see it! Send me a picture on Facebook, Instagram, or email and I’ll share with my followers 🙂
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