So as you have already seen the photos of the bathroom makeover, going from mint green tile to white I'm sure you were wondering how we were able to do this?
4. Next you apply the high gloss white paint over all of it. This is your final step. I can't remember if I did one or two coats of it, but you can decide based on what your desired level of gloss you want.
5. Next we just painted the top of the walls above the tile and we were FINISHED after many many hours of painting in this one room! Let me warn you it takes forever but it was well worth the dramatic results!!!
When we first looked at the house, the bathroom was one of my main concerns. Green tile, seriously? Not really what I had envisioned in my first house. So I quickly told Daniel that would need to be one of our first projects we tackled if we bought the house. Now let me paint a picture for you...the entire bathroom was green we found out. As we began our work we could tell where the walls were green, the tile floor and wall was green, the trim was green, and even yes the CEILING was green!! Seriously what is up with green?? I mean I literally think each square inch of the bathroom was green!!! We even found green paint underlying the trim in the bedrooms so there is no telling what was painted green at this house. Apparently the old owner had an obsession with mint green!
After deciding to purchase the house, we originally were going to do a completely re-haul on the bathroom. We were going to re-tile it all and bring it into the 21st century. After pricing and seeing what we really wanted our money to go to in the very beginning, we decided this might be something we could live with for a little bit and put our money in more needy areas of the house. So I began searching our old friend Google for ways to refinish tile, paint tile, etc. I found a couple of people who had done so but most had used a kit you can get from your home improvement store that you can use to paint tile. Although it was a handy set, it was $30 for a quart of paint, and for the size of the bathroom, much less any bathroom, you can see how that would quickly add up. I was also able to consult with a co-worker of mine who had experience with this same thing. Her and her husband had bought an old house in Columbia and fixed it up and rented it out. It had the same type ugly colored tile and she sought the same solution, painting it. She explained to me what she used and did and that it was still holding steady after a year +. After investigating what the kit entailed and speaking with her, I decided this would be the route we would go. I mean what could we lose....green tile....don't think that was a problem!
So here is what you need to tackle this project:
Soap and Water
Sponge
Zinsser Cover Stain Bond Coat Primer (gallon)
High gloss white paint
Paint brush
Roller (if desired)
TIME
1. Clean the tile really well. I used soap and water and a sponge. I cleaned every crevice grout crack I could to give me a good surface to begin painting on.
2. Begin painting. I used a paint brush to paint all the tile. I tried using a roller but I didn't like the texture it gave to it. But you could try using a foam one and it might do the trick for you.
3. It took three coats of this paint. (Keep in mind this is an oil based paint so you have to use paint thinner to get it off of anything. Otherwise you carry it with you for a little bit. I had great highlights during this time.) Here is what it looked like after each coat.
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| First Coat |
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| First Coat |
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| 2nd Coat |
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| 3rd coat |
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| With high gloss paint |
Costs to do this project:
Zinsser Primer from Lowes $16.98
Valspar High Gloss White Paint from Lowes $29.97 (didn't even use half of the gallon)
Valspar Interior Eggshell paint in Woodlawn Silver Brook $27.97
Painting Supplies had from other projects
Total Bathroom Makeover $75
Don't think we would have hit that price if we did a complete overhaul on the bathroom, yet we still have very pleasing and rewarding results.
