Do your ugly old tiles give you nightmares? Master how to renovate a space without overextending your budget while giving old tiles a face-lift by simply painting the existing ceramic tile.
If you’ve been yearning to redesign your bathroom or kitchen but thought the tile would limit your options, rest assured that you can now paint your tiles for the fraction of the cost than having to have them completely replaced.
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Materials: 
Dense Foam Roller (size of your tile)
Painter’s Tape
2 Paint Trays
Paper Towels
Fan(s)
Gloves
Small Painter’s Brush
Optional:
Caulk (white)
Step 1: Sand Paper
Before you can paint tiles you must first grab your sandpaper and go to town scrapping off anything that has been stuck in the tiles and to give the paint some groves to stick to. 
Optional Step: Remove Caulk
If your caulk looks disgusting and I mean black and it was once white or clear caulk then grab your caulk remover tool and scrap the caulk to remove it. I am truly disgusted by how black ours had turned. (I almost didn’t post the picture it was so BAD.)
Step 2: Clean Tiles
Now it’s time to clean the tiles and get them all ready and clean to be painted on.
Step 3: Tape
Tape around the tile where you don’t want the tile paint to touch.
TIP: I used a paper and tape dispenser to get more of the wall covered because I didn’t want any of this paint on anything else because it is difficult to get off!
Step 4: Paint Tiles
Okay get your respirator and gloves ready because it’s time to start painting. Also, open any nearby windows and turn on your fans and point them to blow out towards your windows.
Pour the tile paint into your painters tray and using your dense foam roller roll the paint over all of the tiles.
TIP: Paint a very very very light layer of paint. This paint is also sticky so don’t repaint an area you already painted! Don’t worry you will be doing more than one coat so it will be fine.
TIP: Wait 3 hours before painting another coat.
TIP: Don’t worry about the grout lines you can paint over them and repaint them later.
Step 5: 2nd Coat of Paint
After waiting for the paint to cure for 3 hours then paint another very very thin layer of tile paint.
TIP: Repeat adding another coat until you get the desired color. I ended up doing 4 coats to make it exactly how I wanted it which was nice and bright white.
TIP: I went through 2.5 cans of the paint. Make sure you have enough for your surface area or you might be running to Home Depot during your 3 hour dry time like me. 🙂
Let the tile paint cure for at least 48 hours. I waited 72 hours because I didn’t want to lose all of my hard work!
Step 6: Paint Grout
Now it’s time to repaint the grout lines. I wanted a dark grout color to make the tiles pop. So I used a dark gray. You will need a tiny tiny painter’s brush to repaint the grout lines.
TIP: If the tile paint is still showing through do a 2nd coat of grout. I had to do 2 coats of grout to get no white paint to show through.
This step can be very time consuming! It took me 5 hours to paint the first coat of grout and then I did another 5 hours the next day to do the second coat. If I had done a lighter grout color I might have been able to get away with only having to do one coat of grout. But it was so worth it because I just LOVE the way it turned out and how the tiles pop!
Then let the grout dry completely.
Optional Step: Stencil 
First find a stencil that is the size of your tile. My tile is 4.5in by 4.5in so I bought a stencil that was 4in by 4in.
Next tape the stencil to the tile. Put very little paint on your dense foam roller and then roll your roller onto a paper towel to get the excess paint off the roller before rolling it onto the tile. Then lightly roll the paint over the stencil.
TIP: Resist the urge to push the foam roller harder to get more paint out of it. Instead just re-coat your foam roller. Pushing the roller will only cause the paint to slip behind the stencil and then you will end up with just a blob of paint.
Next remove the stencil and wipe off the stencil onto a paper towel on both sides. Then paint the next tile by skipping every other tile at first so you don’t tape over a wet stenciled tile.
TIP: If you want to paint every tile simply skip every other tile at first to avoid taping on the tile you just painted and then once the paint dries go back and paint every other tile that you had previously skipped.
We ended up liking the look of the stencils on every other tile so we just left it as it was.
Step 7: Remove Tape
After everything has had time to completely dry and cure then remove the tape.
Optional Step: Re-Caulk
If you removed the caulk now it is the time to re-caulk the shower or tub before using them again. 🙂
Paint Tiles:
Ugly or old tiles? Don’t worry, you aren’t stuck with them. Simply add a new coat of paint to restore your tile’s look at a portion of the cost.
Painting tiles seems like a win-win solution for those dreadful or just sad looking tiles in your bathroom or kitchen.
Transform your bathroom or kitchen today!
