How To: Laying Peel and Stick Tile over the Bathroom Floor!
September 28, 2020 — Written by Julia Marcum
We have been doing a quick phase 1 renovation of the girls’ bathroom (read more about the plans here!) over the last week and it’s coming along so well! We painted the countertops last week using the same countertop paint (and color–Putty!) as we used in our kitchen in our first house nearly a decade ago. Replaced the hardware on the cabinets. Added beadboard to the walls and last week, we laid peel and stick vinyl tile over the existing tile floors.
Beadboard
Valance Curtains
Arched Mirror
Sconce
Vinyl Tile
Faucet
Cabinet Pull
Cabinet Knob
One thing I love about a phase 1 is it’s a great way to try something bold. I fell hard for these rust colored vinyl floor tiles (they’re waterproof!) when I saw them on Etsy and ordered enough to cover each square tile in the girls’ bathroom. They come in different sizes and scale–we did the 12″ (since that is what size our tile was) in the quarter scale.
It was a very EASY, painless and pretty quick. It took maybe 2.5 hours to do the whole floor and that was me mostly doing it alone. Chris had a meeting and came to help with the cuts when he was done. Speaking of the cuts, we used this paper cutter to make quick work of any trimming that needed done around the edges. You could easily use a straight edge and razor, too. The vinyl was thin (a little thicker than peel and stick wallpaper) so it really sits snug to the floor tiles, even though ours were anything but smooth to start with.
We opted to keep the grout lines exposed to make it look even more realistic and I love LOVE LOVE the way it turned out.
We thought it would be most helpful to document and share the process (and mistakes! haha) through a video. So if you want to tackle this yourself–for sure watch this video!
The floor tiles added the perfect color pop to their bathroom, and we’ll for sure keep you posted on how it wears over time.
What do you think?
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Love, love, loce the bathroom floor. Where did you gwt it and what is the pattern? Thanks so much!
Nice. I have laid several peel n stick floors over the years. It has always worked out well.
How did this work out at the threshold? I’m interested in this, but laying it over the existing tile would obviously change the height. Was this an issue for y’all?
This peel and stick is really thin so it didn’t really change the height much!
We love how your new tiled floor has transformed. For anyone interested to learn about our Quadrostyle vinyl sticker products toy can check out our FAQs which answer all of the questions in the comments here and many more you may not have even thought about.
We address why it’s best to leave the grout exposed, how to cover sizes we dont offer as standard, how they wear, how they feel and where you can and cannot use them.
Thanks for chiming in!
I used these floor tiles from Quadrostyle in my kitchen two years ago. Every time I walk into my kitchen, I fall in love with all over again. They look fabulous, were easy to install, and feel really nice underfoot. After two years in a small well used, well scrubbed kitchen, they look the same as the day I put them down.
I’m so happy to hear that!
If the ground lines are exposed, does that not create a series of channels that you have to clean out?
It’s no different than the tile. This vinyl is very thin.
The tiles are SO beautiful! Thanks for sharing! I’ve got a couple of spots in the house that could use a phase one makeover with these.
Oh wow! What a difference … #happybathtime
Hi! Two questions! I loooooove the color of the tile and think that doing a temporary version would actually give you a good feel if you want to really do a patterned tile or feel like it’s too busy. Are they slippery? I especially worry about this in a kid’s bathroom!
Also, when you do phase 2 will you be keeping all the fixtures/hardware/sconces you got for phase 1? Or would you sell/donate those?
Hi C&J- love the ENTIRE look! I especially love how the tiles even make the cabinets look softer and girly! You didn’t paint those, did you? They almost look a bit pinkish! Love it! Anyway, if you did paint, could you share the cabinet color?
Great job!
I think it must be the floor reflecting of the cabinets
Those floor tiles are amazing! Thanks for the video. So, is the 90’s brass back or is the cabinet hardware a modern version of polished brass?! I’ve slowly been replacing the brass in my 1994-built home, but I might need to abort….?! Ha!
This is real polished brass!
I really love the look. I do however, question the price of these. They seem to be almost as expensive as it would be to replace the tile.
they may seem expensive, but when you factor in that there is no need for mortar or grout or any of the tools associated with the process. It is much less expensive than traditional even if you have tools and can lay regular tile yourself. Plus it is permanent enough to have for a few years or more without the enormous hassle and mess of removing traditional tile if you want to change the look. Just a few things to think about.
Thanks for sharing your process! I never really dared to do floors so far! I did sticky wall tile and left the grout exposed as well and here it worked really nicely for me to use a hairdryer to heat up the edges very carefully for a smooth finish. The vinyl just bent around the tile and looks super legit now! May be worth a try!
These are beautiful vinyl tiles and you guys did an amazing job with the install. I was hoping to use them as our rental kitchen floor, but when I went to check them out on Etsy price point comes up to $6.70 a square foot – seems crazy for Vinyl stickers….even LVT cost less then that, leave alone improvement store Vinyl tiles of around 80 cents to a dollar for the same size tiles. How could you justify paying this much for something so temporary? Am I doing the math wrong?
We’re planning on having them here for at least a couple years! And it was a lot cheaper than ripping out the floor and replacing it.
I love the tiles, great job! Question about the bead board, I love that you put it behind the sinks, it looks so seamless. But , do you worry that it will get warped / wrecked by water splashing ? I love my boys but I wipe up water behind the sink every time they wash their hands ! I want to do bead board so bad but Wondered if you found a way to prevent this with caulk and special paint ? Thanks for always sharing your great ideas
This made me laugh because I feel your same pain! I think this is the most precious bathroom but I’m not sure my boys could keep it in good condition, lol. I love these beautiful makeovers but I have to find very indestructible solutions for my three little guys!
Julia, beautiful job on the bathroom and love how everything came out! As much as the stickers on the toilet are not your style, it’s kind of like a little love note from your children! This whole thing just came out adorable!
I SOoooo wish I had seen this before I painted my tile floors. They look beautiful! I spent a lot of time on my knees painting that tile floor – so the first thing I noticed in your video were your knee pads. lol. Just wondering where you got them and if they worked well for you (especially were they comfortable?)
I am also super interested in how the vinyl tiles hold up and if you end up putting a sealer over the top. Even though mine are painted and sealed, they still don’t hold up as well with dogs – so I’ve contemplated whether or not I could float some sort of extra heavy sealer (epoxy?) over the whole thing – grout and all – to make it extra durable.
As always, Thank You for all the inspiration, and sharing your knowledge along the way. :D
Thinking about doing this for our kids bathroom as well. Our tiles look very similar to what you have. The tiles we have are 11 5/8 x 11 5/8. Would this mean we’d have to cut down each these 12 inch adhesive tiles? Curious of your thoughts and opinions on this. Are your floor tiles exactly 12 x 12? Thanks!
they fit our tiles perfectly!
Can you please confirm if your original floor tiles were 12×12. Thanks
i think they were just under
This looks great!! I’m contemplating doing something similar and wondering if you thought about doing the individual tile stickers vs the tile panels? Was there a reason you went with the individual tile stickers instead of the floor panels that the company sells? Thank you!!
So that the grout lines could be seen.
REALLY appreciate all the details you included in the video, especially your mistakes and your concerns!! So much of what’s online just talks about the wonderful things and glosses over the not-so-great things. So, for someone who’s considering doing this, I loved your including both sides!! And it really does look fantastic!!
I am SO excited that you did this. There may be hope for our kitchen!! It looks so great with the grout lines exposed. Please keep us posted how it wears :)
When I saw this in your stories, I was “pumped”! I love the color you chose but more so that you found a product to cover up tile you dislike until you can replace it. That’s exactly where we are at in our kid’s bathroom. It is so worn and tired looking. I think a little change and will be good until the demo! Thank you for sharing!
Will you be placing these on the tub surround as well?
No, just the floors.
We bought a house and are doing some major remodeling before we move in. The kitchen was done by the previous owners,so isn’t part of the project. I don’t love the counters and have been considering painting them. Does it actually hold up to daily family use?
i wasn’t too sure on these tiles in the plan, but now they are done I love them!!!
everything you do always looks so good, I should never have doubted you!
They look great! Definitely curious to know how they hold up over time.
Love this… a few questions: do you think if someone had thinner grout lines, they could be hidden under the stickers? How did you prep the floors- anything besides just “cleaning really well”? And did you use additional adhesive? I’ve heard that can be very helpful with these. Thanks.
Just cleaned it! Did not use any additional adhesive. I’m sure you could hide your grout lines if you wanted to, but I think exposing them looks more believable
I am wondering, are your tiles textured? I have textured tiles in my entry, kitchen & breakfast nook and I really don’t like them. It would be amazing if I could do something like this until we redo the kitchen. Thank you!
Yes they are textured
Thank you so much!
Oh my gosh, I checked your post decade ago about painting your counter top. I realized I remembered your previous house from your blog, didn’t realized I followed you for so long. By the way I got here thanks to Dana from HouseTweaking. It’s wonderful to see how much improvement you made, you get so much better with every house. I mean every house get much prettier and stylish. Thank you for inspiration. Even if I don’t make so much changes in my apartment (live close to Madrid -Spain) it’s still my favourite blog with Saturday’s mornings coffee.