How to Paint Vinyl Floor to Look Like Tile

Have you ever dreamed of having a pretty cement tile floor? In this step-by-step tutorial I’ll show you how to paint vinyl floor and stencil it to look like cement tile.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you my bathroom makeover design plan to update my small master bathroom into a modern, eclectic space. Since then, I have been making slow progress on this room. I have spray painted the shower frame and fixtures black. I painted the walls white. And I’ve been working on building my modern oak vanity. Now, on to painting the floor!

Bathroom Floor Before

This is what the floor in the bathroom looked like before. Linoleum or vinyl, I’m not sure which one…shiny, ugly, weird yellow stains.

I’ve been fascinated by cement tile ever since I saw the floor of the modern farmhouse guest bathroom remodel on Jenna Sue Design Co. blog several years ago. I’ve had the stencil for this project for over five years! I had planned on stenciling the bathroom floor in our house that we sold in Gorham New Hampshire. But I never got around to it. Luckily, I kept the stencil so now I can try to turn this ugly vinyl floor into a beautiful faux cement tile floor.

How to paint vinyl floor

Supplies

• Rust-Oleum Home Floor Coating Kit white
• Rust-Oleum Home Base Coat aged gray
• scrubber sponge
• Rags
• Painter’s Tape
• Paint Tray
• 3/8″ and 1/4″ nap roller
• foam roller
• Roller frame
• Paint Brush
• Stencil
• Stencil Brush
• Small art paint brushes

I knew I wanted the floor to look as close to the inspiration tile from my bathroom makeover design plan mood board as possible. So I chose the color white and aged gray from the Rust-Oleum Home floor coating color selection. I bought one kit which comes with floor cleaner, 1 quart of base coat (white) and 1 quart of top coat. And bought an additional quart and had it tinted aged gray. The box of the kit says it will cover 100 square feet and white requires two coats.

Prepare the Floor

First, thoroughly vacuum the floor and make sure you use an attachment to get the corners. Then, follow the directions on the back of the floor cleaner to get the floor sparkling clean and ready for paint. I basically dumped the cleaner on the floor and used a scrubby sponge to clean the floor really well. Then I rinsed with some clean water. I dried the floor with a clean old towel and let it finish air drying while I ate dinner and got my painting supplies together.

The paint directions on the back of the can give elaborate instructions on how to test if you need to sand your floor or not. My floor was shiny and slippery. So I figured I would rather be safe than sorry and I sanded my floor with 60 grit sandpaper. Then I used a damp cloth to wipe away any dust and debris.

Last step before painting: tape around the edges of the baseboards with painters’ tape. This is to protect them from getting floor paint on them. Ready to paint the vinyl floor!

Apply Base Coat

Pour paint into paint tray and use a 3/8 inch nap roller and brush to apply the first coat of paint to the floor. I started in one corner, applying paint with a brush to the edges. Then I used the roller to apply paint to the rest of the floor on that side of the room. After that I moved to the other side of the room and repeated. I finished in the middle of the room so I could get out the bathroom door without stepping on my newly painted floor.

The next day I took a look at the floor and decided to do a second coat. The first coat didn’t look like I had gotten an entirely uniform coat of paint down the night before. This could be my fault. I had gotten home from work and prepared the floor for painting. But it was starting to get dark when I started painting the floor and I didn’t have very good lighting because I had already removed my bathroom light to replace it. Who knew painting your home in the dark wasn’t a good idea?!? Haha! After the second coat of paint, it looked great, and ready for the fun part…stenciling!

Stencil the Floor to Look Like Cement Tile

To start stenciling your floor, go to the most inconspicuous area of the floor (preferably a flat area), place your stencil on the floor (I used the embossed “tile” lines from the vinyl to line up where I wanted to place my stencil), and use very little paint on your roller to apply to stencil/floor. Carefully pull the stencil up off the floor and place it back on the floor, lined up with where you will be stenciling you next tile. Repeat until your entire floor is stenciled.

I’m going to be completely honest with you. After applying paint to the floor with the stencil the first time and removing the stencil to see how the floor looked, I wasn’t sure this had been such a good idea. Looking at it from kneeling height the edges of the stenciled paint did not look as crisp as I had hoped.

I tried a few more shots at the stencil, stood up, and reminded myself that cement tile has a rustic quality to it and I felt better, like it was looking presentable.

Stenciling the Edges of the Floor

Stenciling the edges of the floor took some getting used to. What I ended up doing was going back the next day and cutting my stencil in half. That way, when it was bent up a wall as I was trying to get the corners and edges of the floor stenciled, I didn’t have so much material to contend with.

For stenciling the edges and corners of the floor use the cut stencil and line it up where it needs to go on the floor. Hold it tightly in place with your fingers. Roll the paint onto the stencil/floor as close to the edge/corner as you can. Then use a stencil brush to finish the area where the paint needs to be applied.

Tips to Paint Vinyl Floor – Stenciling

This was my first time ever stenciling so I am a total beginner. This is the advice I would give to you if it is your first time stenciling:

• Start in the least inconspicuous area of the floor. Behind the toilet or under where the bathroom vanity is going, when you start, to practice your technique.
• Don’t panic! It is not going to be perfect, but it is just paint and can be touched up.
• Use a foam roller. I started out using 3/8 inch nap roller and I felt like there was too much paint and switched to a foam roller.
• Only use a little paint. Load your roller with paint, like you normally would and then roll most of the paint onto a paper towel. This will remove most of the paint from the roller before you use it to stencil.

• Take time to figure out how you are going to handle stenciling the edges of the floor. When stenciling edges and corners you will have to bend the stencil because you’re running into the wall.

Touch Up and Add Grout Lines

By now I was feeling pretty good about how my floor was coming out, but it didn’t look exactly like tile. It looked more like a pretty patterned floor. I decided to add painted grout lines!

I took a small amount of my white floor paint (approximately 1 ounce) and added some of the gray floor paint (approx. 1/4 ounce), using a dropper. I mixed it well and this is pale gray color that I used to paint on as “grout” lines.

Using a longish piece of cardboard as a straight edge (I cut one of the flaps off of one of my amazon boxes) and a small artist’s paint brush paint grout lines in between the stenciled tiles. Be careful when picking up or putting down you piece of cardboard as it may have a small amount of paint on the edge that may get on your floor. So try to place it right on the “grout line” where you want to paint. Also, I drew a line with the paint and brush several times, to make sure the grout line was fully covered with paint.

Apply Top Coat

With a brush for the edges and a 1/4 inch roller for the remainder of the floor, apply Rust-Oleum top coat to the entire floor. It comes in different sheens. I chose matte since that’s what a real cement tile looks like.

Finished Painted Vinyl Floor

Yay! Pretty cement tile bathroom floor! I am happy with it and I think it will look even better once start getting the bathroom put back together. It did take several hours to complete, especially the stenciling and touch up and adding grout lines. But it’s perfect for me for now!

I love a good before and after!

What do you think about painted floors? Yay or nay? Have you ever painted a floor before or would you consider trying it in the future?

Thanks for checking out my blog post! Cheers, Jill