can you really effectively paint over tiles?

Comments (20)

E D
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
To answer the title: no.

From what I’ve seen, painting tiles is not a good idea. Starts to look tatty soon after, if not straight after doing it.

Perhaps a better idea is to leave your tiles as they are and use them as a backdrop to more stylish accessories, mirror, some shelving, window dressing, plant(s), that sort of thing, making the room feel ‘warmer’.

There are others here who I’m sure can come up with great suggestions.
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cushioncover
4 years ago
Tile stickers /transfers have improved massively over the last few years and are well worth a try. If you hate them, at least you haven't done anything permanent, unlike painting your tiles.
Karen W
Original Author
4 years ago
much as I like metro tiles with grey grout, I dont like the square ones with any colour. good idea though Sonia. thanks. cushion cover, not a bad idea. I hadn't thought of that. as I thought, tile painting not a good idea. are you saying my accessories are not stylish ed? :-0
E D
4 years ago
Haha Karen, sorry, that was clumsily put. You did say though you want to update... :-)

btw it’s not ed and it’s not Sonia... :-)
PRO
OnePlan
4 years ago
Cafe Rouge seem to paint a lot of the tiles in their restrooms in my experience ... doesn’t make it right though !
Sonia
4 years ago
Hi, it’s Sonia 😂. I think you have a perfectly adequate bathroom that just needs more impact. There’s a lot of tiling but at least they are pale pink, so actually quite trendy! How about adding a dark wood framed mirror (round ones are very on trend) along with chocolate brown towels, a wooden shelf with plants and accessories on it? If that’s too dark for you, then embrace the pink by adding blush pink towels with brass edged mirror and accessories. Here’s some pictures to inspire you (I hope!):-
minipie
4 years ago
I don’t know if this would be within budget but I think replacing the sink with a nice vanity, and the mirror with a lovely larger one, would go a long way to modernising. Also the vanity would give you somewhere to store loo rolls, brush, cleaning stuff etc which would help a lot. For the vanity could you maybe upcycle an old cabinet (cut a hole for the existing sink pedestal if you can’t stretch to a new sit on sink)? Something in a rich wood or painted dark green would be right on trend.
PRO
Studio Vonne
4 years ago
I know you said you didn't want to change the grout but I think it could look quite effective. Especially if you change the chrome fittings to black and then add plywood for the sill / mirror frame. Just an idea anyway...
kazzh
4 years ago
The pale pink wall, white counter top and grey unit pic is a soft combination.... you could use this color combination as your inspiration and work with your pale pink tiles - black tapware or keep silver tapware? grey towels ? black accessories? black rimmed mirror? Grey felt storage for white towels?
kazzh
4 years ago
Looking again at your pics.... black or charcoal grey roman blind, or venetian? swap the white window accessories with matt black, matt black toilet brush. Grey felt basket, container with lid to hid away the neccessary cleaning supplies.
kazzh
4 years ago
Some visuals
E D
4 years ago
All great suggestions/ideas, but where’s Karen W? 🤔
Jonathan
4 years ago
I agree with the earlier posters- don’t paint the tiles.
Instead I would replace the towel rail with a wide one and dress it with a larger towel. I would replace the blind, add a shelf and mirror behind the basin and artwork above the cistern. Personally I think charcoal looks great against a pale pink as does navy
Karen W
Original Author
4 years ago
I'm here! thanks everybody. kazzh, I actually have a very similar mirror I was thinking of using. if I was to go to the expense of changing the basin for a vanity, I might as well just replace the whole thing. I was sat in there yesterday, contemplating ;-) i will change the mirror, the blind, and maybe go charcoal or navy as Jonathan suggests. some dark artwork above the toilet. and if I get a few more years out of it great, and if not I'll just replace the whole lot. thank you everybody
rinked
4 years ago
Leave the tiles, put a vanity/shelf with bowl in, fun flooring, colored ceiling, decorate. It looks nice and functional right now, just a little bland.
Tani H-S
4 years ago
If it was me - and considering the tiles are unnecessary (because I’m presuming there is no bath or shower in this room and there is just a wc and sink??) and you want to update it without ripping them all out ...

I would look at panelling the bottom half of the walls under the sink and around the room in a wood - painted with a suitable washable paint in a colour that works with the pale pink. That will take off the impact of all the walls being tiled.

Then by the time you have added in some shelving and mirrors (heck, you could even have a mirror fitted all the way around the room if you wanted to!) the tiles won’t be that bad.
Super pale pink is very fashionable at the moment and at least it’s not 50’s pink which we had, ha ha. Either going navy as a contrast or a rich grey would work or keep it all light woodwork with white and add in metallic shelves and mirrors in gold to compliment the pink.

Cladding would work in the thin marine plywood and it looks great painted.
It’s not a huge room so shouldn’t cost that much and you can get all the panel sections pre-cut at a diy store if you don’t have the room/facilities to chop them down yourself.
There is T&G panels although they are more work and can be a bit dated with your tiles perhaps.
- re painting tiles.... the paints have come a long way these days to be fair and as they won’t necessarily get wet (add some feature tiles around your sink) then they shouldn’t wear out easily.
  The trick is to apply it correctly and don’t cut corners. Watch loads of videos on how to do it.
  I don’t think painting them will make a massive difference unless you were going to go with a dark paint though so seems little point.
PRO
i-architect
4 years ago
Painted tiles, like painted bricks, are awful!!!

Yes you can do it, yes it will be OK for a short while, but they quickly look terrible and once you've painted them the only option is to repaint or remove and replace them.

It's so pale a pink to be barely noticeable so I would do as others have suggested and just accessories in a way that makes the most of the pink. The coloured grouting is pretty impactful if you want to do something with more of a bold look. That's is much easier to change in the future if you wanted a refresh.

Show us the photos once you finish upgrading the look! I'm curious to see what you do :)
Mary Mary
4 years ago
We bought pre made tongue and groove panels which were glued onto the walls. An instant easy and affordable update plus you can repaint in the future.
rachelmidlands
4 years ago
I recently used some of this grout reviver in the kitchen: https://www.toolstation.com/forever-white-grout-reviver-200ml/p50440 It was a bit laborious going along all the grout lines with a old toothbrush but when finished the tiles look brand new again. I agree with other comments that painted tiles rarely look great so since they’re fairly neutral I would keep them as is. An old cabinet with with a hole cut out the top for under the sink is a nice idea, like and old washstand if that’s your thing. I like all the other ideas from other comments as well. Another thing to consider is the lighting, what do you have currently? Are they spotlights? Perhaps changing to a flush mounted ceiling light would give a more even spread of light.

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can you really effectively paint over tiles?

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can you really effectively paint over tiles?

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