Terra-cotta hand painted tiles are two things, MY FAVORITE and expensive. So what’s a girl to do when she wants something she just can’t have? Find another way! I knew buying hand painted terra-cotta tiles was simply not an option so I decided I would just have to paint them myself.
*Note. If you’re a visual learner head over to my Instagram account and check out the tutorial saved as a highlight.
DIY Painted Tile Floors
Tools you will need
- 1 in Frog tape
- Mini paint roller
- Small paint tray
- Craft paint brushes
- 2 in angled paint brush
- Stencil
- 2 old towels one wet & one dry
Materials you will need
- Krud Kutter spray cleaner
- Valspar Bonding primer/sealer
- Valspar tintable porch and floor paint
- Matte polycrylic
Step one
Vacuum and scrub your floors with Krud Kutter spray cleaner.
Step two
You will paint the entire floor with your Valspar bonding primer. Start by using your 2 in angled brush for the edges/corners, then your mini paint roller for the main surface area of the floor. Let the bonding primer dry for 24 hours! This is very important to prevent chipping. I know this wait time is different than what is listed on the can but I find this step to be very important to allow for proper dry time.
Step three
Decide on the foundation color of your design. This will be the color that fills the spacing between the stencil. After the bonding primer has dried for 24 hours paint your tile floor with Valspar tintable porch and floor paint in your selected color. Again let this dry for 24 hours.
Step four
After waiting 24 hours you can go ahead and begin to stencil! Place your stencil in the desired location and with your second selected color lightly dip your painting sponge into the paint and gently touch the stencil with the sponge. I have found its very important to use little to no pressure when painting with a stencil. When you apply too much pressure you will push the paint under the stencil and cause your paint to bleed and you will lose those crisp lines. Sometimes I even dab off the excess on an old towel from that first paint dip to help soften the amount of paint I am applying to the floor over the stencil.
Step five
Here is where those old rags come in! After you have painted your first stencil I recommend using the old WET towel to gently wipe/dab of the excess paint and then dry the stencil with the old dry towel. This will help keep your stencil clean and those lines crisp.
*Note. If you’re looking for a more hand painted look I would then recommend skipping this step
If you’re adding additional colors repeat steps four and five
Step six
For a more hand painted look I decided to go back in with some eh-hem… tools, AKA a broken piece of cardboard and the end of a craft paintbrush. This added some unique and less uniform details. This style is a personal preference. Personally I adore anything that looks old and one of a kind.
Step seven
Once you have finished painting with your stencil I recommend letting your newly painted floors dry for 48 hours before you apply a protective top-coat. There is something about allowing the paint to dry and fully cure that really ensures your flooring from chipping. After the 48 hours have passed using a new mini paint roller apply the matte polycrylic to the entire painted surface. Please do NOT apply a glossy finish topcoat. This will result in floors that are “slippery when wet” and I don’t know how to DIY one of those caution signs đ
I hope you find this helpful! If you want to watch how I executed this DIY you can find the details over on my Instagram page!