Hiya, I hoped you liked reading and having a nosey on my last kitchen transformation post and seeing how much painting the cupboards has changed how it looks! Anyway, I mentioned that my next job was to sort the tiles out… Well, I have now and I can’t wait to show you!! I’ll explain the process under the photos as I’m sure you’d all like to see those first!
So here’s what it looked like before: the wonderful colourful menagerie of tiles… some of you actually said you liked them but I’ve just hated them since we looked round the place and I knew something had to be done haha…
And here’s what it looks like now :D I honestly couldn’t be any more chuffed with it and it’s totally changed what the kitchen looks like and I’m in love.
So again I’ve had a lot of people asking me a few questions about how I’ve found the tile paint and how I went about doing it so here’s some answers for you all:
- What tile paint did you use? I used the Ronseal One Coat Tile Paint in Granite – I originally thought this was quite expensive (not in the grand scheme of things compared to a new kitchen) but I thought it was pricey for only 750ml and I thought I’d definitely need at least 2 cans.
- Was it tricky to use? This paint totally surprised me as soon as I used it; late one evening after putting Jax to bed I decided to see what it was like and just paint above the hob – as soon as I started I realised how quick it went on and actually finished my whole kitchen (+ the cutting in bits with a paintbrush) in about 45 minutes! It’s so so oily and the tiniest bit goes for miles! It also does exactly what it says on the tin – I only needed one coat and I have half the tin left!
- What about the grout? Do I need to redo that? This was actually the trickiest part of this whole kitchen makeover and its definitely required the most patience. I think because my tiles aren’t totally flat and completely joined together like most tiles are, the tile paint got on a lot of the grout. I bought the Unibond Grout Pen which was £8 and it was rubbish unfortunately. I also bought the wider nibbed one which was equally as bad! In the end I decided to repaint the grout using a plain white tester pot of paint and a tiny paintbrush – it took absolutely ages but it looks a whole lot better! I’d say either be really careful painting your tiles or just be prepared that you may have to repaint your grout…
- Can I wash the tiles after? Totally, its a specialist paint so its made to withstand all sorts of cleaning products.
- Should I use a paintbrush or a roller? I’d say use a gloss/foam roller for this one – I think you’d get a much more even finish that if you used a brush. I only used a brush for the tiny areas like going round plug sockets and cupboards.
- Any other tips? My number one top tip would be to definitely do it when your children (if you have any) are asleep and you can just open all the windows and get it done because it really does stink! I kept my kitchen door shut and the windows open for about 2-3 days after I painted my tiles because of the smell. I was surprised I didn’t get high whilst doing it…
- Buy A LOT of white spirit – I got the low odour one and used the whole lot cleaning up – I’m not sure why but its so much harder to clean and get off than normal paint so literally wear your shittiest clothes!
- I wouldn’t actually bother with frog-taping around the plug sockets etc etc – I took it off in the end and just carefully painted round with a paintbrush!
So yeah! I’m so happy with how its turned out! My next job is to remove the bar from the kitchen and paint my walls lovely and pink <3 Thank you for keeping up on my kitchen makeover journey with me! I hope I’ve managed to inspire some of you :)
Love you loads, J xxx
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