Painting tile?

My living room is a pale shell pink/beige (depending on the light), my living room is sky blue and the archway between them is a sage green that transitions between them perfectly. You should be able to find a sage green that works with your tile and wall colors. Don't make work for yourself!

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

you could do a little one stroke type painting on your tiles and really get creative or be very simple too..it is uber easy to do even if you really are art handicapped like me.Its also pretty cheap and everything you need can be purchased at walmart if you shop thier or similar places too im sure.

I've painted two shower stalls that get water on a regular basis and they've held up well. The trick to painting tile is the products you use, and the prep. You have to clean the tile well with something like STP(your paint store will have what you need to wash it with). It needs to be scuffed up with a sanding(no you don't have to take the shiny surface off the old tile, just scuff it). You *have* to prime it with a high adhesion primer(your paint store will have it).

You can then paint it with whatever you want for a finish. You can buy "glass finish" paint if you want it to be real shiny.

I was really pleased with the way mine turned out. You will be painting over any grout when you paint the tile, but it is a cost effective way to change the look of the tile. I did not mind the look of the grout painted over at all, in fact I think I like it better.

I say scrap the sage green and go with reds, oranges and muted yellows and golds. YIPPEEEE!!!! Then just toss in a little green here and there for interest.

It's not as time consuming as it sounds to get those tiles painted. The thing that takes the most time probably is letting the primer cure up for 24 or 48 hours before you paint. Ours took 24 hours, but you may be able to get primers that will cure more quickly. Ours was also easy to cleanup with water, which is always nice.

I used rub ons in my other house. I got them at the craft store. You can use them on tile,,,its very simular to tatouche[sp]. HSN shows this on their shows,,,use thier web site to order. You just transfer them to the tile by rubbing on the paper backing. they last for years..easy and pretty..and removeable

I just read this thread and Lynn's comments on colour, then ambled on over to BHG, and found that they have a new feature - colour-a-room! You can actually try different colours together and see what works. I haven't tried it yet, but it could solve some of your worries about which colours work together and which don't.

I have to say though Lynn... some people really can't *see* the colours in the same way. For example, I can easily spot whether a green is more bluey or yellow than another, or whether it's slightly greyish, but I know lots of people who'd just see green. They might know a name for the green even, but they wouldn't be able to see the colours in it and work out from there whether it would go with another colour. Somehow or another our perceptions of colour differ - no matter how hard my mother looks at a colour she can't be sure of it in the same way as I can, and she'll always check with me. This is not to say I'm a naturally artistic person, it just happens to be a gift I have, and I know that not everyone does. I guess paint charts could help too.

uh, the site, in case you aren't familiar with it (whyever not - it's brilliant! Content, not community... I have no idea what the community is like!)...

www.bhg.com

the tool I mentioned is being featured right at the moment, or you might have to go hunting in the tools section for it if the features have changed.

Kerri.

You can find instructions on painting laminate countertop here now. I don't see why this couldn't be used to paint tile as well, though I'd try a spot test if at all possible.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

My wife absolutely hates the color of our white floor tile.
The tile is in the foyer, bathrooms, kitchen and utility room.
Is there a product that can be used to paint over it that works?

Not for such large areas at least. You have to degrease the entire area then dull it--get rid of the sealant on the tile surface so the paint will bond to it, and then make sure it's completely dry. See here. Then you get to paint it. It's recommended by several people on DIY websites that you go to a paint store for the paint, not the home improvement stores.

Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally

I have about 2,000 sq ft of textured tile floors with splotches of brown, beige, and mauve. It's the mauve that I dislike. It would work for me if darker brown hues dominated.

Is there a "splotching" paint method that will tone down the mauve color? It would be great if there were professionals that do this! I love the staining effect that is done on cement floors. Can this method be used on tile floors?
Arlene