New Paint and Tile in Greta's Bathroom!

This post is sponsored by Lowe's

We've been moving right along in Greta's bathroom makeover and today we wanted to share the new floors and paint--it looks like an all new space!

Greta’s bathroom had hardwood floors to begin with, which were nice, but the wood did not extend under the vanity and was maybe not the best choice for a kid’s bathroom. We wanted something super durable and carefree!

We found a really pretty argyle pattern by Mohawk ForeverStyle from Lowe’s. It has Wearguard, a special glaze that makes them 3x more durable which is incredible because bathrooms can be high-traffic, and they have to stand up to the “elements.” The Wearguard keeps them looking fresh for years!

The muted color palette is playful-yet-sophisticated, and Greta approved. Also, Mohawk ForeverStyle’s line of tiles really opens up the opportunity to mix and match: You could easily pair the patterned tiles with the authentic-looking wood and stone designs.

We made a quick video documenting our process!

Here’s how we did it: 

1.     First, pull up your existing floor and baseboard. We pulled up the hardwood floors and saved them to patch in downstairs where all the demo is happening right now. We had to extract some pretty sturdy nails, but the room is small. so it didn’t take long. If you’re new to flooring, starting with a bathroom is a great idea: You can get some good practice without undertaking an overwhelming square footage.
2.     Next, lay Hardie backer. Screw it in using Cement board screws or 1 1/2-inch decking screws. Apply screws in a grid, about every 8 to 10 inches.
3.     Calculate how many square feet of tile that you need by multiplying the width of the room by the length. You’ll order tile by the square foot, so if your room is 10’ x 10’, you need 100 square feet of tile. A box of tile usually has the square footage right on it. If the box of tile comes in 10 square feet, you’ll need 10 boxes. It’s always a good idea to overshoot how much tile you need by 10 or 15% to account for bonus areas or mistakes.
4.     Plan the layout of your tile. We like to center our first square (or first four squares in this case!) in the doorway, so that when you’re walking into the room, you get the best view first.
5.     As you get to the edges, you’ll need to cut tile. This is easier than it sounds. Measure twice, and then cut once on a wet tabletop tile saw. If your tile doesn’t have a pattern, you can cut as you go, one row at a time.
6.     Starting at the furthest corner, and using a notched trowel, spread an even layer of mortar in a workable area (an area you can lay tile on before the mortar starts to dry. You’ll have about 10 minutes.). Use tile spacers between each tile — 1/8-inch spacers are really common.
   
7.     Work your way toward the door, making sure not to lay too much mortar, and spacing each tile. Once tile is laid, you can’t put weight on it for a minimum of eight hours, preferably 15. (You can’t kneel on it or walk on it in this time period. This is why you were working toward the door!)
8.     After the tile has set (probably overnight!), you may need a utility knife to break up mortar that came up between the tiles. Next, grout! We chose a warm gray grout because it had a similar tone to the tile. Grout, again, in workable areas. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
9.     Then, using a tile sponge and a bucket of clean water, wipe off the excess grout. Make sure the sponge is rung out pretty well so that you don’t have dripping down the tile. Buff the tile using a water-vinegar mixture (four parts water to one part distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle). Alternate cleaning the grout haze off with a sponge, spraying the vinegar mix on, and buffing with the clean dry rag. As the rag gets dirty, replace it.

The entire process of removing the floors, laying the backer board and the tile took only a few hours. This is an easy afternoon or weekend project. It was so quick and easy — we had time to paint!

Before we painted, we reattached our baseboard and caulked it, closing the gap between the bead board and the wall.

         Next, we painted the walls and ceiling the beautiful Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams in eggshell that we used throughout the house. For the bottom half, we went with Revere Pewter in satin, both color matched to our favorite one-coat paint, Sherwin Williams HGTV Home Infinity line. It’s pretty common to see white wainscoting with a color application on top, so we wanted to switch it up for this room to make it look even more fresh.

        We’re excited to finish off the bathroom with a few necessities and accessories--a fresh mirror and light, toilet paper holder and towel rack. Greta loves the new floors so much, she squealed when she saw them. She’s feeling pretty special having her very own bathroom and we can’t wait to finish it strong with a few sweet accessories.