From Crusty Concrete To Crafty Retreat

Ahhhh! So a while back Rust-Oleum reaches out to me asking if I wanted to test out a new floor painting system From Rock Solid Home. In true serial-diyer fashion there was only one answer: YES PLS.

And then I had to patiently wait on my new goodies to arrive to tackle our 3rd bedroom remodel. For those of you who don’t know me personally, our 3rd bedroom is a guest room/craft room/home office hybrid. And it’s notoriously a cluster of totally disorganized chaos.

Recently we had some doggy accidents occur in said room that required us to rip out carpet and get rid of the queen size bed that was filling almost all of the available space in the room. At the time it was a bit frustrating, but looking back, it was the best set of accidents because it led to this fabulously refinished and totally usable space!!

Here’s a quick look at the project through a time lapse video 🖤:

I’ve gotten a few questions about how I redid the floor so I figured I’d make a quick walk through of the steps I took using the Rock Solid Home Floor Paint system to achieve this gorgeous stenciled finish concrete floor!

Here’s a good before shot^

As you can see, when we ripped the carpet out we were left with a pretty hideous concrete slab view. The floor had glue, discoloration, remnants, holes from the tack strips, etc. All in all just not a good look.

With any project - preparation is everything!

First, we patched the holes in the concrete using a ready-mix concrete patch & let it dry.

Next, we used a palm sander & 150 grit sandpaper to sand down all of the rough and uneven spots in the room.

Now I got to cleaning! I swept the floor about 15 times and then mopped all of the concrete dust up with a TSP solution, following the dilution suggestions on the box.

And then I mopped it again. And again. Concrete creates A LOT of dust when it’s sanded and you don’t want all of that crud junking up your paint or causing it not to stick.

Before I painted and in between each coat I used a homemade giant lint roller to pick up pet hair, debris, etc. that wasn’t coming up with a broom. I used my long arm paint roller wrapped with clear drawer liner. The alternative to this is going around the floor with tape and patting the floor.

Here’s the live video from my Facebook that goes over how I made the giant lint roller, what paint/roller/technique I used for the stenciled portion of the project, and shows the stencil I purchased from Cutting Edge Stencils.

Big Ol’ Stencil 😂

After the floor was totally free of debris I took a long armed edger and cut in all the sides of the floor with a white Adhesion or Bonding Primer. The Rock Solid Home floor paint system does not require a primer. But I’m the kind of person who doesn’t half-a$$ anything (lies) and I opted to use a bonding primer anyway. I used a long arm edger to cut in the sides near the baseboards first. Using an edger helps get clean lines & reduce the need to tape off areas of your floor.

Once I had all of the edges cut in I used a high quality shed-free paint roller affixed to a long armed paint roller and painted the remainder of the concrete floor in a nice thin coat of the bonding primer.

Now we move on to color!!

(Excuse the lack of better before photos with the paint cans, I suck and forgot to take them 😩)

I did one coat of the bonding primer and moved on to the Rock Solid Home Floor Paint System. I chose Grey Owl for the base color and Clear Matte for the sealant. The stenciled portion is done in Rust-Oleum’s Chalked Linen White. Basically at this point I’m repeating the same steps as the primer, but this time with the actual colored floor paint. I opted to do two coats of the Grey Owl floor paint using the following steps:

•Wait for the previous paint coat to totally dry (refer to the can for drying and next coat time)

•Sweep & Lint roll the floor between each coat of paint

•Cut in the edges using an edger or paint brush

•Paint a full thin coat using a high quality roller and a long armed roller handle.

Zoom Zoom

Once you have the floor painted with two coats of the base color you can move on to stenciling

Once that stuff is dry, of course!

Okay so now the real fun begins!! I ordered a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. Their stencils are pretty convenient to use because they come preset with your “overlap” lines to help you keep your stenciled tiles straight. This is super crucial with a concrete floor because there are no existing lines to go off of. The downside to this stencil is, because of the overlap, it’s hard to get a nice butted up edge on the ends of your row. I opted to go ahead and cut one side of the stencil off so I could start with a clean edge line on the one side and only have to worry about cutting in the edges on the far end of the floor.

Use chalk paint for the stencil!!

Stencil painting tips!:

•Use chalk paint to help reduce bleeds of paint under the stencil (it’s thicker and dries faster than latex or acrylic paint).

•Apply chalk paint using a small foam roller in thin coats with light pressure.

•Use as little paint as possible. The less paint on your roller the less likely you are to have paint bleeds.

•When applying paint to the roller, roll excess paint off onto a paper towel or similar before painting the stencil.

•Use tape on at least two sides of the stencil to help keep it from slipping during the painting process.

•In between tiles, set the stencil down on a stack of paper towels or cardboard to help wipe off paint that made it way to the bottom side of the stencil. This way, when you set the stencil back down for the next tile you won’t end up with accidental paint smears.

I started by doing small rows

Set stencil down on paper towels and dab off excess paint from the bottom of the stencil as you go.

Use a paper towel to roll off excess paint every time you reapply or as needed to help reduce paint bleeds.

Use the guides on the stencil to help keep your lines straight!

Repeat, repeat, repeat as you paint yourself out of the room. If you have any short edges leave them until the end.

When you get to the point that you’ve done all of the full sizes of tile possible, start working in your smaller stenciled edges. For my ease of use I decided to actually cut the stencil to size for the larger edge tiles.

You can see the trimmed stencil here.

On the smaller edges I simply folded what was left of the stencil and painted it that way.

Now we seal!!

••NOT PICTURED•• I opted to take a small hand sander and rough up some spots to give the floor a more worn in look. This helps conceal any issues you may have with your lines or stenciled paint distribution.

Once you’re finished stenciling the whole room it’s time to apply the sealant. For this project I used the clear matte floor paint sealant that came with the Rock Solid Home system. It says on the can it only takes one coat and is super easy to apply!

Starting back with my edger, I cut in all the edges at the baseboards.

Working quickly to maintain a wet edge and reduce any issue with the sealant, I went straight to work on the entirety of the room. I used the same high quality roller & long arm roller handle I used from the primer and base coat phase.

And it’s done!! The sealer takes a long time to cure, but look at that gorgeousness!!

DIY Stenciled Tile Floor Makeover

I am hell bent on revamping some (okay all) of the 90’s builder grade details in our home. One of my bigger projects is our master bathroom - a dreary, dated, debacle of a master bath just begging to be loved. 

I mean, really, where is the “master” in this bathroom? Trapped in that obnoxious over the toilet cabinet?? I digress. 

So this post isn’t about the total bathroom, that’s coming another day. When it’s done. Pray for me pls.  

Today we are only talking floors! And how I totally revamped our ugly, dated tile using paint and vinyl stencils cut with my silhouette cameo (or a Cricut).

Like your final AIM away message, this floor has G2G and it won’t BRB.

Fair warning - this is not a lazy person’s DIY project. You can maybe get it done in a weekend if you’re dedicated, well prepared, and great at decision making. I am not. It took me a long time. But the results are totalllly worth it.

Look at how crisp those lines are!! 

 Using vinyl stencils helps save you from any paint bleeds that may occur with textured tile & reusable stencils!!

SUPPLIES:

TSP cleaner  

Tape

Foam roller

High quality paint brush

Vinyl for Stencils & Transfer Tape

Adhesion primer 

Base paint color (if not using white) 

Stencil paint color (I recommend a chalk paint) 

Waterbased Polyurethane Sealer in Clear Matte  

Patience

First, we prep.

Sweep and mop your floors. Follow the instructions on the TSP container and scrub your floors and grout well, making sure it is free of all debris. 

Tape off any areas you don’t want painted. Use extra tape, transfer tape, or a lint roller to roll over the entirety of the floor to get up all hairs and small dirt pieces left behind. 

BE READY - you are gonna be cursing every single dog hair on your dog’s entire body by the time this is over. 

why does this tape look like Squidward’s house? 

Prime Time

Using your foam roller, roll on a thin, even layer of adhesion primer. Adhesion primer is meant to, you guessed it, increase paint adhesion. It’s worth the extra $5 to make sure your hard work lasts long term! 

Be sure to start in the far corner of the room and paint yourself •out• of the room.

I did 3 coats of primer to ensure I had a completely primed surface to work off of. 

I tried a few methods (and failed on some tbh), but I found the easiest way to cut in lines at the carpet edge was to use a quality brush and some patience. Tape won’t stick to carpet so really you’re on your own here! 

Base Coat (skip if you’re using the white primer as your base coat) 

For my base coat I opted to use a really light grey. Unfortunately, light grey is a chameleon color and probably the most challenging color I’ve ever dealt with as far as getting just  the right shade.  

After too many failures to admit to (kill me) I ended up custom mixing my own paint color. 

 My custom paint mix is a 2:1 ratio of Sherwin-Williams Mindful Grey and Rust-Oleum Aged Gray Chalk Paint.  

When I ordered the mindful grey shade at Lowes I literally asked for “the cheapest flat paint you have” I didn’t even know this cheap contractor coat was an option. $16 a gallon! I used measuring cups and a reusable container I had on hand to mix the colors & got to painting. 

If you decide to custom mix your paint make sure you have enough for three coats, or save some extra from each batch to mix into the new batch to ensure color matching.  

That light grey paint color is perfection!! Using the same foam roller I ended up doing three coats of the base coat. 

Now on to the fun part - vinyl stenciling.

​Ideally your tiles will be 12” wide or smaller. Mine are 16”x16”. I wanted a seamless grout line so I opted to cut & weed enough vinyl stencils to cover each full size tile on all sides.

Once you’ve found the design you want, create the cut file in your silhouette or cricut design software. 

Make sure your cut file lines up so the design reaches the edge of the tile. A lot of the designs will include a natural border that may change the overall measurement of the cut file.

Figure our how many vinyl stencils you need by counting the number of tiles. Some of your tiles may be incomplete and you can cut the vinyl stencils in half to use one stencil twice.  

I needed A LOT of vinyl so I opted to order this 40ft roll off of Amazon.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C7S3TSM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cesVCbN9M68D0

After you’ve cut and weeded your vinyl stencils you’ll need to use transfer tape. I recommend buying the Clear Magic Cover drawer liner from the Dollar Tree or your local dollar store. Fun fact: you can order a case of it for $16 on the Dollar Tree website! ps - it works great for picking up those dog hairs, too. Which is what we are doing next.

After you pick up dog hairs again we move on to laying our freshly cut vinyl stencils. 

I started in the far corner of the bathroom. Use the transfer tape to line up your vinyl stencil and set it in place. Use your burnishing tool or hand to smooth it out and adhere it to the tile. Remember that these stencils are temporary use so you don’t want to use the absolute best vinyl that won’t want to come up later on!

  If you’re stenciling your bathroom tile, there’s a good chance you’ll have a lot of weird shapes and places to fill in. Use a box cutter or scissors to cut the vinyl stencils to size to fit these weird spots. 

I recommend using the scrap from vinyl stencils you’ve trimmed to size to help reduce waste (and extra work).

Your vinyl stencils can wrap up the sides after their trimmed. This little overlap isn’t necessary, but it seemed to help me make sure I didn’t cut the stencil too small.  

Definitely one of the benefits of vinyl stencils over a traditional reusable stencil is the ability to manipulate the stencil to fit any size space along your tile floor, including the weird curves of your toilet. 

Another major benefit is getting to see what the pattern looks like in the room. 

Make sure you don’t have gaps between your stencils & if you do, cover them with extra vinyl or make a mental note of where *not* to paint.  

Now we paint! Again.

 I decided to use Dixie Belle Dropcloth for the design. I knew I wanted to use a chalk paint for a few reasons - mainly because chalk paint is far less likely to bleed under the vinyl stencil than any other type of paint. Trust me on this. Secondly, because it dries really fast and I wanted to do two quick coats and get to weeding that vinyl again. 

Using a foam roller, apply a small amount of paint and roll any paint gunk off on a paper plate or paper towel. 

Starting back in the corner, roll on a thin layer of chalk paint over the vinyl stencils. The thinner the layer the less likely the paint will bleed and the faster each layer will dry. 

Every 4 tiles or so I went back and did a second coat over the last 4 tiles. I did a total of 2 coats of the chalk paint over the stencils. you can see the first vs second coats above. 

Once you’ve double coat painted yourself out of the room you’ll be looking at this kinda mess. But the VOILA moment is coming, so hang tight. 

Now we peel that sh!t up!  

Here’s a time lapse video of this process. I used a circut weeding tool and spatula. And some patience. Oh. The patience. 

But wasn’t that just sooo satisfying?! 

In the video I’m peeling away all of the vinyl stencils I meticulously laid down. I’m not going to lie, this part took me a couple hours. But the finished product is nearly perfect lines that look like REAL tile and not a botched paint job. 

Seal it!

Using a high quality brush, apply even, thin layers of polyurethane. I did three full coats since this is, after all, a bathroom and will see a bit of water over time! Do not use a roller or you will get bubbles. 

While sealing you’ll have a final chance to get up any missed vinyl and again... those dog hairs. Leave no hairs behind!!  

Once you’ve sealed the floor, take a minute to really appreciate all of that hard work! I mean. Really! Can you even believe that transformation?? 

I am obsessed with the outcome!!  

Be sure to pin this project for easy access in the future. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook @seabeemarket to keep up with all of my DIY projects, tips, and tricks!