I decided it was time to do something about the painted 90’s linoleum floors that have been bugging me for a while. We have dreams of doing a full renovation on this bathroom some day, but it’s not the time for that quite yet. So instead I decided to give this floor a quick & simple temporary upgrade using these affordable peel and stick tiles. It doesn’t require any demo, nor fancy tools or skills!

Before

Supplies

• Metal Straight Edge or T-square
• Pencil
• Utility Knife with extra razor blade
• Tape Measure
• Peel and Stick Tiles
• Goo Be Gone
• Chalk Line

Prepping the Floor for this Project

• Before starting, let the tile sit for 48 hours so it can acclimate to the temperature of the space.
• I recommend removing the trim. I will be putting up new trim, but you could also remove and reuse your existing trim if you wanted to. The finished result will look much nicer if the tiles are under the trim rather than just butting up against it. I know it’s an extra step but I think it’s well worth it in the end for a more professional looking result.
• Next, I cleaned the existing floor to be sure it was clear of all debris and dirt. I encourage you to use TSP or Simple Green – something that will really clean and degrease the floor well. It is important to be sure that there are also no raised spots and that the prior floor is smooth. Do not apply tile to loose or uneven flooring.

How to Apply Peel and Stick Floors

• Using my tape measure, I found the center of the floor in both directions. And then placed a tile at that centerpoint. I laid out additional tiles in the row to make sure I wouldn’t be left with any tiny slivers by the wall if started at dead center of the room. Thankfully this wasn’t the case so I was able to start with the center of my first tile right at the center of the room.

• Place the center of the tile in line with the mark denoting the center of the room.  Then trace where the left edge of the tile lands.

• Snap a chalk line where the left edge of the tiles need to go to ensure that the flooring stays in a straight line during installation. 
• Peel the back off and begin applying tiles.
• When trimming the tile to fit against a wall, flip the tile over and place so it is flush against the wall. Use a pencil to mark the part that meets the tile that has already been applied. Use a straight edge and utility knife to score the tile. Then snap the tile along the score line.
• To get those tricky corner pieces or areas going into the closet that required weird shapes, use a leftover piece of paper backing and place it on the ground in those tricky spots. Then trace the outline directly onto the piece of paper backing. Cut the paper following your pencil line, lay it on a tile, mark the outline with a pencil, and then cut out the shape needed. These DIY scissors definitely came in handy!

• There was a metal transition piece between the bathroom and bedroom. I used a metal spackle blade to gently lift the transition piece just a tiny bit so that I could slide the edge of the vinyl tile underneath. Then I used a hammer to gently tap it back down. It only took an extra minute, but made the end result look much nicer.

Affordable Modern Trim

• While walking around Home Depot I found this MDF trim for only a little over a dollar per linear foot. Since our bathroom is not that big, I was able to buy all 13 feet of trim I needed for just $15 total! It was definitely a worthwhile upgrade.

• Since MDF can react differently to different types of paint, I have found a lot of success getting good results painting MDF with Urethane Alkyd Enamel paint by Behr (I use a Satin finish for trim). This type of paint has the performance of an oil-based paint with the ease of soap & water clean up. You can get this paint mixed in any color, and I of course chose my go-to white: Polar Bear by Behr.

Drawback to using these peel and stick tiles:

While I LOVE the simple and affordable upgrade that these tiles offer, I have to be honest that there are a few drawbacks to using them:

• I noticed a few tiles had corners that lifted ever-so-slightly after a few hours.  So I used E6000 to glue them down, put a little weight on top while it dried, and that seems to have solved that problem!

• If you are a perfectionist, I do not recommend using these tiles.  As you can see in the photo below, the points of the white sections don’t line up perfectly every time.  This is not for lack of trying or an installation mistake.  Instead, because of the inexpensive nature of this tile, the tiles are not printed/cut with precision or consistency, so while the pattern gives an overall appearance of looking great, you can see up close where the tiles don’t always line up perfectly every time.

• Lastly as you can see in the photo above, there are a few spots on the tile where the adhesive transfers during installation and causes a little bit of a dark spot. No worries though, it comes off easily with Goo Be Gone! It wasn’t a big deal because it cleaned off easily, but I was definitely caught off guard by how much this happened, and just wanted to give you a heads up.

Finished Product

I am so happy with how this turned out! For just $117.74 (which includes 5 boxes of tiles at $15.53 each, trim that cost $15.21, quarter-round for $4.90 and paint for $19.98), I was able to create a space that feels much cleaner and brighter to tie us over until we gut and renovate the whole room – or until we move – which ever happens first! If you are looking for a simple and affordable upgrade in a small space, I highly recommend these peel and stick tiles! I think they’re great for a bathroom, powder room, entry, laundry room or mudroom.

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