Once in awhile you get those dreamy jobs from a client! Whenever a client calls you and wants you to transform something into what they saw on Fixer Upper it’s a win in my book.
I was first asked if I could paint tile…YES…OF COURSE!!!
Then I was sent a picture from the Spring 2018 Magnolia Home Magazine of a beautiful black and white “swiss cross” tile in conjunction with an “eight star”. On the original tile the black was one tile and the white was another tile. Since I was doing my own version of the tile and there was already 12″ x 12″ tiles in place, I improvised by having a stencil made in a cross pattern at a local sign shop.
I”m kind of a stickler for clean surfaces so the floor was cleaned twice with denatured alcohol, being careful to take a toothbrush and scrub the grout and all around the base to make sure everything was spic and span. I also sanded the tile with a rotary sander equipped with sandpaper used for tile etching. Next I applied STIX primer. This is the best primer for shiny surfaces in my opinion.
Once a good primer was applied, I painted 2 coats of BM White Dove. Then it was time to start the stenciling. Since my stencil was 12″ at its farthest point and my tile was 12″, I just put the stencil down and applied with a sea sponge.
The best way to stencil is with a light touch
Since I was using such a dark color over a light background, I recommend using stencil adhesive so you get good adhesion to prevent bleeding under the stencil.
Custom made stencil I had made at a local sign shop
After this was all done, it still looked to stark and a little too new looking. I then mixed up a batch of dark brown glaze and rubbed over the whole surface and then taking it all back off with a clean rag. The dark brown picked up in the texture of the grout and any divets in the tile and gave it that rustic look I was looking for. Finally 3 coats of a good polyacyrlic for durability and it’s done!
I ended up with an amazingly similar tile to the original inspiration photo. I love how it turned out and my client was very happy!
Finished Painted Tile I think it turned out amazing!