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So, what happens when you combine the desires of an artist and a mad engineer into a single bathroom renovation? In this case, a soaker tub surrounded by a literal colour wheel of tiles, each hand painted in one of 34 different colours. That's what! For our basement bathroom renovation, my wife and I decided to go all-out with our colour palette, and the result is gloriously bright, fun, and happy. When the sun comes through the window just right, the bathroom lights up with bright, bold colours that scream, "DRAW A BATH AND PLUNGE INTO THE RAINBOW!"

Our design was inspired by a smattering of bathroom tiling ideas I found throughout the web, though none of those designs had gone to the extent of custom painting 34 different shades onto their tiles. The product that made this possible was the FolkArt Enamels line of ceramic and glass paint, which is scratchproof, waterproof (and dishwasher safe!) once baked.

The main focus of this instructable will be the painting and installation of the tiles themselves, though I will go over the installation of the tub and vanity a little bit as well. I will purposefully gloss over the details of the plumbing since I am not a plumber and don't want to lead anyone astray. I'm sure I did a fine job, but a mistake made while plumbing can lead to an expensive disaster. If you're not comfortable doing plumbing work yourself, then hire a certified plumber.

This is the second of three phases in my Epic Basement Renovation. The first phase cleared out the space and granted me an office/electronics workshop. The third phase will complete my wood shop.
 
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Step 1: Tools and Materials

Simply re-tiling a bathroom can be pretty inexpensive.  The white tiles we used were only 33 cents each from a home improvement store.  The floor tiles were better quality and cost a bit more.  In total, I'd estimate the tiling portion of the bathroom renovation cost about $500-600.

Materials
                                                                                                                                                           
  • Plain white 6x6" or smaller wall tiles, quantity as necessary for the size of the bathroom
  • Floor tiles, as necessary, to complement the wall tiles.  We used 8x8" white floor tiles.
  • FolkArt Enamels paints, in as many colours as you need.  We basically used half the available colours, and mixed them to the right shades.
  • Wall adhesive
  • Wall grout
  • Floor tile mortar
  • Floor tile grout
  • tile spacers (1/8" for wall tiles, 3/16" for floor tiles)

If you're building a bathroom from scratch, you will also need additional materials like lumber, plywood, drywall, drywall mud, concrete board, plumbing fixtures, wall paint, construction adhesives, screws, etc.


Tools
                                                                                                                                                            
  • craft paint brushes
  • an ordinary kitchen oven
  • a wet tile saw (just go ahead and buy one, they go for as little as $50-60 new, which is less than renting)
  • a tile hole cutter and drill press (optional, depending on the fixtures you use)
  • a notched trowel
  • a few putty knives
  • a tile float
  • sponge and bucket
  • a shop vac for (lots) of cleanup

Again, if you're building a bathroom from scratch, you'll also need various construction tools like saws, drills, screwdrivers, levels, plumbing tools, etc.
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bkhun says: Jun 17, 2013. 6:41 PM
Help!!...So I decided to do it. I painted the tiles, baked them, installed them. Now I am grouting and the paint is peeling off!!! The only thing I did differently was I did 3 coats but gave drying time a few hours in between...any ideas??
jeff-o (author) in reply to bkhunJun 17, 2013. 7:25 PM
Don't panic! First off, is it a specific colour that is peeling, or all of them? Do you have any spares that you can test?

Also, how easily does the paint come off? Does it come off with a single swipe of the grouting sponge, or after some scrubbing?
Frederbee says: Mar 26, 2013. 9:49 AM
Wow, this is gorgeous. I'm definitely going to use the tile painting tips when I renovate the mancave-attached bathroom into a video game theme mosaic ^^ Tetris, Mario, Pacman, here we come!
sarakenobi says: Jan 20, 2013. 6:10 PM
how are the colors holding up? This is amazing! but I am curious :)
Asriel Grim says: Dec 29, 2012. 12:08 PM
Can't believe how many things you include in this instructable! Amazing job and a beautiful bathroom. Bravo!
ashleighhhh says: Jun 11, 2012. 3:09 AM
Awesome! I wonder how it would look if you carried on with the colors on the floor tiles.
jeff-o (author) in reply to ashleighhhhJun 11, 2012. 8:22 AM
It would look pretty awesome! And initially we had planned to install coloured tiles (from the same line as the white tiles we ended up using), but decided against it. In the end, the floor space just wasn't large enough to justify it. In a larger bathroom however...
guipozjim says: May 18, 2012. 1:12 AM
Really amazing. One of the very best instructables I have ever seen. Not only for the great job on the bathroom, also for he really complete instructable entry. Full of photos and really well explained step by step. Great job!!
Rich99 says: Feb 24, 2012. 12:13 PM
Jeff-o...
Great (and long and detailed) ible, as usual... but -- i really wish you'd put in some sheet rock screw here and there... especially in those areas where you only glued them. that concrete board is heavy and the liquid nails might start to sag or 'creep'. but a really good (and whimsical and neat) job!
jeff-o (author) in reply to Rich99Mar 27, 2012. 9:43 PM
I did! I just neglected to mention it. :)
JohnsonJ says: Feb 21, 2012. 3:10 AM
Haha Awesome
Rehmatullah says: Nov 17, 2011. 10:49 PM
Please show me tiles sealer in zoom how u put it and how its look like after dry ..
jeff-o (author) in reply to RehmatullahNov 19, 2011. 2:11 PM
The tile paint is applied with a fine bristle brush. Nearly all the colours are glossy when dry, except the royal blue. On that one, we added a layer of clear glossy tile paint so the tile would look the same as the others.
Rehmatullah in reply to jeff-oNov 20, 2011. 8:33 PM
you applied sealer in corner of tiles i want to see it closely plz show me that ..
jeff-o (author) in reply to RehmatullahNov 20, 2011. 9:28 PM
Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that step. Use a good quality bathroom sealant. Run a thin bead along the corner, then smooth it out with a moistened finger. There should be tons of videos on YouTube showing you how.
geckomage says: Nov 18, 2011. 9:20 AM
for all yall wonderin bout painting them you can honestly prolly buy colored ones like that. you'll most likely have to special order them off of the net though ;D second, that looks really awesome dude! haha xD my girlfriend wants a bathroom like that now :P
jeff-o (author) in reply to geckomageNov 19, 2011. 2:13 PM
Trust me, I looked! If you can find a site that sells tiles in 30+ colours for about 40 cents each, let me know!
geckomage in reply to jeff-oNov 20, 2011. 12:35 PM
it'd be a long and grueling search xD but im sure someone somewhere does it. ooorrr maybe if you have acess to a kiln you can glaze your own blank non-shiny tiles :D how is that paint holding up btw?
Senior Waffleman says: Oct 24, 2011. 10:48 PM
This is amazing, well done, how long did this take?
jeff-o (author) in reply to Senior WafflemanNov 16, 2011. 12:26 PM
Actual construction time was a few weeks. But, the whole renovation was dragged out over several months due to various reasons!
Senior Waffleman in reply to jeff-oNov 16, 2011. 3:45 PM
Wow, but im still impressed :P
origane-fashion says: Sep 11, 2011. 2:44 AM
This is a superb idea, thank you for the clues about the paint. We have a project here which we are chickening about; saw some children's pirate tiles in a shop which were £12 each ($25?) and have started to make up the rest of the bathroom in that style, different shades of blue tiles to make up the sea, and next is the sky with a victorian blue and making those paintings of pirates... We found a paint coat that can go over normal paints and then cooked in the conventional oven, but we have both been too scared they bugger up, melt, crack... We have managed to find online some "quiche" tiles which are unglazed, clay tiles, which are lovely to paint on and much better than glazed ones, for 20p each (very cheap).
But to see your achievement gives me a bit of courage! Well done!
jeff-o (author) in reply to origane-fashionNov 16, 2011. 12:29 PM
That sounds great! I wouldn't hurt to do a few sample tiles. Don't paint anything fancy, just use a few colours and experiment with line thickness, paint thickness, glazing, baking, etc. Subject the tiles to hot water, soap, cleaners, etc. See what holds up and what doesn't.
samwhiteUK says: Nov 16, 2011. 11:40 AM
This looks amazing! :)
jeff-o (author) in reply to samwhiteUKNov 16, 2011. 12:27 PM
Thanks!
TSC says: Oct 26, 2011. 12:51 PM
Awsome!!!!
firefly68 says: May 15, 2011. 7:54 PM
This Is really gorgeous. I would love to paint my boring beige tile. You say there is some sort of paint that would work on existing tile?
jeff-o (author) in reply to firefly68May 15, 2011. 9:02 PM
I used FolkArt Enamels paint. It is designed for use on ceramic and glass. Before being exposed to water, it needs to "cure" for three weeks on it's own, or you can bake the painted item in an oven for an hour. We did an experiment and found that an air cured tile wasn't nearly as resistant to damage as a baked tile, so I'd definitely recommend baking if possible.

In your case the tiles are already on the wall. If they can be kept safe from water and damage during the curing time, then you should be ok. But I wouldn't recommend painting the tiles inside a shower stall. One other member recommended spraying the painted tiles with polyurethane - perhaps that would work for you!

I'd try experimenting with the paint to see what kind of results you'd get. Paint a tile and allow it to cure. Paint another and coat it with polyurethane. Then place both in the same location as the other tiles. If they hold up, then go ahead and paint the rest!
firefly68 in reply to jeff-oMay 16, 2011. 3:59 AM
Oh, the two-tile test is a good idea. This shower doesn't get used, but it's downstairs so company uses the bathroom and the whole room is beige. I suppose I'd be better off painting the walls, but I always have trouble choosing a paint color, and I thought it might be easier to paint some tiles in an accent color. I looked into doing it a year or two ago and was told there was no paint that would work. The room does have two windows and a fan so ventilation should be OK. Polyurethane--the same stuff you put on floors and furniture? I will think this over. Thanks very much for your advice, jeff-o!
ac1D in reply to firefly68Sep 10, 2011. 1:19 AM
White knight tile paint! (The brand is "white", but there is all color)
A friend was talking to me about this paint some day ago!
jeff-o (author) in reply to ac1DSep 10, 2011. 5:42 AM
Cool, I found the website. Interesting stuff. It's from an Australian company; I haven't seen it for sale here, though.
bondagebonni in reply to firefly68Jul 4, 2011. 2:15 PM
I heard of a paint that was made to paint shower tiles that were already installed, it was a British product, and it was a Brit eplaning the prodcut on youtube. But from what i remembered the tiles required sanding........ ICK.
jeff-o (author) in reply to bondagebonniJul 6, 2011. 2:35 PM
Yeah, sanding would be awful!
jeff-o (author) in reply to firefly68May 16, 2011. 4:40 AM
Sure thing! :)
mrsthursday says: Aug 8, 2011. 8:30 AM
That's beautiful! What little kid could object to bathtime in a tub like that! Love it.
sora says: Aug 2, 2011. 5:12 PM
reminds me of minecraft
freakyqwerty says: Aug 1, 2011. 6:05 AM
Very nice! But, yellow pipes?
Aquiline says: Jul 24, 2011. 3:06 PM
Really nice. Do you think I could paint individual tiles with a design of more than one color. For instance paint the tile yellow, let dry and paint stripes, checks or dots of another color. Let dry and then bake. Or bake after first color and again after second? I'm totally inspired.
jeff-o (author) in reply to AquilineJul 24, 2011. 8:40 PM
Of course you can! You can use the tiles like a canvas, and paint them any way you like. If the majority of the tiles will remain white, you can add a bit of colour and flourish by painting just a few of them.

Just paint what you like, and once the design is complete you can bake it. Be sure to let the paint air dry for half a day before baking.
KChappers says: Jul 6, 2011. 2:20 PM
If Pantone designed bathrooms..

Very nice.
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