Tile stickers - good idea or a bit crap?

[veneeroftheweek]

I've got some white kitchen tiles interspersed with horrible beige ones. I've seen some Spanish looking tile stickers on etsy that could be a good way to cover them until we get the kitchen redone (not for a couple of years at least). They are apparently waterproof but I wonder if they'll just look a bit shit. Has anyone tried them and do they last?

[JT05]

I'd wonder if they'd last in a kitchen environment. When we couldn't afford immediate replacements, I painted with tile paint.
You could just do the patterned ones.

As long as you prepare the surface well and paint carefully with a small roller, it works well. Then you could hand paint a unique design on top from ideas on the web.

[veneeroftheweek]

Yes I wondered that. Although it does say that they're suitable for kitchens and bathrooms. I painted some tiles in my old flat and they looked awful but maybe I didn't do a very good job.

[mumsnit]

Bought some cheap ones from Amazon and they were fine. Lasted a couple of years (even the ones over the hob) until we got our kitchen done. They are a good quick fix for tiling horrors - we had awful 80s fruit and veg scenes tiled randomly around the kitchen !!

[veneeroftheweek]

That's good to know mumsnit, I was wondering about the hob area. I know exactly what you mean by those fruit and veg ones! I wonder when they'll come back into fashion... I think our beige monstrosities are pretty tame in comparison.

[Mondy]

We used some tile stickers in the bathroom and in the kitchen. They stayed in place for a couple of years until we redid the bathroom and kitchen. We had to replace a couple in the bathroom where the high pressure spray from the shower hit them, but we made sure we kept a couple of spares just in case. Just make sure you give them a day or two to stick before you bombard them with heat or water. It's also worthwhile repainting the grout lines with a grout pen before you stick on the stickers, new shiny stickers will really make any marks or discolouration on the grouting stand out.

We've also used tile paint but found that you could always tell it had been painted, whereas the stickers had a uniform finish. If you do paint the tiles, make sure that you redraw the grouting with a grouting pen, as the biggest giveaway that tiles are painted is that the grouting is painted the same colour as the tiles.

[Mondy]

"...as the biggest giveaway that tiles are painted is WHEN the grouting is painted the same colour as the tiles."

Note to self - must proofread better.

[Mondy]

"As long as you prepare the surface well and paint carefully with a small roller"

That could be where we went wrong when painting the tiles - we used brushes (good ones, but you could still see brush marks).

[JT05]

I think the secret with tile painting, apart from using a small roller and good preparation, is giving yourself enough time to do the job. Don't be hurried.

Treat each tile as a separate paint job, rather than generally roller the lot together. The grout pen is a good idea as well.

[ThePerfect1IThinkNot]

We have tile stickers from eBay and are really pleased with them. They have transformed our beige tiles.

[veneeroftheweek]

I think I'll give it a whirl. They're not massively expensive so I think it's worth a go. If it all fails I'll paint them. Very good tip about the grout. Will definitely do that. It's all looking a bit grotty and needs a spruce up anyway.

[farwakhan01]

Tile decals are great! You can use them on any surface such as tiles or porcelain. I have them in my kitchen as backsplash and they work so well. Easy to replace as well tilen.space/what-are-tile-decals-vinyl-tile-stickers/

[78bristolhome]

I have used tile stickers to cover awful yellow tiles in my bathroom and so far they have lasted well, been on a year now.