Let’s Stencil the Bathroom Floor!

Have you stenciled a floor? While I’ve stenciled walls several times, I haven’t tried stenciling on a floor….that is, until now! I’ve been helping one of my sons update his first home. His color preference for walls, floors, doors, trim is different than the previous owners. So, I’ve been doing a LOT of painting! From ceilings to walls, doors, trim, and cabinets, I think I’ve gone through 15 gallons of paint! Painting is one of the things that I love to do so when he suggested the main bathroom floor be stenciled instead of covered with laminate, I jumped at the chance! How fun would this be?! Well, turns out that it was not quite as much fun as I had expected….read on for how this project went.

Original flooring

Supply List

• Stencil
• Stencil brush and/or 4″ paint roller
• Paintbrush
• Artist paintbrush
• Paint tray
• Liquid Sandpaper
• Primer
• Floor & Porch paint
• Chalk paint
• Water-based polyurethane
• Painter’s tape
• Piece of cardboard
• Kneeling pad

Step 1: Prepping the floor

Step 2: Priming & Base coat

When the floor was clean and deglossed, using a 4″ roller, I applied two coats of Kilz Primer. After allowing each coat of the primer to dry for a couple of hours, I applied the 1st coat of white Floor & Porch paint. From the information I read, this is the best type of paint to use for your base coat. It is formulated to withstand heavy foot traffic and will hold up well over time. I allowed the 1st coat to dry overnight then applied the 2nd coat. I also allowed the 2nd coat to dry overnight before beginning to stencil.

Step 3: Beginning to Stencil

Now that the base coat was dry, it was time to stencil. Deciding where to start your stencil may take you a bit of time. Some people choose to start in the middle of the room and work outward to the edges. I decided to begin stenciling by the tub. My son uses a rug there and I thought that if it looked bad, no one would see it 😉 I also felt like it would give me time to get used to how much paint to use in an area that was not smack dab in the center of the floor. I placed the stencil next to the tub & wall then taped it down with painter’s tape. Next, I rolled a 4″ dense paint roller into black chalk paint then rolled it on a piece of cardboard to remove excess paint. You don’t want too much paint on your roller (or stencil brush if you use one). I lightly rolled over the stencil with the roller then carefully lifted the stencil from the floor. Wow! My first stencil looked good! (This initial excitement would wane as time went by)

Since I only had one stencil, I had to wait for the paint to dry to continue the process. I was working on other projects at the time, or I would have been just standing in the bathroom watching the paint dry. I continued painting along the bathtub until I got close to the wall where I could not fit the full stencil. At that point, I started on row #2, then #3, etc. After stenciling 3 rows, I washed the stencil. The stencil will gather paint as you go which will keep it from laying flat on the floor and that allows more paint to bleed under the stencil. To wash the stencil, I put it in the bathtub and scrubbed it with water using my fingers. When most of the paint had been removed, I dried the plastic stencil with paper towels.

Step 4: Cutting the stencil?

Step 5: Cleaning up lines

When I had finished stenciling all the small areas as well as under the vanity as far as I could reach, it was time to do touch-ups on the stenciled design. Stenciling does not leave nice, clean lines. If you are going for the rustic look, that’s fine but if you want your stencil to look a little more polished, you’ll need to grab an artist brush and get to work. Below are pictures of how I cleaned up a lot of the lines.

I began the clean-up by using the cut pieces of the stencil. I laid the stencil piece over a section that needed crisper lines then used a stencil brush to paint over those areas. As you can see in the first picture, the center dot is very wonky! Before fixing the dots, I painted over them with primer & floor paint. After using the stencil and stencil brush, I switched to an angled artist brush to touch up other lines.

Step 6: Sealing the floor

Finished floor

In the beginning, I was so excited to start this project! During it, though, I was pretty frustrated. Although I was careful with how much paint was on my roller, inevitably there was bleed under. It wasn’t until I was finished with all the touch-ups that I realized that some of the bleed under was due to the grooved pattern of the vinyl. Well, that did make me feel better! I just wish I had realized that little detail sooner.

Even though this was way more work than I had anticipated, it really does look nice and my son loves it! I would do it again with just a few tweaks. See below for tips and what I would do differently next time. I estimate that the cost is around $75 but I have all the products to stencil several more times. The stencil I used is cut up but it came in a package containing 9 stencils.

Before, During, After

Tips & things I would do different

• Use a stencil brush instead of a roller. This takes more time initially but will save a lot of touch-up because there will be less bleed under the stencil
• Before starting the project, gather all the supplies you need
• Have a wet rag on hand to remove any stray paint while it is wet
• Buy more than one of your stencil. You can find stencils in a 4 pack. Next time I would buy those so I have extras to work with to make the stenciling process go faster and an extra one to cut up
• Since I only had one stencil, a blow dryer would have been a good idea so I could help dry the paint faster
• I would have painted the floor black and used white paint for the stencil. With all the white in the room (door, baseboards, fixtures), I was constantly wiping up black paint
• Focus on the big picture and don’t try to clean up every wonky line
• Plan to have the room tied up for a few days. Once the primer and/or the base coat is dry, you can walk on it but while you are doing the stenciling, you should stay off the paint until the top coat process is finished

Instructions

• Clean floor
• Use liquid sandpaper to degrease & degloss surface
• Apply 2 coats of primer with either a brush or roller
  • Allow each coat to dry according to directions on product
• Apply 2 coats of Floor & Porch paint
  • Allow each coat to dry according to directions on product
• Decide where to start stenciling
• Secure your stencil to the floor in a couple of places using painter’s tape
• Using a 4″ roller or stencil brush, dip it into the paint
• Roll the roller or tap the brush on a piece of cardboard or paper plate to remove excess paint
• Gently roll or tap over the stencil being careful not to push paint underneath
• Carefully lift the stencil
• Allow paint to dry
• Move stencil to the next spot, lining up the pattern with the previous painted area
• After stenciling all the places where the full stencil fits, bend or cut the stencil to fit into the smaller areas
• Using a stencil brush & bits of the stencil, touch-up lines that you feel need to look more polished
• Using an artist brush, clean up any remaining lines that need fixed
• Using a roller or paintbrush, apply 3 coats of water-based polyurethane
  • Allow each coat to dry according to directions on product

For your convenience

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to order through these links, it will be at no extra cost to you

Want more project ideas?

Send me all the Goodies!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Leave this field empty if you’re human: