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There wasn't anything necessarily wrong. When we moved in, there were these odd little tiles on the wall in Madden's bathroom. At first, we assumed it was some type of decoration. One day, probably a month after we moved in, I got curious and decided to mess with one. I realized it was light weight and had adhesive on the back. To my horror, it was covering a small hole in the wall. There was a trail of these little tiles leading from the tub to the toilet paper holder, probably 5 all together. There were just 1/2'' sized holes in the wall! This made my blood BOIL. The tiles were to cover the holes in hopes they wouldn't be noticed by an inspector (insert major eye roll emoji here). Clearly this bathroom needed a small makeover. We decided to go with paint.
We patched up the holes in the wall, and got a nice neutral grey color. The vanity and mirror are a dark espresso color, and we knew the grey would look nice. My husband painted the entire bathroom in a short amount of time and it looked good as new! At least the holes were gone, right? We even had enough paint left over to paint our master bathroom the same color. We did hit a small hiccup, when the counter of the vanity in the master bathroom shifted (because of COURSE it wasn't secured AT ALL) and it snapped. We went to Lowe's to replace it, and the vanity's in the same size were out of stock. We got a vanity that was slightly bigger, only to learn that the backsplash was grouted to the wall. No big deal, we start taking off the backsplash and learn THE BACKSPLASH WAS COVERING HOLES IN THE WALL. I thought this minor painting makeover would never end. Pandora's box had opened and I wasn't prepared for what was coming out.
We were able to patch the holes, fix the backsplash (not to the standard I want, but enough to get us by) and the entire project was finished. Flash forward to this year (December 2020), and the same "I need a change" feeling hits me. When I was scrubbing the bathroom floor, I was looking at the grout in the very closely. It seemed weird. The texture was odd, the tiles are uneven, and there seemed to be some errors. I turned my Handy Mandy hat on and determined the grout needed to be painted. The darker color grout was making the room seem more enclosed. There is no natural lighting, so that doesn't help. If I lightened the grout, the room will seem brighter and I would get that new makeover feel I was craving.
At this point in time, I had already begun painting the grout everywhere else in my house that had tile (living room, dining area and kitchen). Our floor has a semi-open concept, so the floor in those three rooms is all the same and connects. In the process of completing this floor, I figured it wouldn't take much paint to cover the grout in the bathrooms. Our bathrooms are not the largest, and I figured I could do both bathrooms with one pen.
Here is a picture of Madden's bathroom. You can see the grey paint on the walls, and our lovely bathroom Christmas decor. This is the old grout color.
Again, nothing screams ugly to me. I was just looking for an extra sparkle. This is the grout up close.
Let's analyze this together. The color isn't terrible, but the texture is very course. The tiles are uneven, so therefore, the grout is also uneven. You can see the grout is spilling onto the tile. These lines aren't dirty either; I sat with bleach one day to determine is this REALLY the color, or is it just filthy? It was definitely time to cover it up.
Makeover Time!
In order to do a decent job, I busted out my favorite grout pen.
These pens are sold on Amazon for $8.99. I used the small (5mm) pen in the color cream. You can get a larger pen, 15 mm, for $11.99 if you have wider grout. Not only are these pens such an affordable price, the performance is off the chart. When I tried these for the first time, my mind was actually blown. I can't tell you how many videos and pictures I have sent my family and friends to show them the difference. Everyone knows I have a thing with dirty grout, and have tried every solution over the years. Grout Pens was my saving grace. My floors are bright and have that sparkly, clean look, even with 3 dogs and a mud-pit backyard.
With my paint pen in hand, I got to work. I started in the top right corner, where the wall meets the tub. I learned very quickly that this grout was absolutely course and porous...worse than the kitchen grout. The tip of the pen was the perfect size for these lines. I kept a microfiber cloth handy to wipe up any errors due to discrepancy in tile height. The color was already creating that brightness I was seeking. However, with how fast the color was absorbing into the porous grout, I knew I was going to have to do a second layer.
Here is a picture from my initial layer. Notice the original color is still poking through. What great coverage for such a dark original color and awful grout texture! The second picture shows the best comparison.
At this point, the different was life changing for me. I proceeded to do the whole floor, then I took a break for about 30 minutes. I wanted the paint to settle and dry fully before moving into a second layer. My fear was that it would do the same thing not-fully-dry nail polish does when you paint too many layers and inevitably chip your nail polish and have to deal with the smudge. After the second layer the color really began to pop. The bathroom was a completely different environment at this point! Who would think something like grout could transform an entire room?
Final Result
This is the final result! Words can't describe how amazed I am that I was able completely change the look of my bathroom for such a cheap price. You would never guess our grout has paint on it! Using the grout pen has also covered up those minor mistakes in the uneven tiles and layers of the grout. To put the icing on the cake, I got out my caulk gun and did a new layer around the tub, baseboards and the toilet. This final touch tied everything in together. The snowman shower curtain helped as well!
Master Bathroom
After doing Madden's bathroom, I couldn't stop myself from doing our bathroom. The bathrooms are nearly the same size, and have the same flooring and grout.
Here is a before and after:
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| Before |
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| After |
Final Cost: $8.99
To transform both of my bathrooms, I only used 1 grout pen. There was enough extra paint in the pen that I was able to complete more of my dining room / living room area!
If you are looking for a simple, budget friendly way to transform your tile, grout pens is your best bet. I have lived in my house for almost 4 years, and we have had many ups and downs with our budget. There have been so many projects I would love to do in the house, but we were always unable to find the money, or we had a greater need. Redoing the floors has always been on our radar, but the cost is so high. By painting the grout we gave ourselves the transformation we wanted without cost and labor.
To reduce the cost even more, use the code 20GROUTPENS at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase!
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Add your email to follow on the left hand side! I would love to know stories you have of updating your bathrooms, or any needs you have that I can help with. Please comment with before and after pictures of your grout!
Amanda
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