DIY: Complete Bathroom Makeover with the Look of Porcelain Mosaic Tiles for Less Than $250

By Kristen Deere, published Jan 09, 2007
Published Content: 16  Total Views: 34,088  Favorited By: 2 CPs
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You can cover all the walls in your bathroom with what looks like porcelain mosaic tiles, and have enough money left over to make over the rest of your bathroom. All you need to create the look is:

Dimensional wallpaper in 1/2" mosaic tiles in any color (we used an ugly green color)

Primer

Two complimentary colors of satin finish or semi-gloss paint (we used satin finish):

The first color will be your base color, and you will need about a gallon of it, depending on how large your bathroom is. This color will cover all of your bathroom walls. We used the lighter of the two colors as the base coat.

The second color will be mixed with the glaze to the tint you desire, so you will need much less of it. You may only need a quart of this color. We used the darker of the two colors to be mixed with the glaze, so that it would be easier to reach the desired effect.

Glaze. You will need about a quart of this.

At least 25 plastic bags. These can be grocery bags you have saved, or you can get them from a friend who has saved their grocery bags.

We bought all of our supplies (including the supplies for the rest of our makeover) from Lowe's Home Improvement.

Follow these steps to create the look of porcelain mosaic tile:

Hang the dimensional wallpaper the way you would normally apply wallpaper.

Prime the paper and allow to dry.

Paint the walls with the base coat of paint. Allow this coat to dry.

Mix a small amount of your other color of paint into your glaze until it is the color you wish. You will want to do this carefully, as you can always put in more paint, but you can't take it out. Carefully add small amounts and mix entirely before deciding whether to add more.

Brush the mixed glaze over your base coat on one small section of your wall. You will need to repeat this step and the next until all the walls are finished. Do only small enough sections that you can finish quickly so that the glaze does not get too tacky, or you will not be able to create the desired effect.

DIY: Complete Bathroom Makeover with the Look of Porcelain Mosaic Tiles for Less Than $250
DIY: Complete Bathroom Makeover with the Look of Porcelain Mosaic Tiles for Less Than $250

This is the porcelain mosaic tile effect created using dimensional wall paper, paint, and tinted glaze

Credit: Kristen Dyrr

Copyright: Kristen Dyrr

Takeaways
  • Crunch up plastic bags to remove portions of tinted glaze over a base coat for a porcelain look
  • Buy all you need to makeover your entire bathroom for under $250
  • You can use plastic bags saved from the grocery store to create this expensive look of porcelain.
Did You Know?
This faux painting technique has been used for many years, but there are many variations on the theme.
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