Cheap bathroom update!!
So I have been looking at my bathroom for about a year now thinking it was so plain. So one day I decided to go to my creative space and make a plan. I decided to use some "fingers" I got from a friend who was doing a kitchen update, and had left overs. They were very simple white tiles. One thing I will say, always make a plan. Making a solid plan will help avoid unnecessary costs as well as frustration. My total project costs; 4 x 7/16x11/16 quarter round -- 14.40$ 1 x 750 ml tile mastic -- 8.95 12x white "finger" tiles -- FREE! 1 x pkg of 100 finishing nails -- FREE (leftover from previous project) 1 x can of ash wood stain (leftover from renovations) 1 x bag of MAPEI grout in Navajo brown (left over from renovations) Steps; 1. Got all my materials together. Tiles, mastic, carpenters pencil, tape measure, putty knife, 1/4 round, stain, square(not needed just an old house so wanted to make sure everything matched up.)and determination! 2. Measured lengths I would require for my 1/4 round TIP; I didn't do it and not 100% happy with the outcome, cut your ends into 45 degree angles as to have them all fit snug and butt up against one another. 3. Once measured I cut my 1/4 round to the appropriate lengths. And stained them, put on then wiped off most stain right of way as I didn't want it to be to dark, I still wanted to see the grain and character of the wood. 4. Started by marking my height of the bottom of my fingers. 5. I then took my pre cut/ stained pieces and carefully nailed them to the wall along my previously made height lines. 6. At this point I cut my tiles into 6" sections (they were originally 1x1 tiles) 7. Once that was done and I had some free time I started on the mastic and tiling part of my journey. I applied the mastic to the wall and stuck on the tiles. I left some holes at the corners to fill in later with half tiles, just needed to figure out how I was going to cut them. 8. With all my tiles on the wall I then added the top layer of my 1/4 round (pre stained) to the assembly. At this point it really started to look like a new bathroom!! 9. I let everything sit and cure for a good 24 hours before continuing. 10. It was at this point I started to mix my grout and get ready to add the final touches to my project. I slathered on the grout being careful to push it into the cracks really well because as I learned in a previous project the more water you add to your grout, the longer it takes to cure and the more it shrinks...causing you to have to do multiple coats...and some frustration with the finished look. Let it stand for about half an hour then carefully wipe in circle motions with a damp sponge. So there is no more chunks of grout on your tiles but a thin film is still present. After about an hour I came back and wiped again, this time ensuring I removed all the excess grout around the tiles without pulling it out from within the cracks. Your tiles should look pretty clean at this point. Without an over exhausting clean up I think they turned out pretty well:) Once I figure this out I will post pictures with corresponding numbers for this tutorial:)