Remember a couple weeks ago, when I told you guys I’m (very fearfully) jumping into a blogging series with some of my favorite bloggers in which for some crazy reason we’re all going to try new things? And remember how I said I was going to try to redo my laundry room on a tiny budget (of $100)? And how I told you that I’m terrified of trying to get everything done by these bi-weekly deadlines?
No? Me neither. Let’s pretend like that never happened.
Hey look over here! A distraction majestic unicorn scene!
LA LA LA! Everything is fine!
My goal today is to distract you from my giant inability to bring you an awesome before-and-after post today. Because all we’ve done in the last two weeks is explore options for a few different things to try in that room, and make a few decisions.
OH WAIT! We painted the ceiling! Before, it looked like sheetrock.
Now, it is WHITE!
MIND-BENDING.
Don’t even act like you don’t want to pin that junk.
So today we’re going to talk about the options we considered for redoing the floor in the laundry room, which is a sheet of vinyl which never appears to be clean no matter how much it’s scrubbed.
First, our goal: to redo this entire room for about $100. We want to try to do the floor for just $50, which is about a buck a square foot. So here are…
1. Cover in peel-and-stick vinyl tiles
Before you turn up your nose at this option, allow me to present this room:
That’s the amazing mudroom by Carrie at Hazardous Design. She’s brilliant, and that floor is gorgeous. And it’s peel and stick tile! This stuff from amazon, less than a dollar a square foot. It’s inexpensive. Easy. Totally beautiful.
2. Cover them in plywood
How cool is this?!
Plywood comes in 4×8 sheets for about $40, so that’s a little more than a buck a square foot. And you can paint it, because really:
Or cut them to look like planks and then stain them like this blogger did:
3. Cover it in prettier vinyl sheet flooring
My in-laws just installed a vinyl sheet floor in their kitchen which looks crazy-real and not at all cheap and crappy. I was seriously surprised. Home Depot carries it for about $1.25 per square foot, and for a high-traffic space that needs to be very durable, this might be a great option:
4. Ceramic or Porcelain Tile
I just saw ceramic tile at Home Depot yesterday for .77 per square foot. By the time you add in all the extra stuff you need (backerboard, grout, mortar), you can probably still stay under $1/ft. This job is definitely DIY-able!
5. Paint it!
Yes, really!
UPDATE: We did it! Check out the finished (painted!) floor here.
I’ll leave you with this touching, emotional scene of two unicorns in love. Or maybe it’s a teenage unicorn meeting its biological parent for the first time. Or maybe it’s one unicorn staring wistfully in a mirror, wondering why its horn-straightening surgery went tragically awry.
What would you do? Any other tips and ideas for updating vinyl sheet floors?
Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
i would go with the ceramic tile. since it is a laundry room there is a chance of water getting all over that floor should the washer back up or something…. i think ceramic tile could handle that better than plywood, which could warp, or painted vinyl, which could peel.
and dude, i pinned that unicorn. freaking magical.
“Don’t even act like you don’t want to pin that junk.” HA!!! And I love me a wistful unicorn. I can’t look away. Oh, and about the floors, I think tile would be the best option. 😉
I see what you did there with the unicorns. As if. And I have had a washer incident. You need something that you can mop easily. No lie.
This post is all unicorns and unicorns. Can you get any better? You can!! You can do a themed laundry room….unicorns for the win!!!
Totally pinned your ceiling. Mind blown.
I can’t wait to see it!
I love Carrie’s peel-and-stick floor. I’m definitely interested in the painted floor. I wonder how bad it will scratch?
You are one brave woman…painting your vinyl. Love it! We have vinyl in our kitchen, which I used to not hate. Now that we are just about done our kitchen remodel and have shiny white cabinets and fresh new paint on the walls, I HATE the vinyl. It just looks dirty and old. Replacing the flooring was not in my grand master plan. I totally hope the painting works for you…then maybe I can borrow the idea 🙂
I am all for inexpensive floor solutions. No floor snob here. I think painted plywood is really cool and properly sealed it could hold up nicely to any water. And then you could paint a unicorn on it. 😉
Except I just remembered that when my parents washing machine leaked and flooded the downstairs they had to refinish all of the hardwood floors. Soooo maybe tile or something non-wood would be better.
Your majestic unicorns are magical. I need to write my post this morning too! eeep! Perhaps I can distract readers with pictures of puppies? Your unicorns were very effective!
I love puppies!
I love the idea of plywood… my concern is that it never seems perfect flat… I guess you’d just nail and glue strategically? I would wonder if it’d line up just right due to that… so let me know! 🙂
ooooh…I can’t wait to see how it looks!
Haha! Oh, you are FUNNY! Pin it? Unicorns? Love it! I think if the vinyl has held up so far, painting it is a good idea! I also agree with the others that tile is probably the most long term/durable solution. BUT which picture did I like best? That checkerboard peel and stick vinyl! :):) Yep, glad I’m not the one making this decision! lol I’m sure whatever you decide to do will look great! 🙂 Good luck! 🙂
You crack me up!
Personally, I think you should blow up that majestic unicorn scene to the size of the floor and Modge Podge it on. Cheap and you would save money by not having to purchase a colorful accent rug. Just sayin’…
I personally love ceramic/porcelain tiles for a wet area. Our Habitat ReStore always has a huge supply of new tiles and the grouting, etc., at fantastic prices. Check them out for an even better price. Good luck
Bahaha!! I felt terrible about my post today too – but we are trying, right?? Right. But you still win because mine didn’t have even one unicorn.
HAHAHA! Hilarious! I’m dying to see what you do!
I love the ceiling!! 🙂 To me…that is the worst thing to paint! Tires your arms out so fast!! I’d go for tile or something you could easily mop or wont ruin if water was to go everywhere (with a washer disaster). We just ripped up our Vinyl and tiled! http://deuelfamily.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/girls-can-grout-tile-too/
The dark color REALLY hides my dirt too!
Check out Benjamin Moore’s 2 part epoxy system for floors. It looks great and will NEVER come off. Looking forward to seeing your beautilicious room when it’s finished!
The most disturbing thing about this post is all of the unicorns. lol
We’ve used peel and stick tile before and it is awesome. We’ve also painted a vinyl floor. Happy painting. 🙂
Pinned! Who doesn’t love a nice crisp white ceiling? 😉
Can’t wait to see what you do for the floors! My husband would never let me paint the floors, so I’ll live vicariously through you!
I’m dying to paint my bathroom floor, so I can’t wait to see how this turns out for you. I’ve been advised against it, but I think that was more about the fact that I want to paint it black and not so much about the painting per se. I’m guessing that painting is a fairly cheap and easy(ish) solution, so you won’t have much to lose if a water issue arises later. And you won’t have much to regret if you change your mind later (when you aren’t rushed to meet deadlines) since a painted floor wouldn’t eliminate any of the other four options. Go for it — paint that floor! (And I say this only slightly for selfish reasons.)
I painted my Vinly floor, an I can not tell you how many just Love it I used an Exterior paint, lite beige an than let it dry an used a Sandstone,( darker), beige sponge pained over it! Not only were all my friends asking where I got my floor, but loved it an could not believe just how beautiful it looked. From the painter of Vinly Floors an loving it!
I’m distracted! I don’t know what just happened, but I felt the urge to pin the ceiling 😉 All of those floor options look great and painting sounds awesome too! I can’t wait, I’ll stare at the unicorns until next time 🙂
Whatever you decide about the floor will be amazeballs. My only request is that you go to Staples, get that picture of the unicorns blown up, and put it on the wall in your laundry room. Talk about a statement piece 🙂
I don’t know what’s better….the unicorns, or your line, “Don’t even act like you don’t want to pin that junk!” — You are slaying me, girl!!
I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
xo-Lisa
Oh, I can’t wait to see if this works! I hope!
I have ugly vinyl in my laundry too, and you know what I did when we ripped a section of it when sliding the fridge around this weekend?
Put a rug on it. 😀
I need a BIGGER rug, now to cover all the ugly vinyl, but for now I’m just living with it. 🙂
Whoa, paint it? I’m too much of a scaredy cat to do that. All I can envision is: remember when your plastic dolls would rub against painted walls and then be covered in streaks of paint? That.
Plus, I like tile. I’d tile it.
Not that I have room to speak… my laundry room still has very stylish 1960’s vinyl. SOMEDAY, it will become magically tiled when I’m not looking. Maybe one of your unicorns can come do that for me.
I’ve had my painted Vinly done for over 3 weeks to month! They look like they did the day I pained them. I have 6 Grandchildren, that was my test. They have gelded up w kids slashing water all over them. They still look fantastic. I’d do it again any day. An had fun doing it.
I’m just laughing at your unicorns! And how much thought you gave to that unicorn picture …
LOL!
I’m intrigued with the paint the vinyl idea … this could be your break out blogging idea!
🙂
Linda
Google paint for Vinly. They sure sale it an works great. Check it out. Use for outdoor porches an floors so I’m sure it will hold up for a bathroom an so it has
you are seriously hilarious. every time i read your posts, i end up laughing the entire time. i think its progress for sure! a pretty white ceiling, YAY!!! can’t wait to see what you do with the floor 🙂
Awww you are too sweet for saying nice things about my mudroom. And too friggin funny for saying things about unicorns. Anyway…I’ve actually seen a painted floor in person (painted a black and white checkerboard pattern no less), and I was impressed. Definitely try it!
I’d agree w you. Pained floors look beautiful. I know People have to see it BF they can believe. But it’s so true. It works an their is even paint made for it. Try it. If you can paint you can have a beautiful floor
Shut up, paint the floor?!?! Like with that two step process you buy for garage floors? Seriously, paint the linoleum? Never heard of such a crazy thing, what a trend setter.
~Bliss~
kelli, cute post. Yah I have a better chance running into your unicorn then having any changes in my space this week too!
Excited to see how this plays out..love the vinyl tile idea and Carrie’s floor looks immaculate. I am sure whatever you do will be perfect for your home.
Man, vinyl flooring has really stepped up its game. I’d be interested in seeing you paint the floor… with a unicorn mural. Haven’t seen that one done in blogland yet. You’ll be a unicorn trailblazer! Do iiiit.
I love all these ideas especially Carrie’s. Can’t wait to see what you do. Will we be seeing unicorns? 🙂
I vote ceramic tile, but I’m dying to see how the painting works out! Options are a wonderful thing to have, even if there are unicorns dancing around them. 🙂
xo heidi
Paint it, paint it, paint it… (Now I can’t get that chant out of my head)
Then when/if it fails, go with peel n stick. We’ve used it before and it totally rocks (not in this house, but in my previous life:)
For some reason I now have an incredibly strong desire to play My Little Ponies, good thing I have an almost-5-year-old who *might* share with me.
Jessica
That last unicorn photo was so touching that I completely forgot all the comments I wanted to make about your post. Something about ceilings and floors. You are so awesome, Kelly, that I bet pinterest is lighting up with your project this week! Can’t wait for the next installment.
Ok so your majestic unicorn scenes totally made my night! Hilarious! You should play Robot Unicorn online, so, so funny! Can’t wait to see the end result!
-Molly
You crack me up. Being amused is definitely part of why I read certain people’s blogs… not everyone can churn out a project to present every week, but not everyone can be hilarious and interesting even when they don’t. And that is beside the point, because I thought this post had a lot of excellent content! I like reading about options and pros and cons.
I just redid my youngest daughter’s bathroom using vinyl plank tiles. it came out amazing and was so easy to do. I used a long( 24 inch) quilt ruler and rotary cutter to score the planks…then snap. My hubby laughed when he came home and saw me using these tools but it was what I was very familiar using and it worked. Check it out on Pinterest( Querky Quilter)
I like tile the best too although the rest are good solutions too. We did tile too but had to add plywood to the floor first cause the floor can’t flex at all or the tiles either break or loosen. Also you have to be careful with tiles cause some of the cheaper one’s are sometimes not recommended for floors. (Meant for wall use only) And then because the floor was higher (tile and plywood) had to cut a bit off the bottom of the door so it would close and then do equalizer to join to the height of the floor it butted up against.
I am slowly stripping all of the old flooring out of my home and staining the concrete slab. I love it. It’s durable and lovely. It IS slicker than anything else when your feet are wet though. Have to be a little careful on it! 😀
You are seriously a genius. The floors in my house are the most hideous part. I run a few home-based businesses and can’t even have parties at my home because I am so ashamed. Besides that, we are parents of 3 who are beyond broke. I’m serving at a local restaurant to make up the difference, but still, 3 kids ages 10 – 14!!! Anyway, this post may have saved my fixer-upper sanity. THANK YOU!!!
I’m curious how your painted floors have held up. I have been tempted to do the same thing but yours is the first site that I have found that actually tried it.
I have used a product called”Flex Rock” . It is a three step product, unless you want colour variation. It reminded me of a plaster Paris consistency. When finished, it looks like stone tile…any tile you want. I did my back doors entry in a slate tile look over 7 years ago and it still tricks people. It is a lengthy project( took 2 full days) but well worth it. People think I have heated floors because it’s not cold like tile. It even has grout lines that are textured and 3d. Then I did a flag stone pattern on my sidewalks outside 2years ago. Living in Canada, we use snow shovels on our walkways 4 months out of a year, so no kid glove treatment! It still looks fabulous! I would feel confident aging this is an extremely hardy product I had purchased a large amount so I did all the old laminate countertops in the bathrooms and kitchen. They went from late 80’s forest green and purple, to granite in a couple of days. I used a 2part, kitchen safe epoxy for that polished stone look….so many compliments. I am proud. *just follow the directions and get creative!
I enjoy your blog. You’re super funny!! I’ve been a professional painter for 20 years. I’ve done everything from faux finishing to painting barn red. I have not painted linoleum. My instinct would to steer away from it, due to the inevitable scratching. I looks great tho. How’s it holding up?
How did the Amazon tiles hold up? I’m getting ready to do the exact same floor in my kitchen. Thanks.