Grout Paint: Your bargain bathroom makeover

The Problem Nothing strikes fear into the heart of this bride-to-be like the bachelor pad bathroom.

Perhaps you didn’t hear me. I said the BACHELOR PAD BATHROOM. (Dun, dun, DUUUNNNN!)

“What’s that?” you ask. Well, imagine a very dark, grimy place that never sees the light of day, let alone a sponge, a pair of rubber gloves, or a single scrubbing bubble. In this dust bowl, germs roam free like bandits in those old western movies. Instead of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, the stars are Clint E-coli and Clogged Drain.

Sorry, boys, there’s a new sheriff in town.

With less than two months before my fiancé and I say ‘I Do’, I was determined to turn his man cave into a place we can both inhabit…peaceably. Here’s the catch: the upcoming wedding is expensive so this bathroom makeover needed to be a bargain.

The Solution Grout paint. At less than $10 a bottle, grout paint is the best bang-for-your-buck when it comes to making over a bathroom.

No matter how much you scrub your bathroom, discolored grout between the floor and shower tiles will make the room feel dingy. Slicking on a coat of grout paint brightens the room, bringing back that crisp, clean ambiance of a brand new bathroom.

Your Bargain Bathroom Makeover
Gather your supplies. You’ll need:

Grout paint from your local hardware store. I recommend one with a sealer mixed in. Grout paint comes in white and off-white so choose the shade that will look best in your bathroom.
Cleaning supplies to clean the grout before you paint. If you want to keep it cheap and earth friendly, use baking soda, lemon juice, and an old toothbrush to scrub grout lines. Remember to rinse well.
Small paint brush to apply the grout paint.
Rags for wiping the surround tile clean.

Step 1: Clean the grout lines with your cleaning supplies. This step is important because the grout paint needs a clean surface to stick to. Any debris will cause paint to chip and peel away. Rinse cleaning agent away with water and let floor dry completely.

Step 2: Following the instructions on your bottle of grout paint, paint grout lines using a small paint brush. Work in small sections and wipe paint off of surrounding tile with a damp cloth as you go.

Step 3: Let paint dry for at least 24 hours.

Before & After Here are the before and after photos of my bathroom makeover. It’s amazing the difference you can make with $10 and a little elbow grease! Do you have any budget bathroom makeover tips to share?

Before

After

 

Alexis Holloway is a former copywriter and e-Commerce Coordinator for MMI.

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