8/29

Faux Cement Tile DIY

D.I.Y. Project, Elsie's Home (PROGRESS), Entryway, Home Decor, Outdoor Spaces, Room Tour, Weekend Project
By Elsie Larson

Faux Cement Tile DIYOne of our big priorities in designing this home was to create a polished home recording studio for Jeremy. In the past he had a lot of make-shift studios that did the job, but here we decided to invest time and money into making it something really special.

That said, studios are ‘SPENSIVE! Like, whoa. So to counteract those big purchases, we’re doing as much DIY decor as we possibly can.

His studio has its own entrance in the back of our home. His clients and collaborators do typically use that entrance and park in the back when entering his space. So we decided to upgrade his entry as much as possible the #DIY way… starting with this faux ceramic tile. It’s actually just paint and Sharpie markers!

I’m really excited to share how YOU can do this DIY tile yourself, but first a fun before and after shot–

Before and afterWhat a change!

We recently had our entire exterior painted white, and it made a HUGE visual impact (I keep saying it’s the best renovation money we spent). The concrete slab is covered by a ceiling, so it doesn’t get too much wear and tear (ice, snow, rain, etc.), even though it’s an outdoor space. We initially planned to tile this small area, but after getting a quote, we decided to try a DIY option and saved THOUSANDS.

Can I get a high five?

OK, so the pattern we chose was heavily inspired by this Mission Stone & Tile pattern. I had a HUGE crush on it, but it wasn’t in our budget to get the real thing. You can see from the link that the tile can be laid in different patterns, unlike how we did it, which was more uniform. I love it both ways!

First, the concrete slab was painted with Valspar Anti Skid Porch & Floor in premixed Dark Grey from Lowe’s. Using a roller, this goes pretty quickly! As you can see, the paint is more bluish than grey. I was disappointed at first, but ended up really liking the color as the project went on.

Tip: Even though the color is premixed, I would suggest still getting it shaken at the paint desk.

Cement tile steps

First, start by tracing a 12″ hexagon on poster board using a ruler. Then with an X-acto knife and a straight edge, cut out the hexagon to make a stencil. The more perfect you can get the hexagon, the better. Aim for clean edges!

Next, start in one corner of the area, lay the hexagon down, and trace around it with an Oil Based Sharpie Paint Pen (we used white). Repeat the process by moving the hexagon stencil over and keep tracing, connecting it to the previous one.

As you can see in the last photo, we used two sizes of paint pens. A typical Sharpie size for the hexagons and the XL size for the lines within each hex. The oil based pens are extremely durable. We had to SCRUB the floors after the painters were done painting the walls and the white lines did not fade or wash off at all. We were unsure at first if a seal would be needed, but it was definitely not needed for our project.

Faux Cement Tile DIY Faux Cement Tile DIY Faux Cement Tile DIY If you look closely, you can see that our pattern isn’t perfect. There are flaws there, even though we touched up the details as much as possible. That said, the overall look of the project is still amazing. So don’t get too stressed about small flaws while executing your design.

I am so so happy with how this came out! For under $50, this painted floor really adds a LOT of personality to Jeremy’s space. It’s definitely not boring anymore!

If you guys try something similar, I would LOVE to see your versions tagged with #ABMathome on Instagram. And if you haven’t seen Laura’s painted patio DIY, you gotta see that as well. XOXO! Elsie

Credits//Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree. 

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