Closet Tile Cover Up

Our tiles in our spare bedrooms were a sight for sore eyes when we first moved in. So I thought of a way to do a quick fix without spending that much.  My cheap fix includes the following supplies from Amazon:

• Contact Paper
• ​Wallpaper Smoothing Tool Kit

I also used:
White caulk I had on hand for the edges
White paint I had from my previous door project for touching up the walls.
A self healing cutting mat 

Here is a picture below of the closets before I covered them!

Closet tiles before covering them with contact paper

Unfortunately there are no other pictures than the before and after ones. But here are some helpful tips for cheaply covering your tiles (I am not a professional!):

• If you plan to paint your closet walls do that first before your floor in case there are any spills or splatter.
• Carefully vacuum and wipe your floors being extra careful not to crack or damage them! I also wore a ventilation mask while I did this because of how old these tiles were.
• Make a template for the doorway corners then lay and trace that onto your contact paper and cut these corners with an exacto knife for the exact angles and measurements. (I cut it multiple times and left some extra contact paper instead of cutting too much off  since you can not go back. I also used a pencil and drew my template on the back peel off side of the contact paper before cutting)
• Measure more than one time and lay the contact paper down with the back still on it to see exactly where you need to adjust your measurements.
• The contact paper I used was not long enough to reach the back wall of my closet so I used two strips overlapping a quarter inch. (The contact paper I chose is absolutely BEAUTIFUL though and this was the only size they had at the time so I was not too upset)
  • I laid the back wall strip of contact paper down first then the front strip so when we slid objects into the closet the paper would not peel up. You can probably seal this with a clear sealant or strip of glue though. I just left the contact paper as is because I knew I would be careful in the future and we want to sell our house in the next few years so this quick fix would work for now.
• Lay your contact paper down exactly how you want it and then peel off the corner slowly and press it down inch by inch after lining it up. I left about an extra quarter inch on the left and right sides in case I misaligned my paper so I could come back and cut the excess off.
• After you are happy with the contact paper placement use your smoothing tool to get any bubbles out.
• Now you are ready to caulk the edges and Voila! YOU HAVE NEW FLOORS!

I just love how these turned out! After this closet I did 2 more closets and they look fantastic.

It has been 2 years since I did these floors and if I could do anything differently I would use a different caulk that does not turn yellow over time and I would seal the floor with something or use a mat for underneath my cats litter box in one of the closets. We use crystal litter and a piece was caught underneath and tore a tiny line when I slid the box on the contact paper. Other than that though these floors are wonderful!

I hope you find this useful!

​Nicole