What to do with kitchen tiles, re-paint or tile transfer?

wenger08

Hi, need some help/advice please.

I have just bought a new home and the kitchen is causing a bit of an issue. It is a new/fitted kitchen but they have red walls and red/yellow/green tiles!

I cant afford to re-tile at this stage so im unsure of what to do with my tiles, do i re-paint or go for tile transfers?!

I've never painted tiles so im unsure how this would look, does it come out looking professional or can you tell they have been painted and see older colours underneath?

What tile colours are available because ive only ever seen white in B&Q, can you not get any colour you want with tile paint or is it just very light colours like white/cream?

Does anybody have any experience with tile transfers? Where to get them from and the quality of finish and how hard are they to apply etc?

Any advice on what i can do would be weclome as this part of the house renovation is stressing me out!

Thanks

flashg67

It's years since I did it, but I got a decent finish with tile paint using a foam gloss -paint roller. But, unless you're really good, or patient, you'll need to redo the grout lines with a grout pen, or it will look odd.

I used cream but Ronseal at least do some other colours - http://www.ronseal.co.uk/products/one-coat-tile-paint

The transfers were easy to apply - just soak in water and slide them in place.

jellie

Why not paint the walls cream or white first? It might take some of the impact of the tiles away. Even if it doesn't, you won't have lost anything by at least trying that first.

cattie

No don't paint the tiles, it always looks terribly cheap & tacky. The tile transfers are so much better if they can't be replaced.

If you can't see any transfers in your local diy stores, then have a wander through ebay & you're sure to find something there.

teddysmum

Many years ago, so they may have improved, we had transfers on some bathroom tiles, as did my parents. They did fade very easily and the corners prone to curling, with the effect of steam. Also, I would imagine that sticking onto brightly coloured tiles, rather than white, would show coloured edges, so look amateur.


I'd go with changing the wall paint first. Depending on the colour of the units, perhaps, lemon, cream, pale green or a rosy pink.

wenger08

jellie wrote: »

Why not paint the walls cream or white first? It might take some of the impact of the tiles away. Even if it doesn't, you won't have lost anything by at least trying that first.

Thanks for all the suggestions to everyone

I think this is what we are going to do first, thanks flashg67 for the ronseal link atleast i know there are some colours available out there now!

wenger08

cattie wrote: »

No don't paint the tiles, it always looks terribly cheap & tacky. The tile transfers are so much better if they can't be replaced.

If you can't see any transfers in your local diy stores, then have a wander through ebay & you're sure to find something there.

Thanks

Would the tile transfers sit well on top of the existing tiles?

I looked at some on ebay last night and i wasnt sure if the squares on the tile transfer were the same size as the squared tiles on the wall. So when i put the transfer on, if they arent the exact same size, won't the outline/shape of the older tiles show up?

Also the ones i saw the seller mentioned not to apply them around the cooker hob. But the house does not have a splash back, instead they have used tiles...so the transfer could not be applied here. Is that correct?

wenger08

teddysmum wrote: »

Many years ago, so they may have improved, we had transfers on some bathroom tiles, as did my parents. They did fade very easily and the corners prone to curling, with the effect of steam. Also, I would imagine that sticking onto brightly coloured tiles, rather than white, would show coloured edges, so look amateur.


I'd go with changing the wall paint first. Depending on the colour of the units, perhaps, lemon, cream, pale green or a rosy pink.

The units are a light brown wood colour

I think we will paint the walls cream/white. I just dont want to mess with the tiles if they are going to come out amateur looking.

teddysmum

See my post above with reference to steam.


The transfers we used had a white background and were on white tiles so the border of tile showing 2-3mm wasn't too obvious, but it would be with a different colour on a brightly coloured tile.