Want stylish black tiles? Simply paint old tiles!

Painting black over tiles – does it really work?

Can you really just paint tiles, and can you clean them once they're painted? Does it last? These are questions we hear a lot when it comes to painting tiles in the bathroom, the kitchen or on the floor. Yes, it really works – and it works brilliantly with Easy Eggshell!, the tile paint from MissPompadour, which has minimised emissions according to VdL-RL 01.

If you'd like to give your bathroom a fresh, contemporary look, you don't need to rip out the tiles or remove the (often tiled) bathtub. Simply pick up a paint in the shade of your choice and paint the tiles in a new colour. There are a few exceptions: waxed or otherwise impregnated tiles usually can't be painted, and neither can tiles with a lotus effect.

Silicone joints are no problem, though: paint over them with MissPompadour To Seal Silicone. Then you can cover them with black paint without any trouble. Keep in mind that your paint will also cover the grout lines, so they turn black too, tone on tone with the tiles. That's perfectly fine and creates a wonderfully calm look. If you'd prefer a contrast between tiles and grout, you can of course finish by picking out the grout lines with grout paint.

To bring a completely new style into your bathroom or kitchen with a black look, there are a few things to bear in mind. First, the tiles need to be cleaned thoroughly. Dust, limescale and grease residues have to go. It's best to use the gentle yet effective MissPompadour To Clean. Never use aggressive, chlorine-based or strongly alkaline cleaning products. They can settle in the rough grout lines of your wall or floor tiles and ruin your paint finish.

Since tiles usually have a smooth surface, you'll need to apply a primer first, such as MissPompadour To Bond & Block. The primer creates an even base and gives your black paint a secure hold.

If you're painting floor tiles, we recommend finishing the paint with To Seal to stabilise it. After all, a floor takes a real beating and has to cope with frequent cleaning. Follow all of this, and you'll get a bathroom or kitchen that's right on trend, without big costs and, above all, without the stress of a renovation with stone dust and other mess.

With these paints you can paint over tiles

The perfect paint for painting tiles is Easy Eggshell! With this high-quality paint you get an elegant satin-matt finish that is extremely hard-wearing and easy to clean, and water won't bother it as long as it can run off the painted surface easily. It's suitable for floor tiles as well as wall tiles.

Which rooms suit black tiles?

In principle, you can use black paint in any room that's tiled. The wall tiles in the bathroom are an obvious choice, but a tiled splashback in the kitchen can also look very striking in black. If you have a utility room, why not paint the tiled wall where the washing machine and tumble dryer live in black?

A modern classic: bathroom with black tiles

If you want to give your bathroom a completely new look, paint the bathroom tiles black. Not every wall needs to be plunged into black all the way up to the ceiling. How about painting black up to a height of about 130 cm and then finishing with an attractive natural wood edge? Above that, a fresh white shade such as MissPompadour White with Character goes onto the rest of the wall and the ceiling. If you'd like to paint the wall tiles in the shower too, you should definitely apply an additional coat of To Seal as a finish in that area.

But black also combines beautifully with many other colours. For example, you can transform your bathroom into a nostalgic 1950s feel-good oasis with a soft rosé such as Rose with Warmth in combination with Black with Black.

Guest loo in black: tiles & walls tone on tone

Fancy bringing black tiles into your home? Then it doesn't have to be a whole bathroom straight away. Try out whether you like black tiles in a small room first, such as a guest loo, where you don't spend hours at a time. In a small room like that, you can be really bold and paint all the walls, whether tiled or plastered, and the ceiling too, in a black shade. How good that the black paint shades from MissPompadour are also available as black wall paints!

Perhaps you'll paint not only the wall tiles but the floor tiles black too. You could also use a nearly black shade such as Green with Black for this. Elements like a small wooden washstand and a toilet seat and lid in natural wood go well with it. You can also create a really interesting ambience with gold accents, such as a few gold picture frames.

Extravagant contrasts with black tiles in the kitchen

Black tiles aren't just a good choice for bathrooms, though. In the kitchen, too, a black tiled splashback on the wall can create a whole new atmosphere. If your wall tiles have a texture, simply paint over it. The kitchen floor tiles can also get a new look with black paint. In the kitchen, you should definitely stabilise the surface of the floor and wall tiles with MissPompadour To Seal.

Painting floor tiles with black paint

The surface of floor tiles can be painted black, just like the surface of wall tiles. Adding a pattern to the floor tiles is a classic idea too. Perhaps you could use MissPompadour Blue with Black together with a light blue such as Blue with Cloud, for example by working on every second floor tile with a MissPompadour stencil.

Please note that floor tiles should always be given extra protection with To Seal, so that they can stand up to frequent cleaning and the heavy wear of daily "walking around".

Your new black tile paint from MissPompadour

As with all shades, black isn't just black. MissPompadour offers a deep black shade called Black with Black. A touch lighter, thanks to a little grey pigment, is Black with Velvet, which, depending on the lighting, has a very subtle violet shimmer. The dark nearly black of Blue with Black leans towards blue. The deep, dark Brown with Black feels wonderfully warm. Looked at individually, you'd see all of these shades as black. But thanks to the different colour pigments mixed in, each shade has its own special character and combines perfectly with other colours in the room.

Order tile paint in black from MissPompadour

The best way to find the right shade for your black tile paint is to order a set of colour cards. The colour cards can be removed individually and pinned to the surfaces you want to paint, so you can look at them in any light.

In our blog on painting tiles you'll find step-by-step instructions, and in our project set Painting wall tiles we've put together all the products you need. You can customise this shopping helper to suit you, so you won't forget a single thing! If you have any further questions, please contact our customer service. Our knowledgeable team will be happy to help you with any questions!