Our New Durable Bathroom Floor Tile


Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog.

When deciding what to do during phase one of our renovation, we specifically kept bathrooms and the kitchen off the list for a few reasons.

  1. Money! Those spaces aren’t cheap and we want to save our pennies to make our dream spaces.
  2. We want to DIY the remainder of the house so we can improve our skills and save some money on labor.
  3. I always think it’s good to live in a space for a while before you make changes to these rooms that need to be super functional for your everyday lives. You’ve gotta live with it to know how you want to change it!

We planned to leave all 3.5 of our bathrooms untouched, but we did run into a little snag on the first-floor bathroom. When prepping the floor for the new hardwoods, my contractor realized that the bathroom was built on a few layers of tile. This made it significantly higher than the rest of the first floor. Because of this, he recommended ripping out all of the layers of old tile and replacing with new. If not, we would have a much higher bathroom with the layers of tile showing on the seam.First floor bathroom before

At first, I was a bit panicked. This was outside of our budget, yet it was a total necessity. How could I find a budget-friendly tile that I actually liked, that would arrive quickly, and would somehow go with the rest of the room (that we wouldn’t be renovating for a while)?

The Mohawk ForeverStyleโ„ข Line

I immediately headed to my local Lowe’s to check out their options in store and I was so happy to find lots of durable bathroom floor tile options that would work well for our space! Since this is the only bathroom on the first level, it’s going to be used frequently and it’s a space our guests will be going in and out of. Because of this, I wanted a floor tile that was durable and could withstand the high-traffic.

I checked out the Mohawk ForeverStyle line when I went shopping at Lowe’s and I loved the options for a few reasons. First, they’re all suuuuuuper durable. I’m talking 3x more durable than ordinary tile (because of its Wearguard glaze), so this tile is waterproof, stainproof, and scratch-resistant! I loved the sound of that because the last thing I want is for this high-traffic area to look dingy in just a few months. Second, their tile was in stock, at my local store, at ridiculously amazing prices!.

You guys know I love a good patterned floor and I was torn between this tile and this tile for our small bathroom space. I ended up going with this Mohawk ForeverStyle durable bathroom floor tile because the colors read a bit warmer and I think that will mesh well with the rest of the house. If we were doing the rest of the bathroom space at this time (and not just a little refresh!), I would probably go with this brick tile in the showers because it coordinates so well with the floor tile. I love that you can mix and match from the line and it all coordinates. Mohawk floor tile in the bathroom

I ended up leaving with 30 square feet of this tile and brought it to my contractor that day. $100 for an awesome bold patterned floor tile? I consider that a huge win!

Our First Floor Bathroom – BeforeFinn Fixer Upper bathroom before

Before I showcase the new flooring in here, let’s back up to the sad state of this room when we purchased our Finn Fixer Upper. Bathroom before

It’s not the most stylish bathroom in the world (how about that wood trim in the shower?!), but totally usable. It’s actually kinda odd to me to have this full bathroom on the first floor off of the kitchen. I don’t really think we’ll be showering in here very often. But it will be good to live with it before we fully gut and redo the shower area to see what we really want. Bathroom before

The floor tile in here was soooo dingy and gross and everything just looked super dated. Since we were ripping out the floor tile, I decided to make a few other small changes to refresh this room on a budget.Bathroom refresh gameplan

 

Paint Color: Sherwin Williams HGTV Home “Clary Sage” // Mohawk ForeverStyle Floor Tile // Black Faucet // Brass Vanity Light // Flushmount Fixture // Towel Hook // Toilet Paper Roll Holder

Bathroom Refresh – The Gameplan

  • Replace floor with this new patterned tile
  • Swap faucet for this black faucet
  • Swap vanity light for this brass vanity light
  • Have the electrician move outlet from the mirror (how did anyone think that was a good place for it?!)
  • Replace boob light with this flushmount fixture
  • Hang shelves over toilet (maybe I’ll DIY some?)
  • Replace mirror (maybe something round & vintage?)
  • Replace ceiling vent cover
  • Add new shower curtain/accessories/etc.
  • Upgrade door & trim
  • Paint (I’m thinking a pretty sage green color!)

Our New Durable Bathroom Floor TileDurable floor tile from Lowe's

The space is definitely coming along! Here’s our new durable floor tile that makes such a statement in here!Mohawk ForeverStyle durable floor tile

Isn’t that pattern so fun?! I love the design because it has an old-world charm and isn’t too modern. I want this home to have some boho vibes and this floor tile fits the bill. New patterned floor tileSince my contractor took out about three levels of flooring underneath our old stuff (people just tiled on top of tile, on top of tile, on top of tile…), it will now be flush with the hardwoods when those are added throughout the first floor. I’m excited that we won’t need a step up into the bathroom. So worth it!Bathroom floor tile

We ended up using the grout color “Oyster Gray” and it looks gorgeous with the floor color. A perfect match!Bathroom refresh

With the floor tile in, it’s time to get the rest of this room looking good. Plus, it would be nice to not have my sink and toilet hanging out in the middle of the kitchen anymore…ya know? But once those are back in, it should be easy for me to finish this bathroom refresh. I’m eager for it to function well and look stylish!

Here’s the progress so far…

I think we took a big step in the right direction! I’ll be back in a few weeks to showcase this finished space.

Casey

 


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.