DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Floor Tile Stickers

Have you ever wanted to apply peel and stick vinyl floor tile stickers? You're in luck! I'm sharing my tips, tricks, pros and cons today!

In this honest review, I explain how to apply DIY peel and stick vinyl floor tile stickers, along with the pros and cons of using them in your home. They're a great budget-friendly DIY flooring idea: cheaper than replacing the floors and less messy than paint!

Note: If you're looking for how to install more durable vinyl floor tiles, check out this tutorial!

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring - Perfect for a cheap DIY flooring option

I'm a huge fan of simple DIY projects that don't require any demolition or a lot of dust. And this is one of them!

Painting my kitchen cabinets is about as intense a DIY project as I want to take on in my house. Hats off to all the DIYers who remove cabinets, replace countertops and rip out flooring. But I'm going to need a professional for those jobs in my home.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring -->> before

Before the tiles… all the beige floors in the house! I had already painted these cabinets years ago!

Since we moved into our home with its beige floors, beige walls and beige cabinets, I've been on a mission to shake things up! We have the same exact beige tiles in both of our bathrooms, our laundry room, and even on our fireplace. Nobody got creative when this house was built, that's for sure!

So, while I've wanted to change them for a long time, fear has held me back. I didn't want to:

Have to demo anything,
Mess them up permanently,
Or do anything too complicated.

I love the look of the Moroccan floor tiles you see everywhere today. I was planning to stencil them before I discovered the peel-and-stick tile option.

But the stick-on decals sounded so much easier. Keep reading to find out whether I would use them on my tiles again.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> upgrade your old tile floor for little money!

I decided to use them in my girls' bathroom refresh first to test the waters. It's a small space, and it's for our guests too, so I wanted to do something fun in there that everyone would see and enjoy.

It took me a little while to choose a style, since there are so many great options out there. I outlined my favorites in this post with 25 options for different styles of peel-and-stick vinyl tile flooring. Eventually I narrowed it down to this Naples tile sticker (click here).

Prep Work

Before you order your tiles, you'll need to:

Calculate how many custom floor decals (stickers) you'll need. I added 3-4 extra tile decals to my count in case I messed some up.**
Measure your tiles inside the grout lines. Don't include the grout lines in your measurements. Order tiles 1/8 of an inch smaller than your tiles! The Etsy shop I ordered from can make your tiles the exact size you need at no extra charge (at the time of this posting).
I'll share my exact experience below, but in my opinion, you'll want to make sure your surface is level before you apply vinyl stickers. My existing tiles were beveled on the edges, which caused me some grief, as I explain below.

** Be sure to read all of the instructions from the store you buy from, in case there are additional prep steps.

Supplies You Will Need to Apply Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile

Tile Floor Stickers – I gathered my favorites in this post (click here), which will give you an idea of all the different options you have! You can use them on most surfaces (like a kitchen backsplash, too), but if you plan to use them in a wet area, make sure they are safe for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, etc. I used this tile sticker (click here).
Cleaning spray & cloth – I used my Thieves cleaner from Young Living, but any kind of Krud Kutter or other degreaser works too!
Scissors
Paper Cutter, optional
Pencil
Wallpaper smoother tool, optional

Steps to Apply Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Floor Stickers

1. Paint over the grout lines with floor paint or grout paint.

I painted my grout lines exactly as they were, but as you'll read below, I should have ordered smaller tiles. That would have meant painting further onto the tops of the tiles. Don't make the same mistake I did!

2. Clean your existing tiles really well.

I cleaned the whole floor first, then vacuumed each tile with my stick vacuum and wiped it down with my cleaner before placing each tile. Let the cleaner dry before applying the stickers.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> clean the tiles thoroughly before starting!

3. Peel back a small strip of the backing and place the sticker in position.

I found that if you mess up, you can pull it off quickly and reapply. Once the strip is stuck down, peel off the rest of the backing and smooth it down. Work out any bubbles that may have gotten trapped underneath.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> how to place the tile down perfectly every time!

4. Use a wallpaper smoothing tool to go over each tile and press out the bubbles.

Sometimes I used my hand or the side of my paper cutter to go over the tiles too. They stuck down pretty well.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> use an old backing to trace the odd angles

5. Trace unusual angles or corners, or areas around trim pieces, using the back of a used tile sticker.

I used the paper backing from an old sticker to trace where I needed to cut, then just cut the decal with my scissors. If the trim didn't touch the floor, I left about 1/8th of an inch inside the cut line so the sticker would fit under the trim piece.

That's all! It's a super simple process and an easy DIY for a big impact!

Pros and Cons of using Peel and Stick Floor Tile Stickers

Pros:

The tile sticker itself is great! It's thick and durable.
It's easy to install if you follow my instructions above.
The Etsy shop I ordered from was fantastic.

Cons:

My issues started when I realized my floor tiles were slightly beveled on the edges. The vinyl tiles aren't meant to wrap around tiles, so the edges wanted to lift a bit. My ceramic tiles are also slightly textured, which was fine on the flat part but made it hard for the vinyl to grip the beveled edges.
After I put down the first row, I realized the edges were going to lift too easily, and I didn't think it would work. So I found that if I trimmed 1/8 of an inch from two perpendicular sides (keeping the tile square, just 1/4 inch smaller), my vinyl tiles would cover most of the ceramic tile and wouldn't have to bend as much at the edges.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> trim off 1/8 of an inch to make them fit

See what I mean?? If my tiles had been completely flat, this wouldn't have been an issue.

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> on the right they are regular sized and the left ones are trimmed — *The tiles on the left were trimmed smaller than the tiles on the right, so you can see how they look like they overhang on the right.*

My advice would be to order slightly smaller tile stickers if your tiles are beveled, and paint over the grout lines.

Honestly, it may not even be an issue. None of mine have come up at all, but my worry is that someone or something will catch a corner of a tile and it will just peel right off.

Only time will tell, and I WILL do a follow-up in about a year to see how they've held up.

In the meantime, I'm just waiting for one of my kids to come running in saying they've lifted one off the tile. Maybe I'm just paranoid? We'll see. Like I said, so far, so good.

Update: I did end up removing the bathroom floor tile stickers when the toilet overflowed right before we put the house on the market in 2019. It was a year and a half after I put them in. So, for the price, I was happy with how much use we got out of them!

You DO want to wait 24 hours after laying the vinyl tile before walking on it, and 72 hours before you get it wet. So there is some curing time for the adhesive. Hopefully it will all stay put. #fingerscrossed

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> such a pretty look for less!

What I would do differently if I had to do it over again…

Since my tiles were beveled on the edge …

I would have painted over the grout lines.
I would have ordered the vinyl tiles to be 1/8 of an inch smaller than my floor tile.
Or I would have leveled the floor by filling in the grout lines with thin-set mortar or leveling compound, and had the grout lines printed on the vinyl tiles.
Or I would have just gone with the stencil, because then it wouldn't matter whether the floor was beveled or not!

Final thoughts …

I think peel and stick vinyl tiles are fabulous! I would 100% use them again in my home. But I think they're best suited for covering a flat surface, such as linoleum, flat tile, wood or a floor that has been leveled. Or you could use them on a vertical surface that doesn't have to deal with foot traffic!

DIY Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile Flooring --> gorgeous cheap DIY flooring option

They ARE so pretty, aren't they?!

I hope this helps you make your decision about peel & stick vinyl tiles. I kept telling myself that if they didn't work out, it would be a small price to pay for trying something new! It wasn't going to break me if they didn't work out.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vinyl Tile Stickers

1. How Do Vinyl Floor Tile Stickers Hold Up Over Time?

I think they can hold up for years in a low-traffic area of your home. I wouldn't use them on the floor of an entryway or laundry room that gets a lot of foot traffic! With heavy traffic, you'll find the corners rolling up. I'd use a stencil instead!

2. Are Vinyl Tile Stickers Waterproof?

Yes, and no! If you pour water on top of the tiles, they are very waterproof. But water can get under the edges if the floors get soaked. Depending on what type of water gets on them, you'll decide whether to leave them in place or not.

So, when our toilet overflowed in the girls' bathroom, I also knew we'd be putting the house on the market soon, so I removed all of the vinyl tiles.

3. Are Vinyl Floor Tile Stickers Worth It?

This is always hard to decide for someone else, since it depends on their budget. But overall, I think they're a fun, inexpensive way to update a small space. If it's a room that doesn't get much traffic and isn't prone to water standing on the floor, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Have you used peel and stick tile stickers in your home? Or do you want to use them in your home?? Share your thoughts, experience, tips and tricks in the comments below!