It’s been about six months since we wrapped up our $500 guest bathroom makeover for the One Room Challenge. You can go and see the before and afters, as well as budget breakdown of this room here. We used a new-to-me product in that project called FloorPops by WallPops which are cheap vinyl floor tiles that are self adhesive and printed with today’s popular patterns. In other words, they’re not your grandmother’s vinyl. :) During that project, a few people asked about the product and how I thought it would hold up. I totally get the concern - we too were skeptical about using a peel and stick product and have not had the greatest luck with them in the past. This being the case, I wanted to give it some time before I gave my honest opinion, good or bad. Also, FYI, this post is not sponsored or anything. This is just my experience and opinion.
So here we are six months in and the verdict is - I love them. We chose the Gothic Floor Pops pattern. They look great, feel great, and look the same as the day we installed them. Granted, this bathroom isn’t heavily used (it’s a guest bath) but when our master bath was out of commission for two weeks while we scraped the popcorn ceiling, it was our primary bathroom. So the floor was walked on, showered on, hair-sprayed on, etc. However, I don’t know if I can say put this in a super high-traffic area just because I don’t know. If you have used this product in a well-used space, leave a comment with your thoughts. I am thinking about putting it in the rental house’s sole bathroom so if you want to check back in, oh about three years, I’ll have an answer for you. :)
PROS:
Affordable: We only paid $1/square foot and you don’t have to buy backer board, mortar, grout, and spacers like you do with normal tiling projects. The new floor set us back just $40. If you decide to purchase, make sure to shop around. I’ve seen them as low as $.76/square foot on Walmart.com
Fast: we just gave the old sheet vinyl a good cleaning and then we started laying the peel and stick tiles. It took about a day to remove the quarter-round, scrape the caulk, make all of the cuts, and install, but tiling would have been much more time-consuming.
Semi-permanent: I love these fun patterned tiles, but will I love them in 5-10 years? I liked that these aren’t a huge investment and would be super easy to take out if we get tired of them. By installing them on top of the sheet vinyl, we should be able to peel both layers up fairly quickly.
Modern: I don’t feel like there are a ton of affordable options out there for flooring that actually looks updated. I like that these aren’t your basic vinyl floor patterns.
CONS:
Uneven printing: not each tile is identical which means the pattern doesn’t line up perfectly. You really only notice this when you’re super close up to the tile, but something to note if you’re Type A. :)
Dark seams: If the pattern you’re working with is mostly lighter in color, this might be more visible and bothersome. The pattern we chose is mostly black so this wasn’t an issue but just something to be aware of.
Sticky: The adhesive can be tricky to handle and leave behind some residue after installation on the top of the tiles. I’m pretty sure it could easily be removed with a magic eraser. We haven’t tried just because it doesn’t bother us that much.
That’s it! As you can see, very few complaints.
I made a quick video so that you guys can see what I’m talking about. You can watch it on my Instagram highlights here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18047329186089738/
Since we installed them, WallPops has released new designs and I am OBSESSED. You know those amazing renovators who painstakingly remove sections of penny tiles to create elaborate patterns? Yeah, FloorPops has a version of that minus the back-breaking labor. Here are the patterns they have right now. Which one is your favorite?
Now, I don’t know if I’d install this in a high-end house. At the end of the day, it is still cheap peel and stick floor tile. But if you are renovating more of a starter home or rental property and don’t want to invest a ton of money, I highly recommend this as an option. I will typically opt to install vinyl floor if a bathroom has a plastic tub surround. A tiled tub/shower gets tiled floor. I would also read their FAQs and Instructions carefully before ordering to make sure they will work for your space.
I hope this is helpful for anyone looking for an affordable flooring product. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments below!