When Oli and I bought our house, it was a little neglected. It wasn’t falling apart at the seams (well, at least not entirely), but it hadn’t been taken care of. Every room needed work of some description. We didn’t have the budget for a full renovation, so quick DIY updates were what we needed. One of my favourite speedy makeovers to date is the kitchen refresh. Read on to find out how to update your kitchen metro tiles with a grout pen in less than a day and for less than a tenner!
The Kitchen
We both liked the white metro tiles in the kitchen, but the grout was looking grubby.
Then I heard about grout pens! They were a revelation: so cheap and so easy to use. We wanted to go dark, but black would have created too stark a contrast, so we opted for a dark grey shade. I ordered two grout pens from Amazon for £3.90 each at time of writing.
These pens are so easy to use and come in all sorts of different shades. So if you want an update, give them a try.
How to update metro tiles using a grout pen
Here’s how we did it (including mistakes I made, that you can avoid).
Prepare
Give the grout and tiles a good clean. I just got a bowl of warm water with washing up liquid and a bit of vinegar and gave them a good scrub with an old nail brush. Leave to dry for at least a few hours.
I was a bit lazy at first and didn’t bother with much of a clean. However, as the grout was a bit greasy, it meant the pen didn’t really work and rubbed away. It’s worth taking the extra time to have a good scrub first.
How to apply the grout pen
Give your grout pen a shake and press the nib into some kitchen roll on a flat surface to get it flowing. Then it is literally a matter of drawing it onto your grout. Go slow so that the pigment can penetrate down into the grout.
If any areas of the grout aren’t clean, you’ll probably find that the pen doesn’t take. Just rub it back with kitchen roll, give it a really good scrub clean and try again.
Wipe off any excess from the tile with a kitchen towel. Our tiles are glazed so this was easy enough. I would be more careful with non-glazed tiles and also beware of poorly applied grout which will be highlighted with a contrasting grout pen.
The photo below shows the grout pen just applied, with the excess wiped off.
Leave to dry overnight
Leave to dry overnight (we left our for about 24 hours) and then clean the tiles with soapy water for a really neat finish. Some areas, such as high traffic areas around cookers and sinks, may need a couple of coats for the best finish. Leave overnight to dry each time you apply.
And that’s it! Easy or what? I know a couple of my Instagram followers had a go after I posted our results with success and I’d love to know if you give it a try too.
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