3 hacks for peel & stick flooring + diy beige & white marble checkered floor

3 hacks for peel & stick tile floors

Peel & stick tile is a great option for transforming existing floors — its both budget and beginner friendly when it comes to diy flooring options and can sometimes be renter-friendly (depending on the brand and adhesive used)

I’ve installed peel and stick flooring in a few different spaces — from a black and white checkered pattern in my bathroom to using wood textured peel and stick to create a modern wood plan wall in my hallway and an accent wall in my powder bathroom.

Along the way, I’ve discovered a few things AND invented a few genius hacks to make it easier. Here’s my 3 best tips for installing peel and stick tiles.

tip 01: Use a paper cutter to score and snap the tiles

When it comes to cutting pieces for the edges, don’t cut them freehand with a box knife – instead use a paper cutter to score the tile in a straight line and snap it for a perfect fit!

p.s. if you want the full step-by-step to walk you through how to install peel and stick tile, hop over to this blog post for the full process.

tip 02: Use a vinyl roller to adhere the tile to the floor.

You can adhere peel and stick tiles with just pressing them down, but using a vinyl roller makes it easier to press the tile fully down and get it to adhere well to the floor. It also helps to get the edges and seams pressed fully into place.

tip 03: Use a dry erase marker to trace shapes for curved cuts so the lines can rub off clean with no marks.

When making curved cuts around things like toilets or pipes, trace the shape onto the tile using a dry erase marker. Then you can cut along the line with a utility knife. After you make the cut, you’ll be able to rub of any of the remaining marking completely clean.

step-by-step: how to add peel & stick tile floors in a beige and marble checked pattern ▶︎

about this project

I’m back renovating this bedroom at Mulberry Manor — the 1840’s house I’m fixing up with my best friend and today we’re tackling the floors!

This room has been a JOURNEY. After demo-ing the plaster and adding new electrical and fresh drywall, I added a bold burnt orange accent ceiling with some beginner friendly crown moulding (I show you how to add crown moulding without angled cuts in this tutorial).

Next up, it was time to tackle the floors. Buying an old home I had high hopes of restoring some of the original elements and preserving the history of the house…BUT that dream has to be balanced with the budget I’m working with AND what’s realistic in terms of what we have to work with.

I had demo-ed the vinyl floating floor to find subfloor underneath and planned to remove this and finish whatever was under it…but the floor was super damaged AND had two different types of flooring — from where they added on 2 ft to the entire side of the house, front to back — that weren’t installed well. So…I had to change the plan, use the existing subfloor and find something within the budget that still looked awesome.

After installing black and white check peel & stick tiles in my bathroom (different house — the house I’m living in currently) I loved the look and wanted to do something similar. This is such a fun classic pattern AND I love that its damage free (glue residue but no holes) in case I want to go back later and refinish the wood floors.