We did it — we stenciled the subfloor in our bathroom vanity area and closet, and it looks fantastic. It was totally worth the effort and a huge upgrade from the old carpet that used to be there.
Before we started, the closet and vanity area were covered in worn carpet that we finally decided we couldn’t live with any longer. When we pulled up the carpet we revealed the particle board subfloor — not glamorous, but a perfect temporary surface for a creative, low-cost DIY update while we save for a full renovation.
Our actual bathroom is tiled where the shower, tub, and toilet are, but the vanity and adjoining closet were carpeted. Instead of spending a lot of time or money on a midway solution, we chose to stencil and seal the particle board. It’s an affordable way to make the space usable and attractive until we do the full tile job down the line.
We considered peel-and-stick tiles or a wall-to-wall seagrass rug as temporary fixes, but a painted and stenciled subfloor felt like the best balance of cost, style, and effort. Because the future plan is to install proper backer board and tile, painting the particle board now isn’t permanent — it’s a smart interim solution that lets us experiment with bolder design choices without long-term commitment.
The process started with simple prep. The subfloor is particle board, which has a smooth, chalky texture and seams where sheets meet. We filled those seams with wood filler, let it dry, and lightly sanded. It wasn’t perfectly invisible, but the seams blended much better after filling and sanding.
Next we primed everything with an Aqualock water-based primer. Primer is essential on particle board: it helps paint adhere and blocks stains or bleed-through from the porous surface. Once the primer dried, we applied two coats of base paint. For this project we chose an affordable no-VOC semi-gloss line, color-matched to two Benjamin Moore shades: a lighter base and a darker color for the stencil pattern. We skipped conventional porch or floor paints because they’re often oil-based and smellier — we wanted something low-odor and safer to use indoors.
Stenciling was the most fun part. It’s far easier and faster with two people. One person holds and aligns the stencil using the registration marks while the other paints with a small foam roller. We learned from past projects that a thin, even roller application gives a clean edge without the fatigue or mess of hand-dabbing. Using a foam roller and keeping the paint application light prevented bleeding and saved time — the whole project took about five hours and cost roughly $24 in paint.
Because our pattern needed to be centered over the vanity, we started there and worked outward. Lots of walls and corners meant lots of partial repeats, which required bending the flexible stencil and rolling into tight spots. We used scrap cardboard to protect the walls and baseboards while bending the stencil, and between placements we wiped the back of the stencil with a folded paper towel to remove stray paint. That quick cleanup prevented ghosting when the stencil was reused.
Floor stenciling also requires planning your exit route. We couldn’t paint ourselves into a corner while keeping the pattern centered, so we split the work across two days. We painted accessible areas first, let them dry so we could stand on them, and returned to fill the remaining sections. Think of it like a checkerboard: paint alternate rows, then fill in the rest once the surrounding areas are dry.
After stenciling, I used a small brush to touch up a few spots. Rolling left a consistent half-inch gap around the room that ended up looking like an intentional border, so we left it as-is rather than try to hand-paint the edges and risk making the border look uneven.
Our final step will be to seal the floor with a non-toxic protective topcoat to ensure durability. We plan to use a water-based acrylic poly to protect the painted surface. Even unsealed, the floor has held up well over several days, and it instantly transformed the space — it feels fresher, cleaner, and much more intentional than the old carpet ever did.
Temporary updates like this are a great way to add personality and visual interest without a big investment. Because we know the floor will eventually be replaced, we felt free to pick a bolder stencil pattern and color combination. The result is a practical, stylish stopgap that makes daily routines more pleasant and gives us confidence about the next stages of our bathroom renovation.
remove the carpetpaint and hang a larger window-like mirror(covered in previous posts)paint the trimpaint the walls and ceilingreplace all of the outlets/light switches(covered in other updates)stencil the floors- seal the floors and add better storage solutions to the closet
- paint or stain the vanity, add new hardware, and build shelves to make the empty space under the counter more functional
Have you stenciled a floor, ceiling, wall, or piece of furniture? If so, what method did you use — a small foam roller or a hand-dab technique? For wrist-friendly, efficient results, we highly recommend a foam roller for stenciling large areas.