Easy, Cost-Effective and Time-Efficient Flooring

**This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you click and purchase, I may receive some compensation. Thank you!

Apparently I have a thing for floors that I can’t afford (don’t we all?)… Part of the problem is that we travel… a lot. And sometimes we get to stay in the most stylish of boutique hotels… with the best trends and flooring. Here is the story of how I came to the Easy, Cost-Effective and Time-Efficient flooring shown above.

Viceroy Chicago is one of my favorite places to stay. It has a style all its own…sophisticated, unique, and quaint all at the same time. This was my hope and inspiration for our Beach Cabin entry level basement, while also adding some more rustic charm to even it out and make it more appropriate for a cabin.

After having gone through a bit of a debacle when sanding and staining our hardwoods at the cabin (and thus, needing to replace all of the flooring in one room, I was not ready to tear up even more flooring nor did we have that kind of cash left in the budget. Enter Mirth Studios. My friend, Kelly, from The Lilypad Cottage suggested that I take a look at their flooring. I did and was sold.

Mirth Studios is a USA company based in Charleston, South Carolina. They are a team of three and were wonderful to work with, readily accessible and very responsive. Quotes came readily and were accurate. They were able to create my vinyl squares from a design that they had previously had only for their wood tiles for an additional fee.

While the price was a great deal, there was still a bit of sticker shock. However, I was able to install the squares all by myself in a day’s time, so I’m guessing the labor savings outweighed the product cost. Also, given the unevenness of a 1912 Beach Cabin, it was nice to simply cut the squares with a scissors when necessary as opposed to all of the measuring and math of cutting tile).

And since we all love a good before and after… 

Here is the bathroom before…

And here it is after…

[Get the Look: Gingham Tiles (you will have to request the transfer to Vinyl and don’t forget to use the code MackinawRoad5 to receive 5% off any vinyl order until May 31, 2018)| Mirrors  | Paint Color- BM Salamander]

These are the steps I took to “install” the tile:

1. Vaccuum, mop and dry the current flooring.
2. Lay out the tiles for placement before sticking them.
3. Start at the furthermost and most-centered point in the back of the room.
4. Peel and stick the tile.
5. Work your way through the room, cutting the squares as needed (I attempted an exacto knife for some of the cutting but found that tracing and then cutting with scissors worked best for me. Another tip: cut the squares into smaller squares for tight spaces as they are easier to work with.
6.  Readjust as needed. Side note: These would actually be so great if you are renting but want to add style because the company says that they do not damage existing floors… You’d just want to first research how to pull them up when the time comes. I also think they’d add a lot of style to a bland island/peninsula kick area.
7. Add shoe molding (we had this done for us since neither of us is brave enough for a nail gun just yet).

In case you missed my other Cost-Effective Flooring posts… You can check out our stair runner for under $200 at the Beach Cabin here and also our painted Portuguese Tiles in our uneven 1926 house here.

And don’t forget to check out all of the fun vinyl options Mirth Studio has to offer here (and enter the code MackinawRoad5 until May 31, 2018 for a 5% discount off your vinyl order). 

**This post is not sponsored (I don’t think)… I did receive a small discount on the squares when I asked for a discount and mentioned that I had a blog.