How To Easily “Paint” Your Dark Tile Grout for a Brand New Look
March 17, 2026
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Changing your tile grout color is so much easier than you'd think!
Did you know changing the grout color in your kitchen or bathroom only takes a few minutes and around $20?
This product makes such easy and quick work of refreshing grout, and is a small change that completely changes the look of your tile!
When we picked the design details for this house nearly ten years ago, I was still in a farmhouse-style phase. Not super farmhouse, but farmhouse-ish. 😂
I chose a gray grout for our white subway backsplash in the kitchen, to give it a bit of dimension and contrast:
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Over the years, I've pulled away from that style and have wanted a more traditional look. Classic white subway tile with light grout isn't trendy, it's been around for decades (if not centuries!).
A reader mentioned on that blog post (about "outdated" trends I don't agree with) that there is a grout refresher product I should check out.
That was last summer, and I finally looked into that product a few weeks ago. I'm so glad I did!
This grout product would also be perfect for refreshing dirty, dingy floor grout.
I grabbed my bottle of this Mapei grout refresh at our local hardware store:
I chose a warm white color called Eggshell and it looks great with our white subway tile.
The application couldn't be easier and no prep is needed! This is one of the easiest DIY projects I've tackled in a long time.
The product doesn't come with an applicator, so I used a small craft brush I already had. You'll want it to have shorter, stiff bristles so you can easily apply the grout "paint:"
It was so simple and quick, and actually quite satisfying as well. 😊
I made sure to work in small sections so I didn't miss any spots. Because of our gray grout, I ended up letting the first coat dry well (it dries fast), then applying a second coat on top:
The "painting" process goes very quickly. The directions say to wipe the excess with a towel a few minutes after application, but I found that didn't remove the residue on the tile well enough.
I quickly learned it was much easier to let it dry completely on the tile first:
I tried to get a good photo of the remaining product that dried around the edge of each tile.
You can remove it with your nails easily, but to make quick work of it I used a flat razor blade to remove the residue around the tiles:
Our ceramic tile holds up fine to a razor, but if you have any concerns about damaging your tile at all, I recommend using a plastic scraper like this one instead.
If you try this when it's wet or even slightly damp, it becomes a mess. Waiting until it is dry makes for a very quick clean up.
This part is the most time consuming by far! But still quick for the end result.
This grout refresh comes in a TON of colors/shades (at least 25 from what I can tell) and can be used on just about anything...it is so versatile!
A few more facts about this Mapei grout paint:
- It can be used on sanded or unsanded, cement, epoxy, urethane and acrylic grouts.
- This product cannot be used on pools or natural stone, but can be used on practically anything else -- from marble to cement to brick.
- It can be used on regular tile flooring as well as shower floors and is walkable in around two hours.
- Kitchen backsplashes and countertops are another great place to use this product.
- You can also use this on garage floors and even vinyl flooring.
- The refresher comes with a sealant built in, which saves SO much time!
Of course, it's not only for lightening dark grout -- going from light to dark is an option as well.
Let's check out a few before and after pics, my favorite! Here's how the backsplash under our revamped custom range hood looked before:
And here is is after about 45 minutes of "painting" and clean up :
It's an odd mix of subtle but impactful result -- almost like the tile got a filter that softens it a bit.
The area under the cabinet before:
And with the refreshed grout now:
I LOVE IT. There's still plenty of dimension -- you can see where the tiles start and stop. But all of the harsh lines are gone and the backsplash becomes the backdrop instead of a focal point.
Thank you anonymous reader for sharing this product with me! So pleased with this.
One more before and after -- years ago I installed the same backsplash all the way up the wall behind my DIY long open shelves by the fridge:
And after the brighter, cleaner light grout:
The small bottle easily covered all of our grout twice -- we don't have a ton of tile to cover but it went way further than I thought it would. There's still plenty left over.
This is such a great way to give your kitchen or bathroom a new look, I just had to share! Have you tried this product on your tile grout?
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Would it cover mold stains if you used a darker grout? We have white tiles in our shower that the grout lines just don't clean up all that well since they're about 20 years! It's not terrible since we've been very diligent about using a squeegee after showering and scrubbing weekly. Would kinda of like the contrast, especially if it would hide the mold stains.
ReplyDeleteBTW, love your blog, been reading it for years. Really impressed with your DIY skills and all the wonderful improvements you've made to your home. You really are talented!
Helen
Thank you for this idea! The "after" looks so clean and fresh! I may try this in my shower for discolored grout that I can't seem to get clean realizing I'll have to do the entire shower. Will have to see if it will hold up to daily showering.
ReplyDeleteI used a similar product on our kitchen/entryway flooring in our last home. When we moved in we had gray & pink tiles with pink grout. Changing the tiles was not in our budget so I painted the grout gray. It really made a difference and it held up very well over the 4 years we lived there. I think I only had to touch up one or two spots before we moved. However, it took quite a while for my back to recover after finishing the job!
ReplyDelete