How to cover up an ugly floor temporarily – renter-friendly!

Decor, DIY, Kitchen

Whether you rent or own your home, there isn’t always the option to rip out existing floors to replace them with something more updated. That was the case for this tiny 5ft by 5ft kitchen – it’s so small it doesn’t even have a stove or oven!

It’s also a rental studio apartment, so no permanent changes could be made to the kitchen. However I didn’t let that stop me from updating the entire kitchen with quite a few renter-friendly DIY projects.

I hadn’t planned initially to update the floor, but looking at all the changes, the dated and dingy pink tiles stood out and just didn’t go with the new look of the kitchen.

So how to cover up an ugly floor without removing it, and in a way that can easily be removed when moving out? A quick search online revealed the answer: loose lay vinyl planks!

The planks can be laid on top of an existing floor without any adhesive or fasteners, making them ideal for renters or a homeowner that needs a temporary solution to cover up an ugly floor. The manufacturer does recommend that the existing floor be smooth but I had to see if this would work on top of the existing tiles.

The process of installing the loose lay vinyl planks was very easy and doesn’t require any special tools. I first came up with a staggered pattern and luckily I only needed one box to cover the entire floor.

Then I scored the planks to the correct length with a utility knife and straight edge.

To complete the cut, I bent the planks to snap the pieces apart.

For corners and awkward spots, I used a cardboard template to trace out the shape I needed and then used the utility knife to cut the tile. The smaller pieces were a bit more challenging to bend so I used my utility knife to finish the cut instead of bending the pieces.

I am very happy with the end result. The tiles lay flat on top of the tiles and stay in place. So glad I decided to give this product a try – it’s a bit pricey but so worth it to not have to look at that ugly floor anymore!