Bathroom

Hall Bath Update – The Details!

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Brighter! Whiter! No longer the color of a peach crayon!

Over the Christmas break when I had some decent time off from work, I decided to start chipping away at the bathroom “fix it” list. There are lots of items on that list, but fortunately they are all cosmetic. I must say that I’m thankful to have a fully-functioning bathroom, even if it is in dire need of a makeover. 
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I figured the easiest part was to paint the cabinet and mirror glossy white over the flat (yes, FLAT) peach color that was there before.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking… “Hey, don’t you think peach is sort of a weird color to paint a bathroom vanity and mirror?” Well I thought it was weird too at first, but then I realized, “But wait, the shower tile is peach… so it all MATCHES. It all makes so much sense now!” 

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Peach colored tile… I’m sure this color was très chic in the ’60s.

Just kidding… the peachy color is SUPER weird! Or should I say… WAS super weird? Hasta la vista, peachy! The vanity and mirror look 100% cleaner and fresher now with a few coats of paint.

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To dress up the very blah cabinet doors, I added lattice moulding to make them more “shaker style.” I had to do some pretty… “creative” wood filling on the rounded door fronts. Hopefully you can get the gist from the pictures below.

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Once I was on a roll making over the vanity, I decided I had to rip out the “base tile” that went around the whole bathroom. What had happened was… I was painting the walls in a greige color that I knew I loved (Behr Sculptor’s Clay), but it looked totally strange. I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the lighting in that room or if it was just clashing with the peach-colored tile. So you see, I HAD to remove the tile before I could finish painting the room. Seriously, it seemed like the only logical thing to do.
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Here’s my actual thought process, which was fairly logical (albeit brief). I measured the height of the tile and then measured the height of the baseboard in the hallway. When I saw that they were the same, I knew I could rip out the tile and cover the damaged part of walls with baseboard. If the tile had been taller than the baseboard, I would have had to go a different route – probably beadboard – to cover the damaged drywall.

Lastly, I attempted the faux granite painted counter idea I saw on Pinterest.
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It turned out OK… but i will probably still end up replacing it with stone at some point. For now I’m just happy that it’s not creamy yellow anymore! Hooray!

Next, we are planning to re-tile the shower and add a jetted tub, but that’s a ways down the road. A nice new shower curtain will buy us some time by covering up that part of the room. 😀
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I always say this, but it’s amazing what a difference a few coats of paint make!
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Thanks for taking a peek at the work in progress!

Until next time,

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Hall Bath Update Sneak Peak

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Have you ever thought, “I need a change, like… right now!”? I certainly have – in fact it probably happens about every other week. Luckily, it usually involves paint and power tools rather than some sort of lifestyle overhaul. Or haircut. That would just be unreasonable.

But really, it seems like every few weeks I get a sudden urge to fix or change something around the house (which I can only assume is totally reasonable). If I think about a project too much, I tend to agonize over the details and end up with decorating paralysis, which is a real thing. So, I find I work best when I let myself be spontaneous. Spontaneous remodeling… that’s a thing too, right?

It is SO helpful to have a borderline out of control stockpile moderate stash of leftover paint, caulk, glue, rollers, and other necessary stuff when I decide something needs to get done RIGHT NOW. In other news, “helpful hoarding” is now also a thing.

Over the past couple of weeks I have:

  • Painted the mirror and vanity cabinet (glossy white – what else!?)
  • Added trim to the cabinet doors to make them look more “shaker” style
  • Painted the walls greige (over the previous yellowish-khaki color)
  • Ripped out the base tile and installed base boards
  • Faux painted the countertop (over the previous off-white color)

So with just a few days of work and at a minimal expense, we are well on our way to a fresh-looking hall bath!

I still need to re-tile the shower and replace the vanity light, but those will probably have to wait a while since they require purchasing materials and ripping out walls. I did everything to this point with paint and supplies that I had on hand — with the exception of the trim and baseboard, which I had to pick up at the hardware store.

The full post is under construction, so stay tuned for more details!

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Beachy Bath Update (Adios, Istanbul!)

Our cute little half bath gets a lot of use since it’s right off of our downstairs den / living room. It was in desperate need of an update from its builder’s grade plate glass mirror and whacky hookah-lounge-style pendant lights. It truly felt like you were ducking into a Turkish restaurant every time you went to use the bathroom. (Sadly, I don’t have pictures, but those pendant lights were actually fully enclosed lanterns before I removed the bottom halves!) It was so dark and gloomy! And for such a small room (just 42″ by 6 feet), that was just a sad state.

Here’s what it looked like before it got a makeover (but after I removed the original mirror and added a smaller oval one):

Don't you love the lighting?

Don’t you love the lighting?

The mirror came off first, and I found some really hideous colorful floral wallpaper underneath. My sweet husband helped me pick out a new light fixture and we got the mirror from a family member for free.

The ceiling had some peeling paint around the AC vent from condensation damage. Covering it with tongue and groove pine planks was a perfect solution for both the peeling paint issue as well as the holes left after removing the lovely pendant lighting.

Peeling paint be gone!

Peeling paint be gone!

The planks were fairly easy to hang using a little electric nail gun. If I did it all over again, I might consider using some Liquid Nails to help the planks stick better in areas where the ceiling wasn’t perfectly flat. I made sure to stagger the ends of the planks so that none of the seams were next to each other. And luckily the bathroom is right off of the garage so I could easily run back and forth to make the cuts using my table saw.

All done!

Tongue and groovy, baby!

I was planning to paint the newly planked ceiling a glossy white (like everything else I paint) but after one coat of primer, I was pretty much over it and decided that the see-through primer coat looked “beachy.” Theme selected… totally on purpose! (I lie… not at ALL on purpose. Total happy accident.)

Added a little primer and some painted quarter round to finish it off

Added a little primer and some painted quarter round to finish it off

In my near constant quest for perfection, I was also dead set on filling all the little nail holes. It’s amazing how a long drawn out unfinished project time makes you a little lazy helps you embrace life’s little imperfections. I figured no one cares about things like tiny nail holes when they are relaxing with a fruity drink in their beach-themed bathroom.

Don’t think too hard or long about that… the intended visual falls apart almost immediately. Who drinks an umbrella drink in a bathroom? That’s just weird.

Anyway, there’s lots more to look at now than the ceiling!

Lots of little holes to add to the "laid back feel... right?

Lots of little holes to add to the “laid back” feel… right?

I had some FABULOUS (and free) paint from a bad mix job at the hardware store. When I returned to the store and showed them that the color was way off, they kindly mixed another can of what I actually wanted and told me they couldn’t take the “bad” color back so I might as well keep it. It’s by far the BEST “bad color” I’ve ever seen! It’s actually very close to the color in my bedroom, which is Behr “Watery.” Throw in a few seaside accents and a rope-y looking rug, and call it finito!

Beachy and bright!

After… beachy and bright!

Crane figurine from my favorite antique store, coral from Beall's Outlet

Crane figurine from my favorite antique store, coral from Beall’s Outlet… shelf and orchid from Goodwill!

I got this from Target on sale... I thought it looked like rope and fit the beach vibe perfectly. Just love it!

I got the rug from Target on sale… I thought it sort of looked like rope and fit the beach vibe perfectly. Just love it!

Here's what it looks like when you walk in from the hall. It says "Come on in, the water's fine!"

Here’s what it looks like when you walk in from the hall. It says, “Come on in, the water’s fine!“

When I first started this project, I desperately wanted to get rid of the original 1960s vanity. I bought a pedestal sink off Craigslist and a shiny new faucet to go with it. It was then that I found out that you can’t just swap a pedestal sink in place of a vanity because the drain and water lines are roughed in differently…. so that’s another project for another day. For now, I’m learning to embrace the gold-flake formica in all its subtle, sparkling glory.

How you like me now?

How you like me now?

This project took a few months from start to finish because I worked on it in fits and starts with a dozen other projects in progress at the same time (as usual). I probably could have gotten it done in a weekend or two if I had been able to focus a little more! Major props to my friends and family who were brave enough to venture into this room during the long in between phase.

Thanks for reading… and happy beach-ifying!
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