Bathroom Reveal!!

I didn't anticipate that my little Spring Break project would literally take the entire season to complete.  Wow, this face lift seemed to drag on and on.  But I finally have a reveal!  Disclaimer:  I have a point-and-shoot camera and this is a windowless room, so I did my best with the "long" shots.

Here is what our bathroom looked like BEFORE.  It wasn't a bad space but the wallpaper was not my taste or color preference, and the room felt dark and dreary.

 

Bright brass fixtures and paper bag brown wallpaper



Builder mirror and strip lighting

Chippy cabinets, and not in a good way

Here is our main bathroom AFTER!  Light, bright, airy and soothing!

We framed out the builder mirror

 

Delta Victorian faucets

Anthropologie "Waves" shower curtain = Splurge
Check out this link if you're sewing inclined

pleat detail

Notice the rope trim on the mirror, a nod to the nautical

Blue-tiful color!
("Paleness" by Kwal Paint)



Cost Breakdown:

• $ 25  Glass knobs (E-Bay)                            
• $ 65  Primer, paint and spray texture             
• $ 40  Molding for mirror                              
• $100 Anthropologie shower curtain            
• $334 Faucets for tub/shower and sink         
• $100 Light fixture                                       
• $ 24  New toilet seat (how glam)                 
• $   0  All decorative accessories (shopped the house)
• $688 GRAND TOTAL                 

We got about $450 from Amex and Discover Cashback Bonuses this year which we used towards this project, so total out-of-pocket was $238.

Labor Breakdown:

Vicki V:

• stripped the wallpaper
• primed and painted all surfaces (walls, trim, cabinetry, mirror molding)
• added the decorative details

My Man:

• patched and textured the walls
• installed faucets and fixtures
• cut and installed the mirror molding (used tutorials here and here)
• caulked

 We think it's like a breath of fresh air (very Spahhhh) and love it!

Linking to:

Everything Gold is New Again

Believe it or not, I'm putting the finishing touches on our main bath face lift.  This project has dragged on for WAY too long.  We have replaced all the gold faucets and fixtures.  These main components have been done for a few weeks, but lately I've been working on the tchotchkes fun part!

I had this old gold frame that was kinda dated but had pretty carvings and details.

I decided to go all Miss Mustard Seed  and do some dry brushing over it.  I even busted out some buffing wax that I've probably had for 7 or 8 years.

Alas, I have none of the coveted but expensive chalk paint MMS uses, so I had to use leftover primer to cover the gold.  Then I bought two shades of grey craft paint: Folk Art Steel Gray (right) and Anita's 11043 Grey (left).  Total cost = $2.50.

I dry brushed the lighter grey on first, then followed up with a mixture of the two greys together.  I just hit the highlights on the carvings.  (Is it bothering you that I spell grey with an "e"?   Because it's bothering spell-check.)

After about 10 minutes, I rubbed on some neutral wax with a lint-free cloth to bring out a nice patina.

Still Glaze-y After All of These Years

After it dried, I buffed it to a subtle sheen.  I decided not to distress the finish because I like it as is.  Here's the finished product with an art print that I have had forever and still love.  I am a bunny fan.  See them?

I figure I did a decent job because my husband commented on how great it looked.  When does that ever happen?!

It's ready to hang in my "new" bathroom!  Photos coming soon!  Really!

Linking to:

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I am still plodding through my bathroom mini-makeover.  It's a good thing that it's only a facelift, because this project has stretched out for more than two months!  :(

But progress continues!  Since my last post, My Man has installed the sink and tub faucets and vanity light.

Delta Victorian chrome faucet and vanity light

24 inches wide, we have it hung with the light shining down

Yesterday and today, I've been feverishly painting the walls.  I originally wanted to jump on the grey bandwagon because I really do like pale, dove grey.  But the windowless room made everything I tried look so darn dreary.  I guess it is all those years of living in the Snow Belt, but grey can be very depressing if there is insufficient light.  So I chose a very pretty shade of blue with a little grey mixed in.  It's called "Paleness" by Kwal.

I have also chosen a soon-to-be-revealed white ruffled shower curtain:

My latest dilemna has to do with the mirror.  Before, we had the standard-issue, frameless plate glass mirror.

It was large: 42x46 inches over our 4-foot long vanity.  It added a lot of light to my room but didn't have much style.  So I've been thinking about what kind or mirror would best "reflect" my vision.  I want this bathroom to have a light and airy, vintage feel.

I already have a wonderful french mirror that I could paint and distress  It is 25x41 inches overall.

It even has some of the silvering missing, but not too much, which adds to the vintage charm:

But I don't think it would coordinate well with the cleaner, straight lines of my (non-returnable) light fixture above.

So then I thought about a frameless, beveled oval mirror like this one from Lowe's for about $50.  Overall size was 24x36 inches.

We actually took this one home, but it seemed way too small in scale over our vanity.  Maybe it's because we're used to a much-larger mirror presence?  Back to Lowe's it went.

I have another beveled gold mirror with an ornate frame that could to be painted or dry-brushed.   This one would, I think, coordinate better with the light fixture.  The molding is about 4 1/2 inches wide and overall size is 28x32 inches and it is lovely.

I also have this simpler but larger wood frame but no mirror, so I would have to get one cut.  The molding is 3 inches wide and overall size is 31x39 inches.

Or My Man suggested that we could rehang the original mirror and frame it out.  But with what style of molding?  I'm just not sure.

Opinions, please??

Linking to:

A

Definitely a Tortoise

Remember the childhood fable called The Tortoise and the Hare?  Well, I'm definitely the tortoise.

We started a project a month ago to give the downstairs main bath a face lift.  I'm still plodding along.   Slow and steady may win the race, but I have yet to glimpse the finish line.

In my last installment, I lamented that the sheetrock had damage from removing the wallpaper.

Since then, we have

Patched

Fill with spackle, then sand

Primed

 Textured

Mask the room with plastic and mask yourself!  Respirator required!

I have also painted the trim with alkyd paint which I'll cover in another post.  Baby steps, but the fun stuff is coming soon!  I hope to have a reveal before the end of April.