Half Bath, Half Done

It's the third (and last!) week of the current #letsroomtogether challenge and I've (slowly but surely) made some aesthetic progress on the half bath!  It's probably the room I'm most embarrassed about when we have visitors.  Everything else anyone sees is at least put together even if it is still outdated (I'm looking at you kitchen.)  But this room, it looks like it belongs in a house that's been slated for tear down.


Ok, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration but still, it's pretty bad.  You can't tell in pictures but paint has chipped off the walls in small pieces, leaving small areas of drywall exposed.  Why?  Because when we took the wallpaper off, it took off some of the paint behind it along with some of the walls texture.  I've sent lots of eye rolls back in time to whoever installed the wallpaper, believe me.  I don't know what they didn't do that they should have but something went wrong here.  Along with the chipped paint, there are small pieces of wallpaper still attached to the wall where the blue was painted over it, the cabinet is pretty roughed up, and then there's that awesome linoleum and outdated wood trim.  I bet it was a beaut back in the 80's but those days are long gone.  

But it's ok because we're finally moving past this ugly stage.  The first week, I started filling those places where the paint and texture came off, removed the rest of the wallpaper left near that bottom border where the blue paint starts, and filled the loads of nail and dry wall plug holes.  Then, I primed and painted the window and door trim.  (Oil-based Kilz primer + Valspar paint color-matched to Pure White by SW.) 


Since I had my brush out, I also primed and painted the counter top on a whim with the same stuff I used on the trim.  I mean, why not?  We've got plans for a new sink and counter but until then, how's about a free and quick update?


Before I painted though, I had to grab a razor blade and slice off a goobly-gobbly stripe of caulk between the counter and backsplash that someone, sometime thought needed to be there...I mean, it does need to be there but a little wipe with a wet finger does wonders for smoothing a caulk line.

I redid the caulk line to keep water from slipping down a thin crack between counter tops before I painted right over it.

Last week I stepped outside the plan and used some paint we had in our cabinet to faux marbelize the counter.  I had been reading some tutorials on how to do just that but had our kitchen counter tops in mind but I guess that blank white slate in the bathroom just gave me an opportunity to try it.  I storied the steps I took on Instagram but I wouldn't count on it to be a fantastic tutorial to do it yourself because really, I feel like I winged most of it.  I'll have to try again on something else and get a more precise method to share.  (If you have a hankering for marble, my original plan was to grab some of this*.  It doesn't require any artistic ability and supposedly holds up.)


They're not amazing but they're much, much better than the yellow that was.


Also last week, I gave the cabinet a little love (even though it could still use a whole lot more) by sanding off the rogue paint and grime and painting over any scratches with Cabot Stain + Sealer in Aged Leather - it's an awesome product I've used many times and made those scratches look like they were never there.  It's really made to be a stain + sealer but it led a double life here.  I can't find it sold anywhere but I'll keep looking and post a link when/if I find it!  I also added some knobs I had leftover from the kids' bathroom.  I didn't bother drilling new holes for them or filling in the old because that will happen later but for now, it's better.


This week I spray painted the existing light fixture...and regretted it.  I used this spray paint to spray it (while it was still on the wall, hence the cardboard behind it in the before pic below) and I think it actually looks worse.  I like this particular spray paint in general and have used it on frames and other hardware but on this, it just lacks dimension.  Good thing the light will also get replaced soonish.


The last thing we managed to squeeze in yesterday was to install the new window glass.  The old double panes were clouded between the glass and looked awful but we ordered new frosted panes a few months ago and love the added privacy plus the pretty new look. 
 

Pssst...I'm working on a big tutorial detailing how to replace double-pane window glass but I just need to paint some trim for after shots.  I'm really excited to share it with you!  We saved $4000 replacing the window glass ourselves.  *high five*

So that's how far three weeks got us in here.  It's half done and usually it's kind of annoying to have a half finished space hanging out but we're ok with "better" right now and are going to be patient with what's going to happen with the walls (I'm dreaming in pattern!) and with hanging new fixtures and decor.  On a whim (there have been a few of those happening in here lately), I grabbed a sample paint pot and wrote "Pardon our Progress" on the wall opposite the vanity.  Why?  I don't know.  I guess it helps me justify the fact that we aren't done and we're going to take a break before we finish.  ;)  It's an FYI of sorts to our guests.

Just for fun, let's stroll down memory lane with this juicy shot the realtor took of the bathroom while it sat on the www for sale:


You can see all of the popcorn ceiling, orange wood, linoleum, wallpaper in all of their shimmering glory.

And here's our half done, "better" bathroom (minus the wide-angle lens shot that I should probably invest in):


We'll be back with more down the road but until then, we can tackle a new room together starting Monday.  Be ready!

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2 comments

  1. Replies
    1. Yay! Glad someone else thinks so. Sometimes you wonder if it really looks better or if your desire for it to look better are clouding your judgement. Haha!

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