Kids Bathroom: Painted

A few weeks ago I took the plunge and removed the wallpaper from the kids bathroom.  There is NO MORE WALLPAPER in our house!!!

But the white glue-covered walls weren't doing it for me either.

My Mom just spent a week with us, joining me at a few awesome baby showers, and helping us finish up projects around the house.  Painting this bathroom was on her list!

Nothing is ever easy at our house, and this was no exception.  The wallpaper had been installed before the baseboards, so Mom had to remove the caulk and cut away the wallpaper with a razor blade.  Then she had to re-caulk everything.  I hate these little projects that take up time and don't have awesome-looking results, but it had to be done!

Instead of wiping the wallpaper glue off the walls, we decided to seal it in with oil-based primer.  It's pretty stinky, but it did the job!  If we had skipped the primer, there was a good chance the glue would reactivate with latex paint, causing bubbles.

Finally came the paint!  We used Sherwin Williams Emerald line of paint in matte finish, in the color Quietude.  I liked this color because it was soothing and pretty, could be mixed with jazzy colors like yellow, and played well with the vanity.  I also felt like it was a safe choice since it was on the same card as Rainwashed, a color we've used in three rooms in our house.

Let's see some before and after's!

What a difference!

It looks much cleaner and brighter.  The vanity top doesn't read as tan as it did before, and now the tub looks white instead of a dull grey.  

Mom also spray painted the cabinet mirror.  She removed it, taped off the edges, and gave it two coats of silver spray paint we had hanging out in the basement.  It was a dull gold before, and an easy change, but made the mirror really blend with the new paint color.

So you might be asking, what's the deal with the vanity?  We're not in love with the countertop, but it's in good shape and not overly offensive.  I priced out replacing it with natural stone, like granite or marble, but even using a remnant for this tiny space came to a cost of over $700!  We decided the original counter was just fine, and chose a wall color that would go with it.

The next project in here is restaining the vanity!  Stay tuned!



You might also be interested in these posts:

Kids Bathroom: Wallpaper Free!
Half-Bath Remodel

Bonnie Projects

Kids Bathroom: We're Wallpaper Free!!!

I totally stuck my finger in yet another pie this weekend - the "kids bathroom".  Not that we have a kid yet, but when she comes, this will be her bathroom.

When I finished removing the wallpaper, I did a little "We're Wallpaper Free!" scream similar to a Dave Ramsey debt-free scream.  There is NO MORE WALLPAPER in our house!!!

Before now, all we've done is add a piece of art and a shower curtain.  Both are in good shape and we like them, but they might not stay in here after the redecorating.

We've been holding off on this room because it was one of the least offensive in the house.  But then I thought about how torn up the walls were every other time we removed wallpaper, and how the drywall guy for our basement remodel was coming soon (and could patch any holes I made), and decided to go with it!

I have extra rolls of this that I may or may not have used as wrapping paper for wedding gifts...

The DIY gods were in our favor, because this wallpaper was SO EASY to remove.  It came off in huge sheets!  All the other wallpaper in this house has come off in tiny annoying little pieces and it took tens of hours to finish a single room.  This room was done in 20 minutes!

There's still glue on the walls, but I'm going to try putting an oil-based primer right over the glue to seal it in.  And by "I", I mean Tommy since it's full of VOCs and unhealthy for a pregnant lady.

We have a few other cosmetic changes in the queue for this bathroom:

• Paint Walls 
• Touch up Baseboards
• Paint Vanity
• Install new towel bar(s)
• Lighten the Grout
• Install new granite/marble counter

I have no idea where to go color-wise, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!



You might also be interested in these posts:

How to remove textured ceilings
Guest room wallpaper is gone
Seal in wallpaper glue with oil-based primer

Bonnie Projects

Half Bath Reveal

There's nothing like impending parties of 20+ guests at your home to get you working on those home improvement projects that have been dragging along!

Our half bath is the only bathroom on the main level of our house, so it's the one our short-term guests tend to use.  It's just off the foyer and kitchen, and if the door is open, it's the first thing you see as you enter the house.

It was also the worst-looking room in our entire house!  I'm not sure if you're ready for this before photo.  The wallpaper is so crazy you can't even see the word "before".

Honestly, I'm not even sure what the worst part was - the wallpaper, mirrored cabinet, glittery sink, or Asian mirror and shelf.  What you can't see here was the ugly light fixture and the goldenrod yellow trim and door.

Our friends ripped the wallpaper down the first weekend we were in the house (love you guys!!!).  But we kind of lost steam there.  Let's see some close-ups of the details.

We did some research and discovered that vanities like ours are actually quite pricey (like $1000+)!  Tommy's grandmother really likes it, so we're gifting it to her.  I'm glad it'll have a loving home.

A few weeks ago we were up at the hardware store to buy random stuff, and kind of got carried away on a shopping spree, mostly for this bathroom.  They even had to call in the lift to get the vanity for us.

We removed the vanity next.  It came out pretty easily, but is now in our dining room.  Maybe it'll make a cool place to chill champagne?  Maybe we can get it out of here before the parties!

We also tried out about a million paint swatches, in every color from chocolate brown to orange to beige.  In the end, we went with Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams, the same color from the living room.  We like the color, it matches this level of the house, and we had an extra gallon hanging out.

Once we got the walls free of wallpaper glue and had them smoothed (we hired a handyman to do the drywall - given the time crunch we couldn't learn to do it ourselves), the painting and vanity installation went really smoothly - nothing too interesting to report.

The vent cover was black, and really dirty.  We initially shopped for a new one, but it was a weird size.  We ended up sanding it a bit, running it through the dishwasher, priming and painting it.  Good as new!  I love when we can reuse stuff instead of throwing it away.

The big problems started when we tried to install the new faucet and light fixtures.

It turns out that whoever redid this bathroom last time wasn't an expert.  The light fixture was installed using improper and unsafe methods, and the sink drain used a pipe size they don't even carry at the hardware store.  Tommy tried his best, but since it's water and electricity, we ended up calling in the experts.  They were perplexed as well, and I'm pretty sure they wish they had charged us more!

We topped it all off with a round mirror and hand towel holder!  Ready for the big reveal?

We are THRILLED with the outcome!!!  We almost walked out of our house at the showing because of this bathroom.  We love how clean and updated it feels, and the style perfectly reflects us.

As always, this project isn't quite done yet!  The toilet is a cream color that doesn't match.  It seems impractical to replace a functioning toilet, but when it goes, we'll get something in white.  I'd also like to hang some art on the blank walls.

But for now, I love love love this project!!!  Let's see a before and after again.

Interested in a buying guide?  The vanity, towel ring, faucet, and lighting are from Home Depot.  The mirror is available at IKEA.  I didn't think I'd like the slightly rustic patina of the mirror, but now that it's in the space I much prefer it to something plain.

How'd we come in budget and time-wise?  Thanks to the surprises of the plumbing and electric being weird, we spent more time and money than planned hiring the pros to get it working.  We were a little surprised at the cost of decent-looking faucets and lighting, but felt like we made up for it with the inexpensive vanity (with top included!) and mirror.  Overall, we're 100% happy with the results, and it got done before the big parties!!!