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