Master Bathroom Makeover - Reveal

As promised, here is the reveal of the master bathroom makeover!  Along with pictures, I promised the budget for the makeover, which is posted at the bottom. 

 Here is a photo from when we first moved in.  Sorry for the messed up pictures, but there really isn't a good angle in the bathroom to take photos from.

 

 Bathroom vanity before- original from 1986!

  

Doors off and painted

 

 

The cabinet and mirror were next 

 

Primed

 Freshly painted 

 

And, the finished product!  

 

A little artwork on the walls

 While it isn't exciting for the rest of you, this updated toilet paper holder is exciting to me!  The last one was wood and looked like it has seen some use.  

 New handles for the cabinet

 Not quite done, but getting there with the decor

The Process - 

In total, this project took a full week to complete.  I wanted to make sure the paint had enough time to dry and set before I re-assembled the bathroom.  To start, I removed all the doors from the vanity and the cabinet.  I also removed the drawers from the vanity.  Since it is getting cold out, I painted these in another room rather than the garage like I normally would.   

I wiped everything down to get the gunk off.  Then, I gave everything a coat of primer.  Based on pinterest recommendations, I used Zinsser oil based primer.  This stuff is oil based, and this was the first time I used oil based paint.  FYI, you need mineral spirits to clean your brushes.  I let the primer dry for a full twenty-four hours.  The following night, I threw on a coat of black satin enamel paint.  I let that dry for a full twenty-four hours also.  I purchased a small foam roller and used this as much as possible to paint for an even finish and minimize brush strokes. The following night, I put on another coat of enamel paint.  Each night, I put a coat on the vanity base as well as the doors of the cabinets.  I primed and painted the fronts and backs of the cabinet doors. As you can see in the photos above, I put tape down for the mirror and the wall cabinet.  I haven't been putting tape down to trim recently, but didn't want to take any chances with this project.  

After the second coat of enamel paint, I let everything dry another twenty-four hours.  I sprayed the doors with a clear coat of valspar spray paint to seal everything.  I waited for about seventy-two hours and then tonight, I put the doors back on and finished putting the room back together. 

My Budget: 

1. Primer (Lowes) - Zinsser Oil Based Primer - 1 Quart $8.88 

2. Paint (Lowes) - Valspar Black Satin Enamel Paint - 1 Quart $9.29 

3. Valspar Clear Coat (Lowes) - I already had this on hand from other projects - Free

4. Paint Brushes - I also already had these - Free 

5. Foam Roller (Lowes) - small one for cabinets - $5.98

6. Vase for the top of the cabinet (TJ Maxx) - $5.99

7. Hand towel for top of the toilet (Target) - $5.99

8. Pictures - I have had these on hand of several years 

9. Black square shelf - I shopped this from my moms house

10. Handles for the wall cabinet - these were leftover from another project

11. Toilet paper holder - originally silver spray painted with hammered spray paint on hand 

12. Towel hook - leftover from another project

13. Basket behind the toilet to hold toilet paper - magazine basket that I also had on hand

Total for the project $ 36.13

For a weeks worth of work and $40.00, I was able to transform our master bathroom.  I really wanted to rip up the hunter green tile floor, but that wasn't a project I was willing to tackle at this point.

Master Bathroom Makeover

Our bathrooms have been the source of much drama and frustration this summer and into fall.  As you recall, we had the water leaking from the ceiling issue that we dealt with for several months.  After finally identifying the source of the issue, our master bath shower doors, we decided to just cut the problem out and not use that shower.  We thanked our lucky stars that we had a second bathroom to move into, and were content to move on about our lives.  However, as the weeks moved on, we both began to question exactly how long this relocation was going to last. 

While shelling out $4500 to replace the shower doors and fix the drywall the water ran onto sounds great, we don't exactly have that kind of cash sitting around.  I'm sure most of you can relate.  So, temporary fix to the rescue!  We picked up a tube of plumbers caulk and when Andrew took off to Texas for ten days for work, I set to work on re caulking the shower.  I figured while I was fixing up the bathroom, why not go all out.  Our bathroom cabinet is the original honey oak cabinet, and it is really starting to show its age.  At some point, we would like to gut the whole bathroom, but that point is not now. 

After googling a few things, and looking up a few more things on Pinterest, I set off to Lowes.  As a side note, it might be an indication that you spend too much time at Lowes when you get to the register and the woman knows your name.  I wont show you the whole makeover yet, because it isn't done.  But, I can show you some of the progress. 

 Lately, I have been on an anti-tape kick.  However, with this project I caved because there are some pretty tight corners to work around and I didn't want primer and paint everywhere in the bathroom.  

 

 Primed and ready to paint.

 

Ready to dry

 

The vanity before.... 

 

The vanity after painting.  The drawers and doors were removed to be painted in another room.

This project is on a tight budget.  After shelling out mucho dinero the past few months to identify the cause of the ceiling leak and then fixing the ceiling, reno funds are a little limited at the moment.  I will do an updated post when everything is finished and talk about the final budget for the project. 

Operation Wall Sign Complete

So, earlier this week I mentioned I was on vacation a few days this week and hoped to get some projects done.  While I didn't get everything done I wanted to, I made some good progress.  I did get most of the frames painted with the exception of a couple that didn't take the first coat of spray paint, so I need to figure out a plan b.  However, I did get the sign completed that I was working on for the bedroom!

Several months ago we started discussing the need for more artwork on the walls in the bedroom.  I had a small sign I purchased a couple of years ago at a craft show that says "always kiss me goodnight".  The sign looks rather small in our bedroom now, so I wanted something that was a little larger. I have been keeping my eye out at craft shows, but wasn't finding anything the size that I wanted.  So, this past weekend when I was at Hobby Lobby and saw a wall adhesive with the saying on sale for 50% off, I picked it up.  One night this week, I had it taped to the wall to make sure I liked the position of it before adhering it to the wall.  When Andrew came home from work, he let me know he wasn't so much a fan of just putting it on the wall.  Enter plan b.  Luckily, we have scrap boards in the garage from various projects we have worked on over the summer.  So, I grabbed a four foot long board and got to work.

I wanted the board to have an ivory color with a crackle effect.  I thought I previously saw a crackle spray paint at Lowes, but when I went to look I didn't see it.  I jumped on the internet and saw several postings indicating that Elmer's glue brushed on would create the crackle effect I was going for.  I quickly threw on a coat of metallic spray paint I had on hand so that the under-color of the crackle would be dark like I wanted.  Then, I brushed on a coat of glue I had sitting around.  I tried Elmer's Wood Glue like is mentioned on the Elmer's website, however, it didn't brush on very well.  I did read several posts online stating the "new formula" doesn't work as well as the good old fashioned stuff.  I dug around in a couple of drawers and was able to find some off brand brush on glue, which did the trick.  I waited only about 10 minutes after applying the glue and then brushed on a coat of light ivory/tan interior wall paint we are currently using to paint several rooms.  Every post I read stated you had to use a latex paint as the coat over the glue.  Spray paint didn't work as the top coat because of the difference in drying time.

Once the paint was completely dry (I waited about 24 hours), I applied the lettering to the board.

WhenI finished applying the lettering, I applied a clear top coat to seal everything.  I used Valspar Clear Satin Spray Paint.  I let that dry overnight and hung our new sign!

Vaction = Project Time!!!

Something rare is going on this week, I have multiple consecutive days of vacation.  I legitimately can't remember the last time I took multiple days off work.  It was at least a year ago, and probably longer ago than that.  No, I'm not trying to toot my own horn or show off, I just don't like to take time off.  It never fails that you work super hard to have everything caught up before you go on vacation.  When you come back, you work super hard trying to clean everything up from being gone on vacation.  But, I needed a mental break before I had a total breakdown. 

Things at the house have been slightly chaotic lately, so I have been looking forward to getting some projects done this week while on vacation.  I'm still trying to track down someone to fix the ceiling at the house and then repaint the ceiling once it is all done.  We are paused on the basement shelving project for the winter.  That project was a massive undertaking to say the least.  I have also slowly been working on painting the hallway on the main floor as well as the stairwell and upstairs hallway.  We have switches out a few lights in the house, we are working on stripping an old chest of drawers that was painted, I have been trying to get window coverings up, and deep clean the  house.  Lots going on! 

Amidst all that, I started another new project over the weekend.  At the top of our stairs, there is a big blank wall that I have been pondering what to do with since we moved in.  The previous owners had family pictures on that wall, but we have those on the mantle downstairs, so that plan was out.  I came up with the idea last year to do a quote wall.  The quotes would be from books Andrew and I have read.  So, this weekend, I finally put the plan into action.  I went to Goodwill and picked up eleven picture frames in 11x14 and 8x10 sizes.  The frames didn't have to be pretty because I was planning on painting them all. 

 

Here are a few of the frames I picked up this weekend 

 Spray painting them semi gloss black, glossy black, and aluminum

 A few of the frames I found had some great detail work

Love this 11x14 frame painted silver

My plan is to paint all the frames and get the glass for each one cleaned up.  Both Andrew and I have to come up with five quotes each for the frames.  The 11x14 frames I'm likely going to have printed.  The quotes for the 8x10 frames I will print from home on scrapbook paper I purchased at Hobby Lobby this weekend.  Once all the frames are assembled, I will create a gallery wall with our quotes.  I will be sure to post the after photo once everything is done.  

Here is a sneak peek at a another project I'm working on for over our bed....