Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The First Steps


So we have finally started the bathroom renovations! Thank goodness, I was getting antsy. We started with paint, of course, because we don't care about messing up the floor or the rest of the hullabaloo that is in there. The down fall to this is that once we remove the toilet, medicine cabinet and vanity sink combo, I'll have to make some touch ups for those hard-to-reach places. If you have the option of removing said items, then I highly recommend it. Unfortunately having one bathroom does not lend itself to do that option.

Before-Tan walls, brown bath mat. The colors really muted the space.
After- Cotton White with Blue Paradise accent wall.  Makes the space bight and open


We chose to do Cotton White walls on 3 of the walls and Blue Paradise on the wall with the sink, mirror, and toilet. The Blue Paradise is a great accent color to the shower curtain and lovely soap pump that inspired it all. It is by no means a match. I did not want a monochromatic bathroom. In small spaces monochromatic can look lovely, but this tiny bathroom could not handle that. We felt a splash of color would liven things up while the white would definitely brighten things up.  

The white that I went with as stated was, Cotton White, it is a shade darker than a clean bright white. It's amazing how many whites there are to choose from out there. I swear I spent 10 minuets considering my options between 3 different shades! While it is still a clean, crisp white, Cotton White was not as harsh as the Bright White I was considering or as yellow as the Yummy Vanilla that was also in the running. I wanted white, but not sterile white.

I started with the ceiling. I removed the vent and the fan cover first. One because they would be getting their own coat of paint, and two because it really just made sense :). Being 5'2", on a good day, was quite a handicap while painting this ceiling. From now on, this job will be left up to Joe. Because of my height, I will have to go back and do more touch-ups than I was anticipating, but I know it will pay off in the end. This is really a very important step in painting. Always go back and do the touch-ups. It really makes a world of difference in your paint job. Any small blemish can really be an eye sore to the casual on-looker. From there I tackled the walls. Now you may be saying to yourself, "Where is Joe during this?" Well, he had the luck of being at work :). 

Before Ceiling- Dingy with mold and mildew stains. Vent and fan covers yellow with age and  dirty, dirty, dirty

2 coats and newly spray painted fan cover and vent make each appear like new! Total cost of project $2.47 
I highly recommend patients while painting in tight quarters. Take your time and make sure you have the time to do so. I ran into many problems while painting this tiny room. The roller was too large for a space, I didn't have the height, the extender was hitting the wall, or my big butt was removing the coat I put on. Like I said, patients is most needed for small spaces. Also, please make sure you have a variety of tools to paint a small space. I know this is a mistake I will not be making again. In my haste to get this part of the project rolling, I did not prepare well. 
Before-Drab colors, muted and blending into everything made the bathroom dark and unwelcoming.

After- A touch of color make the bathroom open and inviting

I ended my last post with the #1 rule of working with small spaces, know what you are working with, and I broke it left and right during this project. I ended up with far too much paint and not enough wall to use it on, and I did not have all the necessary tools to use. All in all, the paint was applied to the walls as I wanted and the finished product looks better than I was expecting. But, because of the rule breaking, I'll have to do more touch-ups than wanted. 

Next on the bathroom agenda, it's demolition time! This is really the part I have been waiting for. Ridding this space of 1992 for good. Getting rid of that tired sink vanity combo and the medicine cabinet that is really an eye sore. I would love to do the floor and remove/replace these items at the same time, but as stated earlier, having one bathroom makes that option not ideal. Once these pieces are in, it'll be floor time! By doing the floor last we won't have to worry about adding missing pieces if something is not the same size. This will really keep the job from looking piecemeal. 

I hope you enjoy these early before-and-after photos. I apologize for the angles - it really is a small space!


2 comments:

Mumbles and Grumbles said...

I absolutely love that blue. It's so bright & eye catching! It is amazing what a difference some fresh paint can make! You did a good job. You can come to my house and paint a bit if you'd like!

Joe and Sarah said...

For serious! I will deff come paint your house, as long as you are there of course!