Bathroom Makeover

October 6, 2020

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I haven’t always been the biggest fan of the color pink. I’m more of a purple girl myself. But there are some great things that are pink… strawberry ice cream, cotton candy, watermelon smoothies. Countertops? What??? Prior to moving into this house, I would have told you that was crazy. No one has pink countertops. Oh, what little I knew back then. As it turned out, we ended up purchasing a cute little house built in the ’80s with not one, not two, but three bathrooms with pink countertops. You might think that’s a lot, but the kitchen is also adorned with these lovely pink countertops too! And all the retro wooden trim and cabinets you could imagine. “Oy with the poodles already!” (Any Gilmore Girls fans out there?)

While I dislike each one equally, our main bathroom needed some work on a few other things so we started there. And, after about three months, it’s finally finished! It’s been on our “to do” list for a really long time and it feels so good to check it off! I knew this house would be a lot of work, but I was totally prepared. I wanted to tackle every room and had so many ideas… until the week we closed on the house and I found out I was pregnant!

Fast forward a few years and, besides my daughter’s room, this bathroom is the only other room we’ve successfully remodeled. And we did it all ourselves during the Covid lockdown! Here’s a breakdown of what we accomplished.

Popcorn Ceiling

We had to get rid of the popcorn ceiling before anything else. (Note: if you have a popcorn ceiling that was installed in the ’70s-’80s, be sure to send off a sample to Western Analytical Lab for asbestos testing before you remove it!) Thankfully we didn’t have asbestos, but the mess that the popcorn ceiling created was EPIC! My husband, Ryan, was kind enough to tackle this part of the project, and literally everything was covered in dust. Even though we put plastic sheets over everything – even taped to the walls – it was still everywhere!

WALLS

After the dust storm settled, we were able to patch the walls, sand, and paint them white. Not just “white”, but Sherwin Williams’ “Snowbound” to be exact. Who knew there were SO MANY shades of white in the world. Oh, man. Picking paint is a bit overwhelming, but I truly love this white. It’s warm and neutral, not too grey and not too stark – just what I was going for. I plan to use it throughout the rest of the house in the future. Just as soon as I muster up the energy to attempt it again. I used it for the trim also, and I’m really happy with it so far.

CABINETS

The cabinets were the classic ’80s wood but were in decent shape so we opted to paint them grey. I cleaned, sanded, and patched before I put the primer on. Once I added the first coat of grey paint, I realized it was way too light. We went back and opted for a slightly darker shade from Sherwin Williams called “Warm Pewter”. It was perfect! The person working in the store also told us we should use “Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel” paint for the cabinets because it would hold up much better to wear and tear. They typically won’t mix all colors in this paint unless you specifically ask for it. The best tip I can give you for painting cabinets is to use an angled brush to paint the crevices and trim first and then use a small foam roller to paint the flat areas. It helps everything look much smoother. We also replaced all of the hardware with simple, black iron handles and knobs.

COUNTER TOP

I could not wait to see those go! We thought about just painting it, or using a stick-on faux surface, but then Ryan found an amazing faux marble kit – the Giani Carrera White Marble. I followed the instructions exactly and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Their video on Youtube was super helpful. The only modification I made was to make my faux marble marks super light. I wanted it to be really subtle and I also blended it a lot. The hardest part of the entire thing was the epoxy. No matter how hard I looked, I kept finding and popping tiny bubbles. I swore I found them all, but after it dried I found more. I have no idea how they got there, but they aren’t super noticeable so I’m trying to ignore them.

SHIPLAP

Of course, I couldn’t just let the wall behind the sink stay white and move on. I needed shiplap! We used primed shiplap tongue and groove wall planks from Lowes and cut them to size and then painted them once installed. I do realize that shiplap is already considered out of date, but I also knew that if I were to use it, I would just do a small section and not an entire room. The space behind the mirror seemed perfect. I love it because it reminds me of a barn. And barns remind me of horses! Speaking of…

HORSES!

Yep, I managed to sneak some horse decore in there! I’ve had an equestrian-themed bathroom board on Pinterest for years and I wasn’t about to let all that planning and pinning go to waste. I’d been saving a brass horse head towel hanger for just the right time and this was it. I spray painted it flat black and absolutely love it! Ryan even found us a cute vintage paint by number horse painting because he knew I’d been looking for one. I was able to find the perfect rug, shower curtain, soap dispensers, and baskets online (links below) and it really pulled everything together perfectly. We even found a less expensive version of a schoolhouse light fixture I’d wanted for years on Amazon.

ANTIQUE CABINET

We’d always talked about finding some sort of cabinet to put in the very large and very empty wall space above the toilet. But, the bathroom is small and we weren’t quite sure what we wanted. I’d been casually searching Facebook marketplace for a while but hadn’t found the right one. I decided it would need to be unique and old and wooden. My ideal find would have been an antique display cabinet or apothecary cabinet of some sort. Ryan spotted the antique cabinet we ended up purchasing for a great deal on marketplace. It needed work, just like most of my antique finds. I had to clean it multiple times, cover it in baking soda and let it sit out in the sun for days and then add a natural varnish to it but I really think it ties everything together nicely.

WE DID IT!

It’s such a great feeling to walk into this room now. The first week we started using this bathroom again, I couldn’t believe it was actually mine. We’ve all been enjoying the cleaner and more organized space. If you’re thinking about starting a home renovation project or even just a little update of your space, I encourage you to go for it! We worked during our daughter’s naps, in the evenings, and took turns on weekends. It was a slow process, but I’m so glad we went for it! Do you have any tips for painting or remodeling? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.