DIY BATHROOM MAKEOVER

Since our move in February, I've been working fast and furious at getting everything unpacked, and started right into painting projects. I wanted our home to be ready for all the guests coming for our son's wedding.  In spite of my best efforts to have everything done before the wedding, however, there was still a half bath that needed some TLC.  Since I was missing our children and grandchildren, I thought a little project would help get my mind off of missing them.

Our half bath was the perfect project.


Here's a little preview of how the room looked.

Painted the same green color as the kitchen and hall, the room had a sponge paint on the top half with a stenciled boarder.

 It had cream colored ceiling, and a faux painted crown molding.

It also has a very old mirror,  light fixture and towel bar. Take note of the two screws in the wall on top of the mirror.  I'll tell you what they're used for later in this post.

The toilet paper dispenser needed to be update too.  It had rust and green paint on it.

I had an idea of what color I wanted to paint the room, and headed off to the Ace Hardware Store.  To my disappointment, they didn't have a paint chip or sample of the paint I had in mind - Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore.  However, the clerk was very helpful and suggested Smooth Slate  in the Clark + Kinsington paint.  She thought it would be a very close match.  As it turned out, they had run out of the paint chip of that sample as well.  The clerk said that since they didn't have the paint chip, she would give me a free sample of the paint and gave me a quart in the flat finish.

I took the paint home, and applied it to the wall.  It was just the color I wanted!   Instead of using the sample as a primer, I opted to keep the flat paint finish as it would be a great contrast to the stencil paint I planned on using.  I had some ceiling paint left over from another project, and decided to apply it to the ceiling giving it a fresh new look.

For the three other walls, I chose Coastal Pleasure  from Ace's Clark + Kensington paint.  I used a $5 gift card along with a 20% off coupon for this paint.

Now it was time to add some bling to the wall.  I had hoped to find a large stencil but didn't want to pay $40 or more for a stencil. Instead, I opted to use a stencil and paint that I purchased from Hobby Lobby using 40%  off coupons.

The paint is a metallic silver craft paint from the Anita's line.  It adds a soft metallic sheen to the wall.

 I started the stencil at the top of the wall, and worked from the middle out.  Using a level to make sure the stencil would be straight on the wall, I then applied  painters tape as a guide for each row.  I also altered every other row aligning the stencil both vertical and horizontally.

The glue had let loose on the base trim, and I simply applied some clear silicon to reattach it.

The toilet paper dispenser was in bad shape. Being on a limited budget, I decided to sand it down and add white spray paint to give it a new look.

A new light fixture was needed; and because of  a limited budget, I chose a very basic and  inexpensive fixture for $13.

 I had gift money from Christmas that I used to purchase new mirrors for the room.

 

I purchased this mirror at Wal Mart for $20.  Because we don't own the Parsonage, I couldn't take the old mirror out of the bathroom.  Instead, I placed two screws in the wall and mounted the mirror right over the old mirror/medicine cabinet using picture wire.  When we move out, I can simply take down the mirror and remove the screws.

I've been  admiring a mirror at  Ballard Designs  for some time now.  The problem for me was the price of $39 for a small mirror and $169 for a medium size mirror.  You can imagine the excitement I had when I found this mirror at TJ Maxx almost identical for $14.99!

I took down the old towel bar replacing it with one I used in our former parsonage bathroom.   If we move from this home, I'll simply rehang the towel bar that stays with the home.

Here's the finished room.  It cost very little to make over, but took two days of labor intensive painting.

What do you think?

 The room is small, only a little wider than the toilet.

I found a new soap dispenser on clearance for $3, it even has the same dot design as the mirror.

Here's the break down of the cost to make over the room.

Paint $10

Stencil $4

Mirrors $20 and $14.99

Light fixture $13

New Towel $3

Grand total = $64.99

Making the total makeover under $65 ! 

I'm linking this post to -
Before and After Contest at Beneath My Heart
Mom4real before and after party
Fox Hollow Cottage DIY Before and After Party