Monday, June 23, 2014

41 A Few Fun Painting Projects in the Bathroom

The bathroom update was initially intended to be a very simple one.  Just swap out the toilet and the vanity and move on.  But when we took out the old vanity, the new one was a slightly different size, which also meant that the walls needed to either be touched up, or repainted.

After assessing my touch up paint situation, I didn't have enough on had for what we needed.  So, I found a half gallon of Behr's Burnished Metal, which we had also used in the guest bedroom and one of the boy's bedrooms as well.  The walls were painted quickly and the update was extremely simple.  Too simple for me....

The stripe lover in me instantly wanted to wrap the entire room in stripes.  But having done typical stripes in the past, I didn't want to go down the same path and have every room begin to look like it is on repeat.  So, I went with stripes around the entire bathroom, but this time they were much more subtle.

I will get back to the stripes in a moment, but I thought I would also share another quick and easy painting project we are adding to the mix as well.


I found a new toy and I have been so freaking excited to try it out.  It is the Critter spray gun and I purchased the tool after looking at easier, brush stroke free painting options and reading reviews.  Seemed like the perfect way to turn any paint color into spray paint!

I am hoping that this little spray gun will be all sorts of fun with upcoming projects, but decided to start small to get the hang of it.  After we recently painted the stripes on the stool in our bathroom with a coral pink color, I knew that the same color would be great for the house numbers I purchased for above the kiddo's towel hooks.  The new spray gun would also me to spray paint the house numbers and give them a nice professional finish.

Not wanting the coral paint to drip, I started by spraying the numbers with a single coat of white spray primer.  This was to give the coral paint something to adhere to.


Once the primer was dry, we hooked up the spray gun to our compressor.  I couldn't have been easier, and once the pressure built up, we did a small adjustment to the nozzle and it started spraying beautifully.


And for fun, because I am always curious to see things working in action, I took a video with my phone while Bryan lightly sprayed thin coats of paint over the house numbers.


Then I stole the gun and finished the numbers myself, as I was eager to give this new toy a whirl.  I am deeply, madly in love.

While the numbers were drying, I went back to the bathroom stripes.  As we typically do when painting stripes, we measure down from the ceiling and mark of 12" strips.


Now, if you are all about working smarter, not harder, then you would tape these off before you installed hooks and a vanity.  The stripes were a complete impulsive after-thought, so yeah.... we had a few things to tape around.

I know I have mentioned it in the past {here and here}, and that many of you are already aware of this trick, but it always is worth repeating.  To get the perfect edge when painting stripes, always go back over the edge of your tape with the original wall color first.  Once that layer is dry, it will create a really solid lock and prevent the new color from seeping beneath the taped lines.


Now, for the extremely subtle effect I was after.  Home Depot had put their Martha Stewart metallic glaze on clearance, so I snagged up two at $2.10 each.  I already had a large can of Faux Finishing Glaze on hand from another project, and figured that mixing the metallic glaze with the finishing glaze, I could stretch the amount of paint needed to fill all of the stripes without worry of running out.


In an empty paint bucket, I mixed two containers of the Metallic Glaze with equal parts of the Faux Finishing Glaze.  I used a stir stick to mix and mix and mix some more.


I started by cutting in at the ceiling and around the room with an angled brush.  The first thing I noticed was that it was really hard to tell where I had already painted.  But I kept on going until all of the cutting in was finished.

I then used a small roller to roll the remainder of the stripes.  Ready to see the huge difference a little metallic glaze made to the room?


Womp womp right?  This is one of those moments where I question my time management skills.  Did I just waste taping hours and painting hours on what was supposed to be subtly awesome?

But, I waited and hoped that once the paint dried a bit, that it would become more noticeable.  And the more I looked around the room, the more I really started to notice the difference in the sheen between the original wall and the glazed stripes {the original wall was done in an eggshell finish}.

So, I pulled the tape.


It is really hard to photograph with bad lighting in a windowless bathroom, but I tried to find an angle in which you can really see that there was a difference in the finish.  I love that the stripes glimmer in the light, exactly the effect I was after.


And another view with the painted coral house numbers above the new chunky towel hooks {which were Pottery Barn hooks found on eBay}.


We still have to swap out the outlets and light switch with white versions and re-install the mirror and accessorize.  But once that is done, I will take more detailed photos of the room all finished and share the final result of this sort of quick little update by the end of the week {fingers crossed}.  I also realized after looking at these photos again, that my camera picked up a few places that need extra touch-ups.  Funny how that works.

So, two simple paint projects that added a little extra love to this room.  Have you found a new tool that you are gaga over?  Or have you been playing with any new paint techniques?



**** UPDATE ****  I have had multiple painting snafu's this week, and it all started by touching up areas of the beautiful glimmer stripes and quickly went downhill from there.  Because I mixed two glaze paints, it became extremely finicky and couldn't be matched.  This caused many new sets of brush marks and areas that needed even more touching up only to completely ruin a good thing...  I will be back with all of the details as soon as I can, but just wanted to caution anyone trying this to blend your edging and rolling all at once to prevent odd streaking and blotching.

41 comments:

  1. I think it looks great!! Can't wait to see the bathroom finished!!

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  2. It's really pretty! I like the subtle tone-on-tone effect. Can't wait to see it all pulled together :)

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  3. This might be a lot for your house of boys to handle but you should totally paint the inside of the door w/ the coral!

    Either way love the update!

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    1. I couldn't agree more - that would make the space really exciting! Not sure if I could get my hubby on board right away... I have talked about painting doors in the past and it is one of those things where I will have to work on it for awhile with him. :)

      xo!

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  4. Also, in the case that you don't have the original wall color available for prep, you can easily use clear caulk along the tape lines for a seamless line. It works beautifully (especially for ceilings and edges)

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  5. I absolutely love this! I have seen stripes done, but the sheen difference is really subtle and a cool effect. Love the pottery-barn type styling too. Great idea!

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  6. I like the vision of using an outdoor product (house numbers) for something completely different. Something so simple yet brilliant.

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  7. Love your space (and site)! Would you mind telling me what air compressor you used with the Critter? Thank you! I would love to use something small like that instead of dragging the Wagner sprayer around all the time!

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    1. Hi Liz!

      We have a small, inexpensive compressor from about 10 years ago. It is a 110 PSI, 2 gallon tank.

      It seemed to work well for the size of the project, but it may have a harder time keeping up for larger projects.

      xoxo!

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    2. Thanks, Jen! I need to get something small like that, will look for one. I have a bigger sprayer for the other projects but resent the 20+ mins it takes to clean it...ugh. It will be my 4th of July present to myself :) Enjoy the weekend!

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  8. Gorgeous! I will have to look into the sprayer! Hubs has an air compressor so this is awesome!

    We did this subtle stripes with eggshell and high gloss sheen! It was fun and gave a similar subtle look! Looking good! can't wait to see the rest of the room come together!

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  9. Out of curiousity, is there a window in the bathroom. I painted stripes just like this in our basement a few years ago (same color, just a different sheen) and they hardly show up. I painted two walls, but they are the walls with the windows - so no light directly shines on them. I think if I had painted the opposite walls (the ones the light shines onto), it would have been a much better effect. The stripes show up really well in photos if I used my flash, but are not very noticeable in the normal basement light. I've thought about retaping and repainting half of the stripes a slightly darker shade, but haven't been able to motivate myself yet!

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    1. Hi Angela!

      No windows at all in the bathroom. But we have two lights {one above the shower and another above the sink}, and between the two, a lot of light bounces around the room and the difference in sheen is noticeable. I think the silver metallic glaze helps however, because it is slightly more tinted as well. xoxo!

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  10. This makes me feels to repaint my bathroom too. Love the idea! Beautiful!

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  11. Hooks and numbers I love it. I'm doing same idea on our kids bathroom this summer. Boredom is in all the work up to the decorating part! Ah well. I tried to watch your video on the Critter. It wouldn't work for me. Does the site require joining? I have a sprayer already, but added this one to my lengthy amazon.com wish list :).

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    1. Hmmm... shouldn't have to join. Sorry to hear you are having trouble viewing it.

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  12. Me encanta!

    besines!

    www.12nasdesuenos.blogspot.com.es

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  13. How did you attach the house numbers to the wall?? I love the way they stick out and add dimension.

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    1. Hi Renee,

      The house numbers were purchased with a stand-out screw because they were designed to stick out from the wall. We marked where the pegs would go into the wall and pre-drilled, they then just press into the wall.

      xoxo!

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  14. It turned out so well! Where did you find those house numbers? I've been looking for ones like those for my tables for our wedding. Maybe I can't find them because I'm Canadian?

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    1. Hi Lauren!

      I found the house numbers at my local Home Depot. I believe Lowes also sells a variety of options as well.

      Best of luck to you!

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  15. I love love love this! I wish I would have known that paint trick before we painted stripes on my daughters nursery! Oh we'll maybe next time!

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  16. It looks great! The walls look awesome... super subtle but lots of personality and class all in one! And i like the fun touch of the personalized hooks with the pop of color!

    Lauren | http://www.livelovelauren.com

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  17. I wish I was brave enough to attempt a painting task such as this. I love how subtle the colors are, too! I suppose I should venture to try this in our powder room.... The hubs probably won't be as thrilled. Lol

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  18. Looks great! I like the pop of coral.

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  19. Somewhat off topic, but do you find the towels dry well on hooks? We have bars (and I think every home I've ever lived in has had towel bars), but as our family grows I our bathroom wall space is becoming more precious, and I could hang a couple hooks in the place of a towel bar.
    Thanks!

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    1. Hi Tara,

      I love using hooks in bathrooms. So much easier for the fam to maintain (folding and neatly hanging towels doesn't happen here). And they seem to dry just the same, if not maybe a little faster. xo!

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  20. Love the subtle color! It looks great!!! I also use towel hooks because the bar is, well, annoying to me!

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  21. To say I am completely obsessed with this would be an understatement! So pretty!

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  22. Where did you get the countertop, sink & faucet?

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  23. Such a cute idea! I've been wanting to update our son's bathroom for a while, and this looks perfect!

    The Jewells | Pic A Memory Photo Booth

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  24. A perfect subtle stripe! I adore it :)

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  25. Love the metallic wall!!

    xo, Taylor

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  26. Was curious how the clean up process went for the critter spray gun??

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  27. That looks amazing. I'm afraid I could never even apply straight tape lines, let alone paint them! I love the subtlety, though. Beautiful!
    Lori

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  28. I have been DYING to try this technique!!!! I usually see it done in living rooms, but I'm absolutely loving it in a bathroom!!! But on another note, I have a VERY important question, something that I've just been dying to know ever since I started looking at your pictures. You have dogs, plus a ton of wood floors- how do you clean your floors? I <3 my pooch, but I despise hair on the floor- I feel like I spend half my life sweeping dog hair. Any time saving tricks??

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    1. I wish I had a magic answer for you Brooke! I love my Dyson vacuums because they are light weight and are great for dog hair, but I assure you we have little fuzzy bunnies lingering all over our home. :) I believe that static mops are great for grabbing puppy hair quickly as well.

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  29. Sorry to hear about the mishap, but the update made me laugh a little. I can just imagine "I'll just touch this up... Oh, whoops. Okay, maybe if I... Aw, nuts."

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