The First Step in a Bathroom Renovation

In my ongoing quest to get my house looking like I want it to, I have taken on the bathrooms. We have a full bath on the main floor, which is lavender, if you can imagine that! It looks like the perfect bathroom for a little girl, except that it has white flooring with green diamonds. Clearly the previous owners were not as particular as I seem to be.

We also have a 3/4 bath in the basement that we have given to our son so he has some privacy. That one has 1920s golfers on a border, gold spattered walls, some linoleum and some carpet. Also kind of an eye sore. He is choosing the colors for the basement, so I will deal with that in a later post, no doubt.

Because of the nature of our long, thin bathroom, there isn't much actual renovating that can be done without some pretty significant cash investment, so we are going for the cosmetic changes. The long counter was a pale gray/purple. My painting friend and I purchased Rust-Oleum Specialty Countertop Coating. It is tintable in 16 colors, but I will warn you, we chose olive, and it was quite a bit darker than the swatch that shows up on the box. At only $24, however, it seemed like a good beginning place.

After cleaning the countertops, I gently sanded the surface with a 200-grade sandpaper, which the man at the store recommended to rough up the surface a bit for easier adhesion. I suited up and began to do the work. Another warning: you simply must get the full Darth Vader mask, eye protectors, and gloves if you are going to work with this stuff.

It is really, really awful smelling, and our house smelled like it for a good two days even with every window and door open to the fresh, brisk winter air. Note to others: this is probably a better spring or summer project as our house not only was full of dangerous, brain cell killing fumes but also freezing cold.

I did two layers one hour apart, following the directions. It certainly has good coverage, but it sticks to anything it touches, so make sure you tape everything well. I got a little swipe on the wall, and I will have to sand it off before we paint, as it did not rub off like normal paint would.

I used a small, 4-inch foam roller and foam brush to reach the corners as there is no way anything can be cleaned and reused. I am quite pleased with the final look, although I am contemplating one more layer to make sure everything is really even. There are a few areas that have more of a streaky look than I would like.

This week we are tackling the walls and cabinetry, so it's a little hard to know for certain if I like the counter color or not since it is absolutely dreadful with the lavender walls at this point.

We are also getting a new vanity and light fixtures as well as new flooring and linens. By the time this bathroom is complete, it should look as transformed as possible and for not a tremendous amount of money.

This is a pretty simple, painless fix to bring this bathroom into the world of an adult space. I just hope all my brain cells can come along!

-Dayna Del Val

Comments

[Tamara]

I've got my fingers crossed that you recover your lost brain cells. Looks good so far:) I can't wait to see what the final product looks like!

[Marble Tile]

I like how to you the counter top and also the design of the tile flooring. I want to suggest to choose brighter color for your wall to looks more attractive and I think green is a best option. Hope you successfully renovate your bathroom.