Transformations

Challenge #1: Out with the 80's

This bathroom is a very good representation of what the rest of our house looked like when we first moved in four years ago. Had I documented the REAL transformation from day 1, you'd see iradescent blue and pink wall paper with 8 inch flowers lining the remainder of the walls.
Gag. Me.
The wallpaper was one of the first things to go when we first moved in. Now we are left with brown, brown and more brown.

Here's a before...had I thought about documenting this prior to starting the project you could actually see the cabinets ON the walls, but hey, I've started and that's what matters, right? So here we have floor to ceiling (very low ceiling I might add) cabinets, in 1980's honey oak brown. Extremely well made cabinets, with MUCH potential. I had already removed the top cabinets in this picture so you're seeing the inside. The bottom cabinets have already been removed as well, but I realized I should probably get them in the picture for good measure. (Check out that awful hardware and hideous wall paper!!)

I decided paint wouldn't be enough for this small space, so I decided we needed to remove the upper doors to open up the bathroom a little. Mark added the beadboard walls and trim, spray painted the brassy hardware black and I sanded, primed and painted everything. I ended up using two coats of primer and two coats of paint. I used Behr Cottage White in Semigloss. For the doors and level surfaces I added Paint Easy to the paint (not to the primer) to eliminate any brush marks. This added more time and effort because I really had to watch for drips, but the finished product was soooo worth that extra effort. Brush marks?? What brush marks??



Instead of buying a new TP holder to replace what appears to be the original TP holder from the 80's, I had Mark spray paint the wood pieces. Instead of leaving good enough alone, I decided to use a little toile scrapbook paper and some Mod Podge to finish off the look. I'm still not sure about it, but it will do for now.



Everything on the shelves were items I already owned but dressed up a little. EXCEPT for the black metal frame. I found that at Hobby Lobby on the clearance shelf for $4.76 (Normally $13.99). The tall candle was a candle that I've had for 10 years (I think it was a wedding gift) and have never used, I wrapped it with a 12x12 sheet of scrapbooking paper and added a the green ribbon for a splash of color.
The black metal piece on the top shelf was something I bought at Hobby Lobby a few years back, it was antique white and framed...the frame was chipped. The 8 year old removed the frame, and Mark spray painted it black.

I am currently working on fixing up a serving tray that I found at Goodwill which will be added to the shelf to add in a little color.

Next on the agenda is a new drop in sink, bead board walls and popcorn removal. Yeah, I probably should have done the popcorn removal FIRST, but where's the challenge in THAT??