1/2 Bath Revival

One of the first renovation projects in our new house was the 1/2 bath because it was the smallest space in the house.  I knew every room was destined for repainting but I started here because I was so excited to revive this dead space and start making this house feel like our own! 

It's an adorable room.  Totally charming...and  I realize that's a strange thing to say about a bathroom.  But when you open the door, the first thing you notice is how insanely TALLLLLL the ceilings are. They're GORGEOUS.  Then there's the oversize old window = so old it's worn, worn, worn, but still, it's sweetly bright and cheerful ...like an adorable old man you just want to hug. Call me crazy. :)  

  Then there's the sink. We affectionately named Big Bertha.  She's all huge and clunky and probably just as old as Mr. Fenster (that's Mr. Window to you.)  You can tell she wanted to be equally as charming as the old window and tall ceilings but she's, um, how do I say it kindly? Well, not. :(  She was probably an original. I'm just guessing here.  For that reason I'd been torn about giving her the boot.  Except she reminded me of an old gym class drinking fountain with her crusty gams down below and rusted old slits in her porcelain finish.  You can see my dilemma.  I think the previous owners even tried to spify her up a bit by giving her new sparkly hardware, but it just didn't do the trick.  In all of her awkwardness, the prettier features of the room were hardly noticeable: the updated and much nicer light fixture, aged but still perky glass shelf, super tall ceilings, and huge window.  Sorry Big Bertha, you did well but it was your time old girl.  And I'd already found a younger girl to take your place.  She was only 60 beans at Lowes.   

Here she is in all her rusty, ring-around-the-drain-hole glory. :) Ps. Take note of her legs. All 3 of 'em.

- WARNING - 

Toilet shot coming up next.  

Don't mind the off center canvas and strangely placed fake flowers in our spare TP canister.  Those were parts to a *Pinterest* project I had imagined would end up in here...but so far it's still a no go.  

On top of my BB problems were the brown and cream colors that just weren't doing anything for the space.   

See how they're not making each other look like much? Picture dead flowers. Dried, hung upside down, faded from the years and full of dust. No energy or spunk.  That mental image is what this bathroom's colors made me feel like.  Not to mention the incredibly interesting linoleum flooring that was made dingier by the too-yellowy cream wall color.  

 It took me all of .25 seconds to decide after seeing this bathroom that I wanted to paint it something HAPPY! 

  So armed with a 2 quarts of paint and an uber determined energy for transforming the space, I dove right  in.  I'd been to Home Depot and fallen in love with the earthy and cheerful colors of Martha Stewart line and since dusty teals are totally my fav, I grabbed a quart of a color called Rainwater for the upper half of the walls and Popcorn for the bottom half.  See how the color is a soft, Tiffany Box blue that really feels warm and lively but not to in-yo-face energized? :)  Let the ooo's and ahhh's commence!  I personally think it's a much better color for the space. It opens the room up, brightens it, raises the roof (woot, woot)! 

Prior to painting, I Spackled and sanded two spots on the ceiling that were cracked and uneven.  

It took me less than one hour to cut in and get the first coat up after which I stood back to admire my handiwork and was so pleased with the outcome that my giddy-meter went off the charts = ridiculousness.   Picture me thrusting my paintbrush towards the ceiling and shouting, "it's alive!!!!! Mwa-ha-ha!" And then dancing like King Julien :)  haha!

    

Because this is what painting can do! :)  

(Ok, no, the paintbrush didn't magically turn Big Bertha into a more sophisticated and sparkly version of a pedestal sink.  That was ah-la my husband on another long weekend. :)  

But can you see the magic in my wand?! Er...paint brush? 

Don't mind the art hung on the walls. It's hanging on old nails because I was too impatient to remove and spackle over those so I painted over them. :) Cheese :)  Yes, I made time to spackle the ceiling but not the art holes. :) haha. MUST HAVE NEW COLOR MORE!

Even the scary linoleum looks slightly perkier now that I painted the cream colored faux-tile surround. The original plan was to replace that faux-tile with board & batten but for the time being, other rooms needing painting takes priority over demoing cheesy wall applique.