bathroom transformation....part two!

I've been a little behind in my blogging lately....both with reading my favorite blogs, and writing new posts.  Really though....I have NO clue how teachers keep up with blogging during that week before and first week of school. 

I.  Had.  No.  Free.  Time.

It doesn't help that I literally am not teaching any subject with the same materials/objectives as last year....switching over to the Common Core for Math and ELA, and switching back to state standards (long story) for Science and Social Studies. 

And I caught a nasty cold.

So....it's a small miracle that I'm even writing tonight. 
I just missed blogging.  :)

And I had a great reason to finish my bathroom post-- a fun DIY link that I read about through a great blog I follow.  Thanks to Abby at Just a Girl and Her Blog, I was inspired to join this "party"!  Each week for the next 16 weeks, they have set a topic to blog about.

Since this week's theme is "The Color Blue"....I knew this was the perfect time to write about how my white bathroom walls became blue....more specifically, "Embellished Blue" from Behr Premium Plus.

I'm also going to head over and check out all of the other blogs listed above....probably not tonight....but soon.  I only have so much motivation for one night.  :)

 

So here's where I left off on my last post....

 

 

I had painted my cabinets a dark brown.... Behr's "Thick Chocolate" to be exact.

Also, above this sink was a large, plain mirror and that was taken down.

 

After getting all the prep done on this day, the next morning I assembled everything I would need to paint the walls.  Which....if you've ever painted a bathroom before.....is NOT easy.

 

 

Paint, paint pan, large roller for the walls, smaller roller for tighter spaces, a quality angled paintbrush/container to carry around for the "cutting in", gloves (yes, I'm *that* kind of painter-- messy).  Oh, and one more essential item when painting a bathroom....

 

A close up look of my (super techy-name alert) "behind the toilet painting tool".....also known as a paint-pad-duct-taped-to-a-paint-stick.   It worked perfectly for that tight space behind the toilet, so I didn't need to take the toilet out!

 

front (painting) side

back (MacGyver) side

 

I also took down the glass cover off the old, 80's-style? light fixture.   No crying occurred when this came down.  In fact, there may have been some happy-dancing.

 

 

 

 I wasn't planning on changing the fixture that day (I needed help with that), so I was just painting around it.  I did take out the two end bulbs, and I painted around the fixture first since I was going to turn the lights off for that section (didn't really feel like roasting up by the hot lights while painting up high in a small bathroom).

 

 

And since I didn't really have time to take any other painting-process pictures, (Plus....do you really need them?  It's painting a bathroom.  As I said, it's not easy.  Or fun to watch.) here are the "after" pictures.  It needed two coats, and I still had about a third of the gallon left.

 

 

Crazy how different the color looks between the top and bottom pictures.  All about the lighting.

 

Here's what it looked like next to the newly painted cabinets.

Love this combination!!

 

 

 

The inside of the cabinets weren't very pretty....some spills/stains from the previous owner.

 

Covered up with some pretty contact paper.

Which....if you've followed my blog....has made it into my classroom in this post and this post.

 

I also lined my two drawers with the same paper....I might have a slight obsession with it.

Or just a need to find more places to use it. 

Or both.

 

 

Anyway....I let all of the paint set for a week before doing anything else. 

With the humidity in the air (this was August) and this being a high-moisture room, I wanted to make sure that everything was set before putting on the finishing touches.

 

My awesome Mom came over to help install the new light fixture.

As usual when my Mom and I install new electric fixtures, it didn't go right the first time.  In fact, I think she made two trips to Home Depot for me.

Love you, Mimzy!!

 

I had to touch up with a couple coats of paint since it was smaller than the previous one.

 

 

 

And before putting on the light shades/bulbs, we also hung my new framed mirror!

I love this change-- it's exactly what I wanted and not a bad price (free- since I had a gift card).

It's covered because I put the mirror up before painting around the light fixture.

 

 

Then, the shades/bulbs were installed, brushed silver hardware on the drawers/doors (all thanks again to my Mom's help!)....and with some accessories including a new shower curtain, rug, and towels, my bathroom is put back together!

 

 

 

Sorry about the bad lighting in some of these pictures.....phone photography + low light + small spaces= not the best quality.

 

 

 

I'm so happy with how it all turned out, and next summer when I (hopefully) can get new floors installed, it will finally be complete!

 

With the new school year just starting, I will be taking a DIY-hiatus, but maybe once things start slowing down (i.e. summer 2014), I'll be back on the DIY wagon.  :)

 

 

For now.....this makes me smile.  Every time I walk in the room.