Simple and lovely!! ...
Not so lovely... Ok here it is...My hideous bathroom! Or at least it was my hideous bathroom until I got sick of looking at it and got my hands dirty repainting!
It was so dark and gloomy! Gross sponge painting on the walls and a dark finish on the dresser that holds the sink. Yuck!
Check out this awful lighting! How can anyone put on make up in this lighting?
So this is how I did it...(Please excuse the wonderful no hair, no make up photos...oh, like you put on make up when you paint! ;)
I'll take it slow for you newbies out there. Notice the blue line just above the white paint. That's called a chalk line. We snapped a line of chalk on the wall to define a place for the white and blue paint to meet.
I rolled the bottom portion of the bathroom...twice! ...to cover up all the evidence of that horrible sponge paint!! Then I brushed in the corners and as close as I could to the chalk line. Be careful not to run your paint brush through the chalk or you can smear it into the white paint.
This is a bubble level. It's what you use to get a straight line on the wall. Don't try to eye ball it...I promise you it will not turn out well. You will need two people to do this correctly unless you're a MOM used to doing a hundred things at once...
... like balancing a baby on your hip, opening the car door, talking on the cellphone, holding your purse, your keys and 18 bags of groceries all while making sure not to hit the car parked way too close to your car door, and yelling at your other 2 children to get in the car, on the other side, and not get run over doing it...YES, WOMEN RULE!!
If you wanna be real cool...like me ;) ...you can use a laser level to get your straight lines. This is especially helpful when the line will be on more than one wall. This level will shoot a laser light out each side of the level, and the laser light even wraps around inside corners!! It is so COOL!! (Can you tell I'm a tool freak!?) You can purchase one of these at Home Depot or Lowe's for around $15.00.
Once you get your level line, you will want to mark it on your wall. The easiest way to mark a straight line is to use a chalk line. This is a photo of a chalk line and the container of chalk that comes with it. Don't forget to buy the chalk if the one you purchase doesn't already have chalk in it. I don't think they come prefilled...just check to be sure.
So this is where you need either a nail or another person. If you have a person to help you, one person holds one end on the line and you stretch the line out to the other end of where you want the line marked on your wall. Once it is where you want it, make sure the line is tight, then pull the string away from the wall and let go quickly. If you did it right, you will have left a chalk line mark on your wall.
My wonderful hubby...Mr. Patina Soul helped me with some...and I do say SOME, of the painting even though he HATES to paint!
He was even nice enough to remove the toilet tank for me so that I could paint behind it without all the normal headaches of painting behind those things...and he didn't even complain! :)
Thanks honey!
After I finished painting all the white on the bottom 3/4 of the wall...
I rolled a beachy blue on the top half of the wall and "cut in" ...meaning used a brush... near the trim and molding. Oh lookie there, my trademark paint on my elbow.
Over the white and blue line we hung a "chair rail"...fancy lingo for a painted board... Hubby installed three old hooks and brought back in the dresser I repainted, and reinstalled the sink for me.
...then we hung the mirror and changed out the lights...
...The chair rail and three hooks...
While we had the dresser out, I asked my super handy dad to cut the drawer fronts off one side of the dresser and turn them into a door. The drawers were not working very well for holding towels. So now I have the look of an old dresser but it works way better for storage! Thanks Dad! Btw, this is pretty easy to do...I could have done it myself, but my dads love language is doing things for others, so I let him do it for me! Work = love to him. :) Works for me!
So don't be afraid to try this on your own. You can do it!!
Here's the other side of the dresser...still all drawers.
One more shot of that ugly bathroom before...
And the AFTER photo! Much better!!! I still need to fancy it up with all my pretty bathroom elements but I'm way pleased with the results already!
Happy decorating and God's blessings!
Soo...I'm not really a huge dog fan, although my kiddos have two doggies, but something about these photos make me smile!
I guess it's the use of vintage items, married with a bit of whimsy
...and this would be perfect to keep those dishes from sliding around the floor.
...and again with the vintage cute factor! I can't get enough old stuff!...or the little furry friends. OK, maybe I do like dogs after all. Shh...don't tell me kids!
