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Around the House: Half Bath Surprise!

By Dawn Sailors In Around the House, Half Bath

First of all, I should apologize for the somewhat sporadic post schedule here lately. During winter, when the hub is right in the middle of basketball coaching season (i.e. not here to help with projects) and it’s dark both when I leave for and get home from work, it becomes more difficult for me to not only have time to post, but have time to take photos in good light. So while I try to stick to my Monday, Thursday, Friday post schedule, it doesn’t always work out that way. Never fear though. Spring will be here soon and I fully anticipate a return to normality at some point.

Now to the topic at hand.

A couple weekends ago, I got a little crazy and went to town on the half bathroom on our main floor. I call it crazy, because it was a whirlwind project, and definitely not on the top of my ‘must do right now’ list, but I suddenly really really really wanted to just get it done. I think it had something to do with getting these gorgeous wall tiles in the mail that week.

I had been dreaming of them for months, and right before Xmas, Blik (my go-to awesome vinyl decal store) had a sale on their wall tiles. So I took advantage. Then they didn’t ship forever because of the Holidays, so I put it out of my mind.

But when it showed up on my doorstep, I suddenly felt a desperate need to get them up- like now. Hence the spur of the moment bathroom reno. To refresh your memory, here’s what the bathroom looked like when we moved in, and what it’s looked like since we quickly made it over the first time:

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) for you, you can’t see the sweet carpet that was in this room in the first photo. One of our first house projects was a makeover of this room that all our guests saw and had to use. And so for the last 2.5-ish years it looked like the second photo above. Which was a drastic improvement. But which I never really love-loved. I’ve mentioned it before. That post was back in 2011, so you know this awkward little room has been bugging me for a while now.

But now I have vision and I luuurrrve it. I’ll be back in the next week or so with a final room reveal, but for now, here’s a sneak preview of where we’re at:

Dramatic right? After adding the wall tiles (which is basically as difficult as sticking a sticker on the wall and using a credit card to smooth it out), I headed to Lowes, picked up some basic white primed molding, and started cutting and installing it around the room.

It feels so much bigger and brighter, and I love how the molding adds detail to the bare walls (which is exactly what this little room really needed) without taking up any space at all. And I’m proud to say that I did it all on my own. Ok, Brett hammered three (3) nails, but otherwise I did it all on my own!! Yes, I’m becoming quite the carpenter.

Actually, this whole thing was so spur of the moment, that I didn’t even tell the hub what I was up to, other than to text him on my day off and say “I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on all day!” To which he replied “Uh-oh. That sounds scary.” :/

Anyway.. where I’m going with this (other than that the hub knows me quite well) is that it was relatively easy and anyone could do it with minimal power tools. Just the way I like it. Here’s a little step by step in photos:

I added pieces of molding as I went, until I got the look I wanted. I just used liquid nails on the back side of the boards, and then added a few small nails so they would have some extra stability and wouldn’t move at all while the adhesive dried. I still have a few more pieces to add, and then I need to give everything a final coat of white paint (right now it’s all just primed), touch up the blue in a few places, and add some decorative details, but I love it already.

So now when I walk by the hallway, instead of cringing or ignoring the room, I smile at the very bright walls and custom-look molding. I can’t wait to get everything put back together and show you the finished room!

Until then, have a great weekend, friends!