DIY | Operation Home

Finally, a small bit of bathroom progress! Woo-hoo!! I had this grandiose idea that I’d have the bathroom painted by now, but alas, fate had other plans. I got sick last week and did nothing instead. Dumb Texas weather. If only Mother Nature would decide between 20 and 70 degrees and stick with one for a while (*coughcough* 70). Maybe then we’d all stop getting sick. Anyways, back to business….

We began our bathroom makeover here, when we painted our tile bath surround. And now, we’ve moved onto lighting. We started out with this plain-ish builders light…

Functional and bright, but not really our style. So, we picked out this guy as a replacement…

Portfolio Ellicott 13-1/8-in H Galvanized Dark Sky Outdoor Wall Light

My parents bought it for us for Christmas. They got it at Lowe’s. And I love it. I’ve noticed that using outdoor fixtures indoors has become kind of a trend lately, and I totally jumped on the bandwagon. I’m really digging the more industrial, rustic look.

Joey is the resident light-fixture-installer in our household, so he got on it. The installation process went a little slower than usual because the old fixture was literally mounted on drywall alone. There was a large hole in the drywall with two smaller holes beside it, thus, nothing to mount the new fixture to. To rectify this, Joey fabricated a solid surface on which to mount the fixture by screwing a piece of scrap wood to the stud within the larger hole.

And then he mounted the fixture to the wood. I used this stuff…

…to fill these smaller holes beside the fixture…

I just gummed the spackle in there with my finger and let it dry (this stuff turns white when dry which is convenient).

Then, I applied a second coat with my finger and did my best to match the rough texture of the walls. I’ve learned not use a spackling knife or trowel when patching smaller holes because they create smooth textures, which scream “HEY! I’M A PATCH!” next to our rough walls.

Here’s the new barn light once all was said and done…

Ignore the splotch of brown in the mirrors reflection. That was a test paint that I tried back when I was still attempting to make the old tile work. It was hidden by towels before, but I recently took down all wall hangings to prep for paint. So, there it is. For all to see.

I have to say that I’m really glad I waited to choose a paint color until our barn light was installed. The lighting change was DRAMATIC. I expected it to be different since I knew we were going from four bulbs to one, but it still surprised me. At first, I thought it was too dark, but I really like it now. Before, the bathroom was so glaringly bright and now it’s a softer more pleasant atmosphere.

So, now I’m still on the hunt for a shower curtain and then will be choosing the exact paint color (since it’s easier to coordinate paint color to a fabric than vice versa). But at least I’m happy to report a wee bit o’ progress. 🙂

Remember my friend Lisa?

We started her guest room makeover a few months ago in one action-packed day (which you can read about here). Basically, we went a little backwards for the sake of usability. That day, we cleaned, decluttered, shopped, figured out a more functional layout and assembled the room. Thus, the room could immediately accommodate guests. This time around, we painted the walls. Woo-hoo! I’m that weird breed of human who loves to paint, so this was right up my alley.

The plan was to paint the walls a deep grey and Lisa happened to have almost a full gallon of Glidden’s Seal Grey on hand (which she’d used in her bathroom). So, we went for it. Her boyfriend helped out immensely by moving all the furniture to the middle of the room. A task which would’ve taken us forever, literally took him minutes. Conveniently for me, it was done by the time I arrived. (Bonus!) He also helped us replace the furniture once we were done. And boy, were we glad he was there. I don’t think I was prepared to take on that beast of a piano again. Not that I was much of a help the first time around. Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself as per usual… Backtrack to ‘the furniture was moved to the middle of the room’ part… And go… So, we removed all of the outlet covers and got to work. We opted not to tape off the trim and windows for the sake of saving time. After many moons (and lots and lots of practice), edging freehand has become quicker and easier for me than spending forever-and-a-grandma taping only to discover unsightly paint bleeds later.

Here are a few ‘in progress’ shots…

I cut in and Lisa rolled. It took us about 3 hours from start to finish.

Once we were done painting, we decided to take on the piano bench as well…

The fabric on top had seen better days and the base was a bit scratched up and possessed more of a red undertone than the piano, so it didn’t quite mesh. This little guy had terrific bones, though, so he was definitely worth keeping. We roughed up the base with 220 grit sand paper, then used Rustoleum Universal spray paint in Satin White, and gave this baby several thin, even coats….

We recovered the the cushion with some of the same fabric that I used to update this tray (sorry, forgot to take pics of this part)….

I purchased a quarter yard from Walmart for 99 cents and thanked my lucky stars that it was the perfect size to recover this small bench. I utilized the same method for recovering this cushion that I described in detail when I recovered my eight dollar chair seats.

And here’s where we ended up….

Cute, huh? I just love it. It’s quirky, fun, and brings some turquoise and feisty-ness over to this side of the room.

With our little bench complete, we reassembled the room, ironed the curtains, hung those babies up, and then I went mad snapping pictures. And without further adieu, some before-and-after shots for your viewing pleasure:

The music side of the room started here….

After Day One (sorry for the smaller shots in this post… I forgot to shoot a few angles while I was there, so Lisa sent me these on her phone) …

After Day Two…

Obviously the red painting had to go. It just didn’t jive with the rest of the room. This blue painting works perfectly though. And our adorable piano bench adds a punch of personality as well. I added another quarter yard of fabric as a makeshift table scarf for the storage bench to bring a touch of black and white pattern to this side of the room. It balances the graphic bedspread on the opposite side really well. We still need some artwork for above the storage bench, but that’s a project for another day.

The bedroom side of the room started here….

Day One…

Day Two…

This side of the room stayed pretty much the same except for the wall color. But the deep grey tone makes all the difference. It really allows the curtains and bedding to pop and the room seem so much cozier in general.

Lastly, the dresser side started here…

Day one…

Day Two…

Again, only the paint color is different, but it sure complements the deep walnut dresser. We still need to accessorize and hang some artwork, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Here’s a wider view so you can see how the room ties together a bit more…

And the obligatory, proud-of-our-progress shots…

I just love paint. It’s amazing how something so cheap and easy packs such a wallop. Anyways, we’re almost there, but still have a bit more to do.

So, for Day Three of this makeover we’ll be…

revamping this ceiling fan…

creating some art for the walls
adding some accessories

I’m not sure when we’ll complete these things, but we’ll get ‘er done for sure at some point. And of course, I’ll post about it when that time comes. So, does anybody else have painting projects going on right now?