Monday, March 1, 2010

Bathroom on the cheap

Well, I am not happy! I cannot get the before pictures to work. I've tried till I get so mad I could scream. So, please, close your eyes and I will take you away to a far away place in 1990. The hot colors are mauve and country blue, can you see it.
You love this great style called Southwest. Your bathroom counters are mauve, what else. You have this great wallpaper with mauve and blue mountains and flecks.
You have a very small mirror probably purchase on a great sale at Walmart and also the light fixture above the mirror is the kind with the huge round light bulbs, you know the kind. (I still have one in my own house.) You thought it was a great idea to put cheap paneling 1/4 of the way up the wall. Yes it is looking very late 80's. Beautiful! Now open your eyes. Are you relieved, it was a bad dream.
Now let me tell you what I was allowed to do. No tear-out's. I had to leave it all in tact. No painting the cabinets. ( I really tried on this one, no luck). No new counter top or tile work. No painting the paneling. (I talked him out of this one.)Well do you want to see? Oh how I wish I could show you the before's.
Here it is now...
You won't believe this but I spray painted the counter top. I kept asking around and the guy at Home Depot told me to use floor paint, another told me to use a really good primer then us whatever paint I wanted. I just decided to try this Rustoleum all surface spray paint in brown hammered finish. I had used it on my front door handle and had great luck with it sooooo why not try it. I'm not sure I would recommend it a heavy use area or in a kitchen but this is an old couple and it has been several months and they report that it is holding up well.

Can you see the paneling? I finally talked them into panting it a darker color than is on the walls. It looks sooo much better. Two walls were to damaged to just paint so we opted for wallpaper again but just a neutral that looks like a light paint finish. The light fixture was purchased at Home Depot for $25. The new larger mirror was purchased at Ross and it has a scratch so we only paid $20. (We hung it with the scratch on the top so you can't even see it. We bought the wall art at TJ Max and Rod Works, all for under $50.
Here is a closer look at the counter. I had to do alot of coats, but it's not bad, Hu?
Have you used that fabulous stuff called spray paint? Tell me your fab spray painting stories.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, Brooke it looks great. It is amazing the difference some paint makes. Biggest impact for smallest cost. We recently painted out colourbond fence it was a bright Mediterranean Blue and is now a nice subtle grey. It looks much better, very cost efficient makeover!
    Nellie xx

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  2. Love it! It looks great!

    Bon @ Drab to Fab

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  3. Love, love, LOVE spray paint! It cures almost any decorating illness :) Great job!

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