One of the most exciting parts (for me) of moving into a new home is the idea that every room is a blank slate waiting for modifications and enhancements to make it perfect for the family living in it. If you have been reading my posts for a few years you have seen some of the areas that I remodeled in my old house. A few weeks ago I tackled the first project at my new house. The extra bathroom on the main floor was the perfect place to start. Because the house is new and the shower, toilet, cabinet and counters didn’t need to be replaced this was a pretty simple project for me to tackle in a weekend.
Bathroom Remodel
Here is the bathroom before I started upgrading the builder-grade design.
I started by adding MDF boards cut down to 6″ wide strips x 78″ in length. This is a twist on traditional shiplap because I installed it in a vertical design instead of horizontal. All boards were installed with a nail gun so they went up quickly. I added a 3″ horizontal strip across the top. There were only two boards with tricky cuts at the edges of the cabinet. Once all the boards were attached I cleaned up the bathroom and filled the holes and the top section where the vertical and horizontal boards come together. I let that dry for a few hours and then primed the MDF boards. You don’t have to prime MDF but it tends to suck up a lot of paint so priming is a good way to use less paint…and primer is significantly cheaper than good paint.
Sherwin-Williams is my go to for paint! I prefer the Duration line that is available at the SW stores. I’m doing a project in my mudroom soon and just picked up some of the Emerald line that they recently introduced. You really do get what you pay for with paint so don’t be worried about spending a bit more – it will usually end up costing less because you can often get away with one galloon of quality paint when it would take two of the cheaper version.
After priming I painted the upper walls and ceiling. I wanted a really dark and dramatic look on the ceiling and I tried to mix 3 paint colors in a kind of random pattern. It was HORRIBLE! I could tell quickly that it was going to be TERRIBLE but I finished and I let it dry over night. It was just as bad in the morning so I quickly painted over it with the darkest color, Sherwin Williams – Urbane Bronze. I LOVE how it turned out! I finished the painting with white on the MDF boards and cleaned up the bathroom again.
If you want to see the big DIY PAINT FAIL watch this video!
Then it was time to install the new mat black faucet, towel hooks and round mirror.
Hooks are my favorite way to hang towels. They are much more practical than towel bars and even young children can easily hang a towel on a hook. An easy way to keep towels off the floor and organize the bathroom is by adding hooks.
Update the Hardware
I changed out all the hardware on the doors in the entire house a few weeks before – it took me 2 entire days! Yikes! It was nice to see everything come together with the black hardware in the bathroom and on the door. I may switch out the shower head eventually but haven’t found anything that I love at this point.
Lastly, I used a clear silicone caulking around the bottoms of the boards that meet the counter top to prevent any water from getting under the boards and potentially causing them to swell.
I added a few things to the counter and found these perfect bottles for the shower.
We are really loving how the finished bathroom turned out. What do you think?
To see more behind the scenes of the bathroom project I’ll be sharing details on IG stories.
Bathroom Sources
Towels | Hooks | Tray | Soap Dispenser | Bottles | Faucet | Door Knob | Shower Mat | Mirror
Tools Used
Mitre Saw | Nail Gun | Compressor | Circular Saw | JIG Saw | Paint Brush | Paint Roller | Laser Level
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Lauren is the founder of Intentional Edit, a home organization and lifestyle company focused on consciously editing to create efficient and organized spaces. Lauren believes that a functional home that looks and feels good has a positive influence on all aspects of life. Creating systems that allow for the home to function more efficiently, therefore, eliminating most of the clutter and chaos is her priority. While trends come and go organization is always in style!
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I’m Lauren, and I’m passionate about being organized and efficient and making spaces beautiful at the same time. I hope to inspire you to live your best organized life.
