Young House Love

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Cheap Bathroom Update

This guy:

Bathroom Art And Light And Trim

You saw the wall we were dealing with before we removed the not-very-functional shelf and towel bar here:

Bathroom Before3

And you saw it again after we spackled and sanded those holes from the fixtures and painted:

Bathroom Painted3

Well now, thanks to two nails (it’s a pretty light canvas), we hung up the DIY art that I made a while back (I originally whipped it up for the bedroom, but it’s nice to tie this color in here and it was aqua overload in the bedroom). Thankfully I used latex wall paint to make the painting (the same thing you’d use on the walls of a bathroom) so it should hold up well in here. It was a complete lucky break that it fits on this wall. And thanks to the ceiling-height shower curtain on the other side of the room, something over-sized on this side of the space actually adds balance, and feels less heavy or invasive than the shelf/towel bar that stuck out from the wall.

Art Full Wall

Admittedly, the pattern of the art isn’t perfect with the tree border tile that runs around the room since that’s pretty busy (see that up close here) but because we have a plan to redo that with soft frosted white or gray glass subway tile someday it should look nice and clean after Phase 2. It’s not that the tree tiles are terrible, they’re just not “us” if that makes sense. So we figure the room will feel more like our bathroom and not someone else’s when we put up accent tile that floats our boat.

And now for an art detail shot. Ooh. Ahh.

Detail Art

One of the coolest things about my homemade painting is how purty it looks with our blue light. The room just went from feeling beige and builder-basic to feeling like ours. Ya know?

Light Plus Art

And now for a light detail shot. Ooh. Ahh.

Art Light 2

One issue in here that we haven’t explained is that the door is too tight to the floor, so it actually doesn’t open all the way since it gets stuck on this floor grate. So we have added “remove the door from its hinges and shave a sliver off the bottom so it opens correctly” to our to-do list. And then we can have a bath mat outside the tub since it won’t get scraped by the door. Hurrah!

Vent Yellow Door

Speaking of the door, the trim around the window, the trim around the door, and the door itself were originally a beige-y off-white color. So things like the bright white towels, shower curtain, and light switch made that feel a little… dirty. We’re crisp white trim folks anyway, so I got my paint on.

Trim Unpainted

I used leftover semi-gloss paint that we’ve used for other rooms (it’s off-the-shelf white by Olympic Premium). And two coats later…

Painting Trim

… it was white! Like the towels and the shower curtain and the light switch. Oh happy day.

Painted Trim

Here’s the window all glossy and refreshed.

Trim Painted

Pretty much still looks like this from the doorway since you can’t see the art behind the door. But once you go inside, bah-dow, art in yo face.

Bathroom Prog

So that’s the latest with our cheap little bathroom update. We love that this step was f-r-e-e thanks to art we already had (sitting around in the playroom waiting to be hung – who’s surprised?) and leftover trim paint. And here’s what the ol’ to-do list looks like now:

  • paint the walls so they have some contrast
  • replace the boob light
  • paint the cream trim white
  • hang some bathroom-friendly art
  • craigslist the toilet and replace it with a classic white one
  • do something to add privacy to the window
  • remove the door so we can shave the bottom to allow for a rug/bathmat (and add a door stopper so it doesn’t squash the art)
  • replace the border tile around the room (maybe in phase 2?)
  • move the blue pendant light to hang centered in front of the window
  • replace the floor tile down the road (just to break things up since there’s so much of it)

So there you have it. Any trim painting or art hanging going on in your neck of the woods? Have you painted any giant canvases to add color to a small room? Or made some quick bathroom upgrades on the cheap?

Psst- To follow this bathroom sprucing project from the start, check out this planning post, this painting post, and this light-swapping post.

Comments

  1. Bethany Fisackerly says

    Looks awesome!! One question though- do you worry about the moisture from the shower impacting the painted canvas? Ive always been scared of hanging art in the bathroom for that reason.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think since I used latex wall paint (which holds up in a bathroom) instead of water based craft paint it has a much better chance of doing ok! After each of our first three showers I ran my towel-dried hand over the painting and there wasn’t dew or anything on it. So I hope it means that if it seems to hold up to showers now that it’ll continue to do so. It also was so cheap and easy to make that I might be tempted to just touch it up if over a year or two it needs a little refreshing. Now that we have it in there we love it so I’d hate to relocate the guy again! Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Jenna says

      I have had 2 canvases hanging in my bathroom for 2 years now, and painted them with craft paint. They are still in great shape!

    • Tyra says

      I’ve actually heard (from my moms interior decorator) that the moisture is good for some paintings, she has had one of those 8×10 home goods
      Discovered paintings (with the decorative frames-you know the ones) in the bathroom for a few years and it has done great!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We wish we could do a pocket door, but the only wall we could use for it has the plumbing for the shower in it, so it would mean completely reconfiguring that ($$$$) so I think using the door we have for now is the way to go. Once we shorten it a little I think it’ll be great!

      xo,
      s

  3. Anna says

    Wow, that crisp white trim makes a huge difference! I didn’t even realize how not-white it was until you painted it. And I am loving the pop of color with the art! So inspiring.

    Reply

  5. Karen J says

    It looks like it was made for that space. Have you considered (as a temporary fix) painting out the accent tile so it’s all darker grey? Then you would have the texture, which might be nice, but not the busy pattern. And it would give you a new thing to try.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I actually have thought about that, but since the border tile runs all the way around the room (and through the shower) I don’t think I could paint it myself with any lasting results (it would peel and scrape off in the shower) and we could hire someone to professionally reglaze it for a few hundred bucks, but we hope to replace it ourselves for less than that!

      xo,
      s

    • Amy @ this DIY life says

      I was thinking the same thing Karen! I didn’t realize that it went into the shower too though. What about a varnish or floor stain? Might be quite a bit of work for something that might not last, but just a thought.

      I read comments about the steam from the shower interacting with the canvas art. As a former custom framer, I think you should be fine considering the paint that you used. Had it been art paint, I would be a little more concerned. The canvas might need to be stretched sometime down the road (years), but it might be cheaper to just make a new one. But knowing $herdog, it will probably migrate somewhere else by that time :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, thanks for the tips! As for floor stain or varnish I’m just not sure how that would go over tile (since it’s slick it’s hard for anything to stick to it without beading up or peeling) but if I come up with anything I’ll let you know for sure!

      xo,
      s

  6. The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh says

    Okay, you’re making me feel like a slacker. We got all of our interior doors replaced 3 weeks ago from “fauk” (faux oak) to white 6 panel doors and the “Kitten” paint trim in the bathroom now looks dirty next to the brilliant white doors. We need to paint that and the beadboard/chair rail.

    Love it all though. Looking forward to your getting more things checked off the list!

    Reply

  7. Ashleigh says

    Crisp white trim makes such a difference!! We did the classic mistake of using matt first time round and everything got grubby really quickly. Repainting it made such a difference to the whole room. xox

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I did that too! In our first house I painted every room’s trim with flat paint and had to redo it all. Total nightmare. I cried as I painted.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just wiped it down. Probably would have primed if it were bare wood to keep bleed-through at bay, but just like we repainted the semi-gloss walls without primer, I did the same with the trim. Thankfully it worked!

      xo,
      s

    • megan e. says

      It really depends on what is currently on your trim. In my house, it’s flat paint on top of glossy paint which no one prepped first, so it’s all chipping. We are in the process of sanding the trim in every room of our house to rough up the surface and painting with a glossy white. If you aren’t sanding, I’d recommend primer to provide some grabbing power.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, that’s true! We usually recommend semi-gloss paint for trim (so wipeable, and has more flex, so it seems to grab better). They also make great primer + paint so maybe that’s a good idea! Or a liquid deglosser to help paint grab!

      xo,
      s

  12. Angel says

    Looking good – one thought, you’ll want to add a door stop after you fix the door! Don’t want those towel hooks to accidentally go through your canvas if Clara opens the door really fast/hard!

    Reply

  13. Laura says

    Mucho improvement!

    I know I should be embarrassed by this, since we’ve never met and all, but I feel like we’re friends. We have been busy making big and small changes over at the little yellow cape. I would love to know what you think!

    Thanks,
    Laura @ cookiecrumbsandsawdust.blogspot

    Reply

  14. Meagan says

    That painting is perfect for that space. I love it in there and am glad you found a place for it! I can’t wait for you to re-do that tile ugh…those trees…why haha.

    Reply

  15. Shellie says

    Sacrebleu! That paintbrush is not Purdy!

    LOL, I actually have that same brush and love it. But I totally had a moment in Home Dept before buying it of thinking “but Sherry says Purdy is the best….”

    Totally loving how the bathroom is coming along. I having been thinking about adding pops of Aqua to my kitchen after we paint the cabinets this weekend (eek!)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- yes! They sell this one at Home Depot and Ben Moore and I grabbed it once (feeling like I was cheating on my Purdy) but it’s awesome! Just as good. I think the short handled part is the key.

      xo,
      s

    • heather s. says

      That is hands-down my favorite brush! I use it for all of the trim and cut in work in my house.

      I was also nervous about the steam with the canvas so I’ll be curious to see how it holds up over time. I have a fan in my bathroom and I still get dew on my glass frames sometimes.

    • Penny says

      I would just like to thank Shellie for bringing back “sacrebleu”, which I haven’t heard since The Little Mermaid. I LOL’d!

  16. Allyn says

    Amazing how two good pops of color make that room so much more personal.
    Though you totally should have run with the whole tree tile thing and hung branches from the ceiling or something. I could see Hildi from Trading Spaces doing something nutso like that. Staple moss to the wall? Why not?!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Light coming in through the window was reflecting badly across the whole room (wrong time to take pics), so in order to have one of the whole room painted from the hall in time for this post I grabbed that from an older post. Haha.

      xo
      s

  18. bekah says

    Oh it looks great!

    I loooove painting canvases to add color to a room. We are renters, and while I love our house, the one downfall is that we cannot paint any wall. So this is what I did for my two year olds room!

    http://www.countrymousetales.com/2012/03/house-tour-jacks-room.html

    I painted the four canvases on the wall for him, and I LOVE the color they bring to a very basic square room! You have to scroll to the last picture in the post to see all four.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Light coming in through the window was reflecting badly across the whole room (wrong time to take pics), so in order to have one of the whole room painted from the hall in time for this post I grabbed that from an older post. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, choices like this are definitely not for everyone! I think the more personal you make a space the less it appeals to the masses, but the more it can feel like “you!” if that makes sense! The ceiling height shower curtain to the left of the toilet feels much more balanced with large art on the right side, but I can also see how if you’re not there in person it’s hard to get that from a pic!

      xo,
      s

  22. Lynn @ SafeBeauty says

    I love your artwork Sherry. My husband is an artist too and right now he is in his own head thinking about what he will create for our office art. Can’t push the talent! Well funny you should ask about bathroom upgrades, because last night I finally finished upgrading our master bathroom toilet by adding the dual flusher water saving system. (Psshhh no tools install my foot! Not if you are sporting a toilet that has survived 1974 down to today with the rustiest and oddest oversized bolts you’ve ever come across.) Yep. It turned into a 2 day project…

    My best, Lynn

    Reply

  23. stef says

    The white trim alone makes a HUGE difference! I never before realized how large your painting is. I like how it fills the space.

    Reply

  24. Kasey M. says

    You’ve inspired me to put DIY wall art on my every expanding to do list. I’ve got a very dark studio that needs brightening so while I’m adding lamps I might as well add the art too. I think it’ll be a cheerful upgrade :)

    Reply

  25. Katherine says

    I am just getting around to painting the trim in our house after looking at it and wishing it were magically bright white for SEVEN MONTHS now. A little at a time, during the kids’ naptime, and I am getting it done. I had the doors all painted by someone else though- I knew I didn’t have it in me to do seven doors on my own. I love bright white trim! It freshens everything up!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, thanks so much Stef! We’re so flattered to be among such other great blogs we love! We tried to post a comment on your blog but it wouldn’t go through so we hope you see this here!

      xo,
      s (& j)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got the light fixture at an outlet here in Richmond called The Decorating Outlet. If you click the link on the bottom of the post about switching out the light there’s more info for ya! And wow- that’s a big bathroom improvement without that wallpaper!

      xo,
      s

  29. Laura says

    Just a heads up for you – you will want to put a door stop on the wall when you shave some room off the bottom of the door – otherwise your robe hooks will go right THROUGH your new canvas.

    Love the bath though. Grey, white & turquoise will be the color scheme for our “someday nursery”… so I’m a fan!

    Reply

  31. Kori says

    I have a designing question for you. We have a small bathroom with dark wood trim and cabinets. We have toyed with painting the trim white, but no other trim in the house is painted. Its all dark wood. Would you paint it white to brighten it up? We painted the walls a light blue.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, I think rooms like bathrooms which aren’t an open-plan thing (they’re not open with wide doorways to other rooms and are usually more private and set to the site) are great rooms for white trim even if the rest of your larger and more open spaces have dark trim. We have seen lots of homes with wood and white trim in different rooms, so we always say to do whatever works for you!

      xo,s

    • Tirsa says

      The house we bought some months ago came with very dark wood trim in the entire house – as well as doors. One of the best decisions we made was to paint them all white. It had an unbelievable impact on how much lighter the house looks/feels. After you paint the trim in the bathroom, you might love it so much, you just might end up painting all the trim in your house. :-)

  32. Nora says

    I wanted to fist bump/thank you for your recommendation of that tight spots brush for cutting in. My dad and I painted my living and kitchen last weekend, and my dad used a regular brush until I convinced him to try that one. It was amazing! It worked for me, and I’m unable to write in a straight line. Even my old school dad admitted he liked it and said his hand felt less like a claw after using it. So thanks for giving me something to lord over my dad. Ha!

    Reply

  33. Casey says

    The tree tile looks way better next to the white trim! Those branches just “pop” and look more modern :)

    will your painting hold up in a moist bathroom? Id hate to see it ruined!

    Reply

  34. molly s. says

    EEEK. i love this! i want to DIY some art and hang it in my bathroom so that when i’m doing the business i can look at my wall and say “DANG I AM TALENTED. AND THAT ART LOOKS DANG GOOD AGAINST THAT SLATE GREY PAINT”

    :) hehe but seriously i love it

    Reply

  35. Beth, Lambic Pentameter says

    They do make floor registers that countersink. They are very pretty! (I work in HVAC, so I have limited opportunity to describe any part of my job as “pretty”, I take it where I can get it!) It would require tile work instead of shaving the bottom of the door. May not be worth it for this project, but something to keep in mind!

    Reply

  36. Bethany says

    Once the bottom of the door is shaved and can swing freely will the towel hooks hit your painting? Kinda looks like it. May need to add ‘install a door stop’ to the list!

    I gotta admit I was not sold on the light at first but it makes sense now that the art is in place. I should have never doubted you!

    Bethany

    Reply

    • Bethany says

      Nevermind, just saw this was caught by someone else. Y’all have so many backseat DIY’ers must drive you crazy!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, no worries! I was thinking the same thing when I was talking to John about taking it down and shaving it. We have to remember to put a door stop in!

      xo,
      s

  37. Kellee says

    We have been talking about painting our cream trim throughout the whole house to a white. Our house is nearly 70 years old and it looks as though the trim has been painted about 4-5 times (some colors we have spotted have been purple, green, and yellow underneath the cream). Do you have any suggestions for us since we don’t want to remove and replace all our trim to get a nice even coat to cover up some of the chips and scratches? We decided it would be best not to sand it as we are afraid some of the old paint might be lead based.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, just paint over it! No primer or anything. You could wipe it down with liquid deglosser first to clean it and then just do two coats of semi-gloss white and hopefully that’ll do it!

      xo,
      s

  38. Sara says

    Loving the changes!!! Methinks the art should be lower, like two thirds down past the tile border…yes, no?? Especially since you’re normally sitting in the room… y’know, the whole art at eye level thing…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We tried it at a bunch of heights and in person this one felt best to us! Having it overlap the tile was odd, and with a ceiling-height shower curtain on the other side of the room, over-sized art on this side actually adds balance. We don’t use the art at eye level rule everywhere (generally our only rule is “trust your eye and do what you like best” – haha).

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, floating vases are always fun. Ooh or you could find a collection of plates that you love from a flea market or thrift store and hang those in a grouping on the wall! Or you could frame copies of something you love (color copies are great because if they get ruined you can copy the original again). Or you can even frame things like greeting cards or calendar pictures that you like but don’t want to hang up there forever (and just replace them with newer cards or calendar images each year or so if they get a little “compromised” – haha.

      xo,
      s

  40. Staci @ My Friend Staci says

    Are you contemplating frosting the window for privacy without having to bother with a window treatment in the already-cramped room?
    I am thinking of using the contact paper variety in my bathroom but I’m skeptical of how it will play out with the steam from the shower.
    I’m too nervous to ask the landlords (my in-laws) if I can just use the real (permanent) etching gel!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Frosting film is the name of the game! We used it in a moist basement and also have used it on our side door in the laundry room and it works great! It allegedly peels off later too, so it’s good for renters. We get ours from Home Depot.

      xo,
      s

  42. Hannah says

    Yay happy lamp! I wonder how it would look if you spray painted the cord with Krylon’s Looking Glass to match the shiny accents.

    Also, I loveee ceiling height curtains. It seems like such a recent idea and I’ve always wondered how nobody has thought of this before?! It makes the room look so much more spacious.

    Looking good so far, keep up the good work! :)

    Reply

  43. Ginny @ Goofy Monkeys says

    OK, I’m starting to really like the space. The white trim really brightens the room up a lot. And the blue artwork makes the light “make sense” in the room (rather than it being the lone blue accent piece).

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Ginny! We are too! It’s so funny how going into this I though “I’ll never really like this weird tile all over the floors and walls” but things like art and color and a new light and crisp trim really help!

      xo,
      s

  45. Jimmy says

    We painted the trim in our place recently. It is amazing how much better everything looked after we did it. Such a simple and cheap way to brighten things up in the house.

    Reply

  47. Jessica @ The Tiny Abode says

    Hi Sherry,
    You should give yourself a good pat on the back for making a judgment call of removing the non-functional towel racks! Choosing something a lil’ less conventional is a risk and we love you for it! I think the oversized aqua canvas is awesome!

    P.S. Have you considered using a pretty printed roman shade for the window? That would scratch off “add privacy” from your to-do list and add a pop of color visible from the doorway.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Jessica! We have thought about a pretty roman shade for the window, but think we’ll go with frosting film since it’ll give us privacy without blocking light. We can always layer in a fabric shade for more color or texture and always keep it open so we don’t block too much light along with the frosting film though!

      xo,
      s

  50. Emma says

    Looks Fantastic!! Great use of making the room your own without redoing a WHOLE Bunch of tiling!!

    maybe someone mentioned it – just wanted to ask… would the door hooks poke into the canvas once the door can open fully?

    Keep up the amazing, inspiring work!

    Reply

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