Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Priming & Painting The Bathroom

When we last shared our hall bathroom adventures, we had removed the old wallpaper and were left with this:

After1

Not only were the yellowed walls crying out for a fresh coat of paint, the mirror had some functional deficiencies. As in, John couldn’t see his whole face when he looked into it. Just about anything from the nose up was cut off, so while he could still perform is-there-something-in-my-teeth checks, if he was having a Something About Mary hair moment (uh, but not for that reason) he wouldn’t have even known.

Bathpainted1

Beyond having a too-small mirror, the other issue was that the light fixture drooped about 8″ from the area that it connected to the wall, so a larger mirror would be hard to cram into that space without bashing into the… legs?… of the fixture.

Bathpainted2

What did we do? We turned our frown upside down. Along with the light fixture. It’s definitely not a permanent solution, but that in-the-meantime 180 degree spin freed up a lot more space to hang a larger mirror that we grabbed at HomeGoods. We love the shape of the mirror and aren’t sure if we’ll paint the distressed silver-ish frame down the line, but for now it’s a huge improvement just to see full faces. Look how much more of John you can see when he’s standing in the same spot!

Bathpainted3

We also made a few other quick updates, like removing this wooden toilet paper dispenser that we plan to replace with a simple oil-rubbed bronze one.

Bathpainted4

Then it was time to do something about the blue trim that ran around the bottom of the room and the bathroom door frame, so we taped off the slate to protect it.

Bathpainted55

It took four coats (two of primer and two of paint), so this is after about two primer coats I think.

Bathpainted6

While we were priming and painting, we decided the vanity could use some primer and paint as well. It wasn’t great wood (sort of reddish and dulled/scraped in a few areas) and there was an odor issue. As much as I scrubbed it I couldn’t shake the scent, but I knew a nice coat of odor-blocking primer + paint would do the trick. I also thought it was a fun opportunity to bring some color into the room with a bright coat of paint on the vanity, paired with clean white walls. Sort of like this.

So on went the primer to the vanity as well as the trim (I did two coats of it on the inside as well, just to squash that smell issue once and for all). This picture is just of the first coat I think though.

Bathpainted7

Then it was onto those two coats of paint (this is coat #1). We used Simply White (OC-117) by Benjamin Moore in semi-gloss since we loved how it came out on the trim upstairs that we already painted.

Bathpainted8

We painted both the walls and the ceiling the same white tone (Simply White in an eggshell finish to allow the trim to look glossy by comparison). I cut in and John rolled.

Bathpainted10

Two coats and a day later, we had this…

Painted B And A

In person it’s a nice clean-feeling difference. And although white is certainly more classic than risky, we think it’ll be fun to bring in color with art and a brightly colored vanity instead of just defaulting to putting color on the walls.

Bathpainted12

We’d still love to update things like the light and the sink along with possibly doing a more major upgrade down the line (grasscloth wallpaper? tiled accent wall? pedestal sink?). So you could call this first take on the hall bathroom Phase 1, which will just be a combination of a few cheap tweaks to make it more comfortable to live with until we save some money for a more “deep tissue” update later on.

It’s definitely a far cry from what we started with a few weeks ago already…

Half Bath Before

Oh and you’ll notice in that second to last picture that we’ve started stripping some of the wallpaper in the foyer as well as attempting to de-blue all of the trim out there, but it’s taking forever (this time we discovered a second layer of wallpaper and of course that crazy trim takes four coats) so we hope to be back with an update on those projects someday. You know, if we’re not found hiding under the table muttering “blue trim…. blue trim… it’s haunting my dreams… it’s eating my soul…”

*****************************

P.S. Last night I quickly snapped this instagram picture on the way back from our evening walk, and it one captures the green undertone in our teal door so it finally looks like real life. Leave it to the ol’ cell phone to take a more accurate picture than the fancy camera. #nofilter #instagrambeatsDSLR

Exterior IG Shot

Comments

  2. Megan says

    Man! You guys are big time now! Look at that big beautiful brick home on that secluded wooded lot. What a lovely place to raise a family. Congrats.

    Reply

  5. Brit [House Updated] says

    Looks great! I really like the all white fresh look so you can add color in other ways. I am voting for an accent wall of tile! And isn’t the 4 coats for the trim a pain? But so worth it to eradicate the blue trim!

    Reply

    • Joan says

      Agreed with Wendy and Elise! Your Phase 1 seems to be about getting to a blank slate.

      With the blue door and plans for a green vanity in the bathroom, it feels a bit like Sue the Napkin. Are you still taking inspiration from Sue for your whole house?

      I’d love to see a post that has mood boards or other thoughts about your overall design direction for house #3. Maybe it’s just me, but having a road map helps me follow you guys and builds excitement to see it all unfold.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That would be fun! I’m playing with paint chips and possible future layout changes so hopefully I can write up those first thought brain dumps soon!

      xo,
      s

  8. Dena says

    I like the color of your door but I was surprised when you chose blue as I thought you’d hate the color blue by now (trim)!!!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I know, right? I think blue worked its way into our brains and now we just think of this as “the blue house” so maybe that’s how the door ended up blue!

      xo
      s

    • Christen says

      I thought the same with yesterday’s post, but now seeing the real blue, it kinda looks like the blue spine on your book!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s so funny, we realized when we posted the photos on Monday that having painted a red, yellow, and blue door is like the three colors in our blog header!

      xo
      s

  10. Kate says

    It’s been said before, but it’s jaw-dropping what a little paint can do. I always wonder why sellers don’t put in a little extra elbow grease and paint. That would make their home so much more appealing to a buyer. Great job though! And to get the house in this kind of shape so early on is A-MAZING!!

    Reply

    • Stacy says

      I would have loved to have paint the trim and the walls of my current house but ended up selling it as is, simply because I was pregnant and we sold it so quickly I never got around to it. the only room that got a fresh coat was my daughters room bc the decals she had on her walls peeled off the paint. While I agree that it would make the home more appealing I think some people think why bother since so many people complain that the colors aren’t done in their taste and end up repainting anyways.

  11. Brittany says

    I’m glad I’m not the only one with blue trim problems. I was recently painting some blue trim at church and I think it took at least 5 coats (used a paint + primer mix) and I still see that blue showing through! Can’t wait to see what else you guys are going to do.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s maddening right?! Especially when you apply a coat and think “this’ll do it” and it dries and the blue is peeking through again! Haha!

      xo
      s

  13. Derek says

    Looks like you’re using Frog Tape? Is it as great as they claim, or is it just like the 3M blue stuff? Been interested in trying it out.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We love it! I hear the new blue tape has a similar formula now (something about Frog tape locks the color so when it gets wet from the brush there’s no bleed) but I only use Frog tape since that’s what worked best years ago when I did a comparison.

      xo
      s

    • Emma says

      I have been repeatedly let down by the 3M blue tape. In both paint jobs and craft projects, the stuff has failed me. Either I really suck or it lets paint bleed through (admittedly, both are possible).

    • Derek says

      Awesome. The 3M has barely let me down, but Frog seems foolproof with that chemical. Had some bleeding with 3M in the past, but mostly due to my inability to properly run my finger along it and seal it. However, I tried the Ace Hardware brand blue tape and that was the WORST. The bleed was unbelievable. I would have been better off freehanding it.

    • Tiffany says

      I have recently tried both (blue and green)and was soooo disappointed in the results. The best tape I have ever used for painting is that 77 cent masking tape from the paint section at Walmart. (Hope this isn’t regional.) I have never had it stick to something and leave a residue and it ALWAYS gives me clean lines! Hooray for affordable!

    • Linda says

      One thing the guy at Ace told me (including how he likes the green tape himself) is that the tapes tend to have actual useful lives. I had tried using old blue tape and was disappointed. He said the tape was probably too old for anything (since I had it for two years and who knows how long it was at the store).

  14. Laurie says

    Blue trim, blue trim… haha. I’m convinced that the previous owners of our homes have some inherited design influence over us. My new neighbors across the street painted their front door red as soon as they moved in. The door had been red with the previous owner passed away but was painted black by his son before putting it on the market. My house had blue trim and blue crown throughout before it was totally redone for sale. I found some blue crown above the garage. I ended up painting my bedroom a blue color that I never in a million years would have done before. I like it but don’t know why. (You painted your outside door blue) Blue door, Blue door!

    Reply

  16. Liz says

    Forgive me if you’ve covered this in previous posts but whats the deal with the grout in between the slate tiles? Call me crazy but I like the rustic vibe and actually like that tile. I wonder if the grout is just bringing the tile down?

    Also, despite not feeling the new blue door when it was first introduced, I love it after seeing the instagram pic!

    Oh, and nice teaser with the wallpaper-removal and trim. Can’t wait to see updates! Despite what others have posted, I think you’re really moving along with this house now that you’re moved in. We bought a house two years ago and are still haven’t changed several rooms because we want to get a better feel for how we will use each space long term. Heck, we still have boxes that we haven’t unpacked! Ha! Despite this blog being your job, I don’t think people understand that you actually live in this house so you have to make improvements to benefit your family – not to just rapidly spit out blog posts for us lurkers! :)

    Reply

    • Erin S says

      I’ve seen on Pinterest that foamy carpet cleaner is supposed to help clean grout. I’ve gotten so lazy about resealing mine that I think it’ll be the next thing I try before regrouting.

  17. Stephanie M. says

    That Instagram picture is causing me some serious house (and neighborhood) envy right now. I love it!

    And the bathroom is looking so much better already. I’m excited to see what color y’all go with for the vanity!

    Reply

  18. Michele Daggar says

    Blue trim, eating my soul….love it. The summer before my husband and I got married (1993!) we spent all our waking hours stripping 60 years and many layers of wallpaper from his grandparents house. You are bringing back a lot of memories.

    Oh and yes, trim in the house…..wait for it….. all “Williamsburg blue.” Yes, we stripped and painted our little hearts out. I just realized how the stripping part sounded. We were in fact clothed while DIYing.

    Get some rest and enjoy your summer!

    Reply

  19. Dana S. says

    Love the simple solution of turning the light fixture upside down! One unrelated question: do you plan to do a future post on packing and moving? I’m moving later this summer and am curious about your strategy. Thanks!

    Reply

  21. Eri says

    Looks clean and fresh! Simply White is my fave white, and the light fixture “solution” makes me smile… very down to earth :)

    A quick Q — how did you paint the part behind the toilet tank? Did you actually remove it?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I use a short handled brush when I cut in so I just got as much as I could back there so it looks good (since you can’t stick your head behind it, you can’t see where it’s not painted).

      xo
      s

  22. Consuelo H. says

    Hi,
    I would love to do something like this to the vanity in my bathroom. Can I use wall primer on the vanity? Or is there a special type of primer I should use? Should I do any sanding of the vanity? Any tips or suggestions would be so appreciated. Thanks!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      If it’s shiny I’d sand the vanity and if it’s not you can probably go right to primer. I’d use a stainblocking primer on wood (otherwise stain can seep through your paint job). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  25. Amy says

    I was excited to scroll down and see a colorful vanity…and then nothing but white! Looking forward to seeing it painted, I think it’ll be a great pop of color in there. =)

    Reply

  26. Andrea says

    What I meant to ask for ages is this:
    I’m a person with safety issues ;) so I’ve been thinking about getting my own place quite soon so the money doesn’t slip away like it does when you’re renting ($1300 rent wahoo..) but it’s really hard for me to figure out what’s in my budget.

    How do you guys do this? Do you try and come up with a roughly estimated budget for each room and just add it up to see what you might have to invest apart from the actual price of the house?
    Sorry if this is a weird question but it’s been keeping me awake at night lately ;D

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Our simple approach is literally just to take things one day/project at a time, so we don’t look at each room and say “we’ll spend $500 in here and $1000 in here and $200 in here” (that would probably give me a heart attack seeing it all added up at once, haha!) we have more of an organic approach like “we have these three things we have to get to first for functional/safety reasons” (ex: leaking roof, rotting trim, dangerous trees) and then we’ll tackle smaller and easier projects for a while to let our bank account recover until we’ve saved enough for a larger task on the list. It seems to work out that way (each year we usually do just one or two big projects and a ton of smaller/cheaper ones, for example we did a stone patio at our last house the first year, a kitchen makeover about 6 months later, a deck build about 6 months after that, and then a pergola and porch makeover 6 months after that).

      xo
      s

  27. Manda says

    We JUST painted our bathroom vanity a bold color with the rest of the bathroom white! We chose a medium teal/peacock color for the vanity with a crisp white countertop! LOVE it!! So excited that we share a brain on this one!!!

    Reply

  28. Tandra@LittleHousesBigDogs says

    Oooh! So fresh and so clean, clean…Sorry I couldn’t resist! I adore the antique mirror against the way. I need to de-blue my house as well. (We have a three rooms all the same little boy blue color.)Oddly enough the mirror and light fixture seem to work together…Antique brass seems to be coming back, are you guys into a smidgen of brass?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have such a weird relationship with brass. We love it when people like Emily Henderson use it, but when its an old fixture or doorknob that came with the house (most likely from the 70s or 80s and not from the 20s) it’s hard to us to look at it as sophisticated when it feels sort of brassy and not us. I think maybe the lines of something have to do with it, so an elegant clean lined brass sconce from the 20s is amazing, but a brassy light fixture from the 80s isn’t our thing.

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ours is a chalky matte texture so we don’t sand or degloss, but if yours is shiny that would be a nice first step if you can muster up the energy.

      xo
      s

  31. Tracey says

    Love it all! Wondering if you are putting the sink vanity doors back on (they are off in the final shot) or replacing them with two baskets….I see that more and more in magazine pics. I imagine it would be great for the ease of not having to deal with opening and closing doors in a tight space, while adding some textural interest? Anyway, awesome job! Its beautious!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, doors will go back on, they’re just off because I like to prime and paint doors when they’re flat on a dropcloth. Leaving them off with baskets would be cute, but I picture Clara dumping out their contents every morning. Haha!

      xo
      s

  33. Tanya says

    Love the white bathroom. White for a small bathroom makes it looks so bright and clean.

    Have you considered painting the cabinet the same colour as the front door? It would a) provide a carry through of colour in your front hall, and b) save on buying new paint.

    I love the door colour so I would probably end up painting every accent that colour so maybe your choice of a complementary green is a better choice. :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I thought about that at first but I think we don’t want blue everywhere so we like the door feeling like a special burst of color while the vanity holds its own in a different tone. Who knows where we’ll end up though!

      xo
      s

  34. Jen says

    The updates look AWESOME! I’m really impressed that you all are tackling all of these things so soon after moving in…I’d still be unpacking if I was in your place :-) A note about using grasscloth in a bathroom: be careful because it stains like crazy and doesn’t allow for clean-up! My office has a few walls covered in grasscloth wallpaper (original from when it was built in 1991) and most of it is stained and looks pretty terrible. We just had several of the walls de-papered and repainted to clean things up because the stains didn’t go away after cleaning. Maybe they make it better now and it’s easier to clean? Not sure, just wanted to let you know what my experience has been!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the tip Jen! I think they make wallpaper that’s more bathroom-friendly than regular room paper, so we’ll be sure to look into any staining/wipe-ability stuff!

      xo
      s

  36. Reenie says

    Love the pic of your house.

    Have you ever used DIF to remove wallpaper? Best stuff ever ~ it comes in a spray/squirt bottle form now too. I had several layers of wallpaper/paint/wallpaper/paint, etc., to get off ~ and it works wonders. =)

    Reply

  37. Sarah says

    Yay, much brighter!

    Looking at the last instagram photo, I bet your neighbors really appreciate you guys sprucing up the exterior. This shot shows how much the white trim updates the front step and makes the shutters pop.

    I know you live in the cul-de-sac section so probably don’t get as many passer-by’s but has anyone commented on the new door color?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ve actually had two people ask us for the exact door color name, so we hope that means they like it! Haha! Since we go on nightly walks we’ve run into a bunch of neighbors who are all so sweet about the changes. One person even thought we rebuilt our pergola and added new railings and we said “that’s just the power of paint!”

      xo
      s

  38. Ari says

    Hi Youngsters! Love all these real time updates and can’t wait to see what else you do to the rest of the house. Question, I have “builder-grade” doors and trim in my house (oak color) but the door are not real wood and not sure about the trim, can you recommend a good paint that I may use to cover the oak and turn it into pretty white?

    Have a great day!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I would check with the paint pros at the desk, but a good stainblocking primer + latex paint (maybe Zinsser Smart Prime + Benjamin Moore’s Natura paint) should be great!

      xo
      s

  40. Lisa E says

    Love that last pic of the house. Very pretty. The bathroom is already looking so much brighter. Can’t wait to see what color you pick for the vanity as well as the knobs. I have the same vanity counter top/sink which I’m not a huge fan of and had the same faucet. I would like a new counter top/sink eventually but in the meantime we just updated the faucet and that made a huge difference. Sometimes it’s amazing what the little tweaks will do.

    Reply

  41. Allie says

    Oooooo, LOVE the green vanity in the link. Can’t wait to see the bathroom finished! Also, good call on removing those trees in the front yard. Definitely opens everything up.

    Reply

  43. Laurie says

    Man! I can’t believe how dramatic it is when you just paint the trim. Why have I waited so long to do my own? I’m jumping on your trim-paintin’ band wagon this summer. My motto however will be, “no more brown trim.”

    Reply

    • Megan says

      Isn’t white trim just so pretty? I started painting the trim in my house and tackling the many colors…avocado green, chocolate brown, baby poop brown, dingy white, baby pink, brick red, and various peachy tones. Yes, all in one house on one floor. White is the way to go.

  44. Summer says

    I absolutely love your house! I would love to live in a neighborhood similar to yours one day. And the bathroom is coming along great!! Keep up the good work you guys!

    Reply

  45. Elizabeth K. says

    Wow, I’m so glad I read this today. The cabinets under our bathroom and kitchen sinks both smell really musty, and nothing seems to get the smell out – I’m totally going to get some of that odor-blocking paint, and hopefully that will work! Love your blog!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha! I’ve been OBSESSED with the idea of a white bathroom with a colorful vanity forever! Our last house didn’t have a vanity that really worked for that (the hall bathroom one was so large and seen from the side, the one in our sink nook wasn’t balanced since it was open on one side, our guest sink was a floating porcelain one). Basically I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life.

      xo
      s

  47. Julie @ Living on the Ledge says

    I think your blue trim is haunting MY dreams. I love seeing it vanish as you work through the house. Our last house was all mismatched wood trim, and when we were finally done painting it all white, it was such a wonderful feeling. You guys are making such great progress – I love to watch the daily updates!

    Reply

  48. Tara says

    At what point do you decide lets put in a bit of cash right now to spruce up a bathroom versus complete it right now the way you want it? I’m always conflicted on whether or not to make it more pleasing (do a short term fix) and leaving it alone until I can finish it the way I want. Oh and as always your touches around the house are beautiful.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s the hardest call! I think in our case we come up with some cap in our mind and aim for that as an “in the meantime budget.” Meaning if we can spruce up this space that we use everyday (and our guests use regularly) for an $100 investment now, that is worth it to us and then later we’ll spend more than that on a real redo after we save up the money. I think the cap changes with each room (for example, if the guest room is fine as it is, we’ll just leave it without doing a phase 1 until we can dive into The Real Makeover. Hope that makes sense!

      xo
      s

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