Plank project

Hey all!  I have not posted in over two weeks but I assure you, I have not been idle!  I finally caved into the planking trend.  What better place to try it out but in a small, very doable space, my downstairs bathroom.

It is a small bathroom and I didn't think I was up for a full room plank yet.  So I decided on the back wall, or what looks like the back wall when you look into it.

(I apologize in advance for the yellow-y tone is some of these pics but this is a tricky room to photograph due to the placement of the window.  I have to have the light on or the pics are super dark.)

 See that big window grid with fabric on it next to the toilet?  Yeah, that is covering up an awful little secret.  Lets just say it involves a rookie homeowner and a can of texture spray.  

I tried to get a closer pic of the "texture" below.

 So I removed the towel rods and shelves and toilet paper holder.   I decided I wanted my planks about 7" after doing some math so I could get the strips precut and I would not have to trim any of them the long way.  Then I measured how many I would need at each length and went to Home Depot.  I picked several large sanded 1/4" ply wood sheets and the Home Depot guy was nice enough to cut them for me.  Side note:  if you are going to have them cut these for you, DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND!  I made the mistake of not getting enough cut the first time (because I was not sure I was going to do the wall behind the toilet and had to go back for more).  The weekend crew was too busy and aren't super happy to make a ton of cuts for you.

Back at home, I painted my planks (highly recommend this step) before putting them on the wall.  I wanted a little contrast between the planks so I chose to keep the wall color as is instead of painting it white.  I painted my planks with the generic Behr paint+primer white.  I think it is a non-color but whatever.  It is nice and bright.  I used it on my board and batten in my entry way and liked it so I used the same on the planks.  Once those are dry, I applied a caulk adhesive the backs like so...

Then I placed my first plank up at the ceiling and used my pneumatic nail gun to nail it on.  (I started at the ceiling because I was going to just put my trim back on and figured if I messed up on the math and had to cut the plank the long way and use my jig saw, the trim would cover up the not perfectly straight cut I would have to do.)  I did not try to find the studs at all (thank you for saving me that step, Allie).  And thanks to the blogosphere, I found out about the nickel trick to space my planks.  See below.

 Place a nickel between the planks and your spacing is done.  Nail it on and move on to the next plank.

 Forgot to pre-paint a few of those little pieces.  

I caulked at the ceiling and where the board met each other and along the shower.  I was almost done.  But I wasn't digging how I messed up caulking the seams were the walls meet.  Some of the caulk got stuck between the planks and it looked sloppy.  So I decided to use a little piece of trim were the planks meet the walls to cover up any imperfections.  You don't have to do this step but it was really bugging me so I had to.

Here is what I mean.

And here is the little piece of trim I used in the corners.

I still have to fill the holes and paint it but it cleans it up nicely.

I also placed this edging on the ends of the wall but the window and the toilet wall.

 I filled the holes on the planks and touched up the paint.  Then rehung the shelves, towel rods and toilet paper holder and there you have it!

 I have a few other decor changes that will take place in here but for now, I am very happy with it!  I think I will plank a half wall in my craft room with my leftovers.  I was not anticipating the texture of the planks to be quite so rough so I think I will sand the leftover planks myself and then white wash them for a little different look (translation: I am too lazy to go buy new paint to paint them solid white and I don't need much paint to white wash a few of the planks).  Stay tuned for that project!

Linked up to:

http://www.thoughtsfromalice.com/?m=1

www.thriftydecorchic.com

Bathroom reveal

Well, after our old dinosaur laptop was unable to obtain a wireless signal anymore and we were forced to get a new laptop, I was able to figure out how to download pics to this new laptop and can finally share my upstairs bathroom makeover.

Here is the the before:

BOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIIGGGGG.

Then came the new wall color, painting the vanity, new shower rod and shower curtain, new vanity light and a DIY towel hook.  Which got us to this...

Which already made a huge difference.  But my vision was for much more of a change.  And it was accomplished by adding a barn wood frame around the mirror and some barn wood shelves over the toilet (thanks Dad!!).

 Lantern I got from a Swappers Meet while in MN recently.

 Wash clothes at the ready for cleaning baby and toddler bodies.

 Q-tip container was another MN buy recently.

Close-up of the new light fixture (that I installed myself).

 And there you have it.  The bathroom has a totally different look and feel for minimal investment.  Are there still things I want to change?  Of course (linoleum floor).  But I think it would be a waste of money since I have plans/visions for a complete bathroom remodel several years down the road.  This is perfect and looks even better in reality than it did in my head.  I am eager to change up the shelf decor with the seasons.

From this...

To this....

I still have one last decor item to add but I will get to that later.  Stay tuned.

Upstairs bathroom update

Our upstairs bathroom has been the armpit of our house for years.  It is neglected and forgotten about.  Truthfully, it is embarrassing.  I painted this room the first year we moved into our house.  I chose what I thought was a nice neutral color only to get it on the walls and have the hubs ask, "why did you paint the bathroom flesh color??"  I thought he was ridiculous.... but he was right.  It was all wrong.  Over the years, I did change out the shower curtain and add some art but it was no use.  It was not working.

Nevermind the paint lid and screwdriver on the counter.  I had already removed the art, towel racks and started prepping for paint before snapping these pics.  

Since we can't remake the bathroom into a larger, more spacious bathroom right now, I at least could update the place better.  (Ideally, I would like to knock out the wall behind the shower since that is our walk-in closet, and extend the bathroom back several feet, put in a double sink vanity and put in hexagon floor tiles.  Yeah, apparently I have nothing better to do but dream about house updates.)

I painted the room a greige (grey/beige).  Any you already saw the hook rack I made here.

New shower curtain and curtain rod.

New light fixture which I installed myself!!

 Sorry the pic of the light is hard to see.  I have never seen the bathroom so bright in the last 9 years we lived here!  Holy light, Batman!!! I will get a better pic of that soon.

But more exciting, the vanity got a new look with some paint and hardware.

Paint: Behr paint and primer in one, blueberry twist in semi-gloss.

Love it!!  More to come...

Just patting myself on the back over here...

Why?  Let me show you...

The upstairs bathroom makeover is well underway.  I hated that we really only had one towel rack and an over the door hook for 3 towels.  Drove me batty.  I needed something to hold more towels AND was cute.
So, I took an old board I found in the rafters of my garage and cut it down...

Spray painted it, sanded it down with an electric sander, stenciled some numbers on it with the grey/beige wall color I am painting my upstairs bathroom...

Applied some Polycrylic and attached some hooks and bam!  I have a "new" towel holder for my bathroom.

I promise I didn't paint the bathroom pink.  It looks like it but it is actually called "Smoked Oyster" and it is by Behr.  I am still having issues with taking photos indoors without any natural light and without the flash.

For exactly $0!

This one shows the color a little more accurately.

But where did I get the hooks, you ask?

From this hook rack I had in the entryway that I don't need anymore after putting up the board and batten.

Now there was nothing wrong with this but it just was not going to fit with the style of the bathroom.

It is pretty much perfect.  Stay tuned for more bathroom updates...