This time, it's the bathroom

So the trouble with cold, wet weather is that I tend to stay in the house much more and find myself imagining what it would look like with different paint and a little imagination. That is a dangerous combination.  At least for me it is.  This time, my bathroom fell victim to my cabin fever.  This is the before....

Several years ago when I first moved in to this house, I put up a wallpaper that clearly was not meant for the bathroom.  Each time we would take a shower, the steam would rise and the corners of it would peel a little further down the wall until I couldn't take it anymore. So I tore the paper down and unfortunately some of the sheet rock mud with it.  Leaving my walls a huge patchy mess that needed to be re skinned.  I don't know why today was the day, but I ran to the garage, grabbed some joint compound and went crazy.  As you can see, I have become fully committed to this bathroom refresh.

I chose to paint the walls a nice relaxing grey. I have used many grey paints before and have always been left with a purple hue which wore on my last nerve.  But I finally figured out the secret to finding the perfect "true" grey.  Make sure the paint has a green base to it.  NOT BLUE.  This particular color is Ralph Lauren's "Camino Grey" and it is a texture paint, suede. (Which I have learned to love because it hides 95% of the flaws left on the wall from a novice sheet rock mudder).  The suede technique is super easy.  It is nothing more than a base coat (and not even a great one at that) and then layer two consists of nothing but criss-cross motions all over the wall in an uneven pattern. The more uneven, the better.   

I framed in my window

 And this is what it looks like before the trim got touched up and painted. 

I know it's a total mess, don't judge me, I am not "cleanly creative."



So, it's not just enough for me to paint and call it good.  Oh no. I always seem to have to find a reason to use my nail gun and air compressor.  So, after a lot of thought and browsing through some great craft websites for inspiration, I came across one that I have totally fell in love with called the HOUSE OF SMITHS and I took one of her ideas and made it work for me. 

This is over my bathtub surround.  She used a vinyl pattern that she cut on her silhouette.  I started to paint this harlequin pattern, but then decided that was not a brilliant idea and did something that is so unconventional.  I used paper and modge-podged it to the wall.  Oh, How I love the modge-podge.

With the exception of the missing white towels, which are still being laundered, I think the end result was quite fantastic and quite crafty. Don't you?