Week 2 of the One Room Challenge is here!
What a chaotic week it has been creating this tranquil space!
Let's dive in!
As I shared last week, I plan to touch absolutely everything in this room in some way, so when I began working this week I decided to get the messiest jobs out of the way first.
The Shower:
In my original plans for the shower, I was going to spray paint the metal shower frame black and add some black "grids" to the glass. I wasn't very excited for the prep work for this project, but knew if I wanted the spray paint to adhere well I would need to thoroughly deep clean every centimeter of the shower. Well, as many DIY projects go, this turned out to be a bigger job then I bargained for. I was only about an hour into the deep cleaning when I realized just how long it was going to be to get absolutely everything off of it. If you're reading this, take this as your sign to go deep clean every nook and cranny of your shower now before it gets out of control.
I decided it would be so much easier if I just took the shower completely apart so I could better access it to clean.
Then I would be able to paint it outdoors and avoid tarping off my whole bathroom.
Well, things changed again when I finally got all the caulk scraped away and the doors taken down and I saw how dirty the shower was.
My mind instantly started doing some calculations.
You see, we plan to take the shower completely down one day.
At that time I will tear out the existing floors and tile the entire floor into a walk in shower.
I don't mind working hard, I enjoy it - however, with my timeline and budget for this project, I didn't want to spend multiple days cleaning and scrubbing our old shower just to eventually rip it completely out in a few years.
I decided to pivot from my original idea and I'm so glad because my new idea is even better!
I decided to take the metal shower frame completely down and say goodbye to that forever.
Then I deep cleaned the remaining base.
In the upcoming weeks, I will be using a tub and tile kit to repaint this shower to brighten it back up to its original glory.
Then I will purchase a corner shower rod and hang a gorgeous linen shower curtain there instead.
Not only will this fit the vibe of my overall design better - but will also make the room (and the shower) feel much bigger!
Not to mention the added bonus that this will be cheaper and far less work than my original plan.
But more on that later.
The next thing I tackled, was the windows.
The Windows.
I have been loving the black window trend!
Because my goal for this room is "dark and moody" it seemed like the perfect place to try it.
First I took off the window trim.
In the next few weeks, I plan to make my own new trim that's a bit more modern in design.
Then I went ahead and pulled out the window frames so those would be easier to paint. (Those will be painted white to contrast with the black windows.)
To prep, I used paper and painters tape to completely cover up and protect the glass on all my windows and a large sheet of plastic to protect my bath tub.
I didn't waste time covering anything else in the room because literally everything in the room is going to get a paint job.
If this is not the case for you, you want to cover EVERYTHING within a radius of atleast10 feet.
Overspray from spray paint is a huge thing!
I wore a venitlator for protection (also a necessity if you are using spray paint indoors) and opened all the windows in the adjoining bedroom.
First, I sprayed with Rust-oleum primer.
Then I sprayed with Rust-oleum paint + primer semi gloss black.
I ended up doing about three light coats to get a solid coverage.
It's important to do light coats so your paint does not drip (especially when your working with a vertical surface like a window)
Its also important to make sure you keep your arm moving when your spraying and don't hold in one place.
When the paint was mostly dry, and just a little bit tacky, I pulled off all the paper and tape and the windows look gorgeous.
I left the bedroom windows open for the rest of the day to fully air out the room.
I am waiting as many days as I can to open the bathroom windows so that the paint gets plenty of time to adhere - I will let you know how that goes!
After the windows had dried a few days, I took on one of the biggest projects in this room...
The ceilings!
Scraping off a popcorn ceiling is something I have never done before and was so excited to try.
My whole home is popcorn ceiling, and someday I'd love to do the whole thing.
I thought this small bathroom would be a good experiment to see how it goes!
I purchased a special popcorn ceiling scraper that can hold a bag to it to collect the scraped popcorn and a few more plastic sheets to protect the floor.
Here's what I learned from this project:
1. The special tool I bought to scrape did not work well.
The bag got heavy very quickly and didn't catch everything so there was still a huge mess on the floor anyway.
The scraper wasn't flexible enough so it missed so much of the ceiling
(because chances are, your ceiling underneath popcorn is NOT level and flat, FYI!)
I decided to try out my regular flexible putty knife and WOW, what a difference.
So much easier and way more effective.
2. Spray your ceiling with a generous amount of water first.
I filled a spray bottle with water and would spray a small section at a time before scraping it. The water soaks into the popcorn and it comes off 10000% easier then if you're trying to do it dry.
Ideally, you spray and let it soak for a 10 or so minutes.
I was working within the confines of my three little boys' naptimes so I only let it sit for 2-3 minutes before scraping and it still came off fairly easy.
Just so you know, by easy, I mean it was definitely still an arm workout, but very satisfying to see it peel off!
3. Cover everything!
I laid plastic tarps over almost the entire bathroom and that made it so easy to clean up when I was done.
All I had to do was fold up the tarps and throw them away.
There were a few spots I didn't have enough tarps for, and it took so much longer to clean those areas.
It is worth the extra time and trouble to make sure absolutely everything is covered.
4. Proper protection.
I wore a ventilator and safety goggles.
Spraying the ceiling first reduces the dust, but there is still plenty of it, and you definitely don't want ceiling pieces falling into your eyes.
If you live in an older home, you will also want to get your popcorn ceiling tested for asbestos before messing with it.
After you scrape your ceilings, you'll need to go back and repair some of the damage your putty knife has made.
I had a few dings and gashes that I just repaired with joint compound and sanded smooth. It's not perfect, but 10000% better then the popcorn ceiling.
Finally, I was able to paint the ceiling!
I went with a deep jewel green called "tarrytown green" by benjamin moore.
My inspiration green was "essex green" by benjamin moore but because this bathroom only has one set of windows, the lighting is pretty dim.
I thought essex green might end up looking black so I opted for a similar color that was a slightly lighter shade.
I'm so glad I went with tarrytown green because it turned out exactly like I had in mind.
When painting anything, always keep in mind how the specific lighting in that area will effect your color.
Finally, this week I also began tackling...
The walls.
I am doing a DIY "Roman Clay" dupe by mixing paint and joint compound together and using a spackling knife to apply it to the walls.
I chose a color called "wild trufffle" by behr and have been working on this the past few evenings after my children are in bed.
I have a few spaces left but I ran out of joint compound!
Something to keep in mind if you try this: The joint compound will lighten your paint drastically, so when choosing a paint color, choose a shade darker then you want the final product to be. In this next picture you'll see the color on the right is the original paint color. The color on the left is when it is mixed with joint compound.
As you can see, it has been a busy week for me
BUT SO MUCH FUN. After all this work in week 1, this is how the bathroom looks right now!
I know what you're thinking This is your tranquil bathroom? Messy, splotchy brown walls? No window trim.
A green ceiling? Hang in there with me! As I always say, you have to trust the process. There's so much more to come and when it's all said and done, this bathroom is going to be gorgeous. Thanks for following along! you can follow my work in real time at www.instagram.com/honeydohoney_home Also be sure to check out the other One Room Challenge participants at www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog Thanks for being here! Lets go create!
Carrie