our full bathroom: no longer rated PG-13 for frightening scenes

This was one of those projects where nothing went as planned. Instead of 2 days, I think I spent 3.5 or more and it still wasn’t done.

Before I get into the details (since if you’re like me, you’ll probably just scroll for pictures anyway), let’s check out some before and after pictures.

Here’s our lovely before.

Annnnnd….

Mismatched trim…

Bright and white!

(Also, HOOKS! Hooks galore! No more draping your sweats over the sink or toilet-seat!!)

Obscured…

Accessible.

(I know, just barely. But these *are* big towels. Bigger than ‘average’ towels. And being tall, I always try to be aware that not everyone’s as tall as I am. Installing the rack any higher would have been uncomfortable for the vertically-challenged.)

Nasty and in your face:

Fresh (and out of the way):

Rusty and apt to fall down (it was on a suspension-spring):

Smooth, secure, and space-maximizing.

Lumpy and bubbly:

Patched and [fairly] uniform.

Everything isn’t perfect, but we are so, SO happy with how much better it looks in here.

Now here’s what went wrong with the project.

• The new doorknob I bought for the door didn’t fit in the knob hole. We do not have the tools to widen it. “Adjustable to fit any door” my ass. I attacked it with a dremel. I burned, chipped, and clawed my way through it. I pounded on it. I mis-threaded screws and bent threads. I might have shed a tear or two. Doorknob is on. May we never speak of it again.
• Both of the doors were still sticky after I stained them following directions (I have been wiping them repeatedly – more stain seems to ‘seep out’ every day. This did not happen with my stairs or floor projects.)
• The shower rod was a PITA to install and its assembly just barely fit in between the ceiling and the tub surround on the low side of the room.
• I realized I can’t mask the tile; that’s how some of the paint was torn off in the first place (when I painted the bathroom ceiling back in 5/2009). I also didn’t feel comfortable masking the just-painted trimwork. So I had to freehand all the trim.
• You already know about the bathroom fan fiasco.
• The shelf I bought for the closet didn’t fit through the door (it would have fit inside the actual closet, but the trim did not allow it in). Thankfully I was able to return it and stick a different one in there.
• I did not buy quite enough trim paint. After 4 coats (2 of white primer, 2 of white paint), you can still see the darker part peeking through in some places. Will have to revisit this later.
• The white paint I bought to touch up the tile and tub surround was not even close to the right shade of white (they only had one shade of white). I ended up going over it with the trim paint color, which now looks better but not great.
• Injuries sustained: I sliced my thumb open with a razor blade on the morning of day 1, while carving gross old moldy caulk out of the tub surround. Mr. N cut up his hand on the fan removal project on day 1. I cut my pointer finger on the sharp lid of the tub of caulk on day 1. I somewhat-seriously burned my pinky finger on the soldering iron–also on day 1. So you can imagine that my staining and paint-removal endeavors resulting in a lot of… stingy-ness.

So that’s that.

Here are the actual purchases I made for this room, along with my original estimates.
Ventilation [vertical discharge, *snicker*] fan, Amazon.com: $27 (with shipping) (Est. $50)
Wall Paint color sample can (did not buy): $0 (Est. $3)
Wall Paint color quart, Lowes: $12 (Est. $12)
Trim Paint sample can, Lowes: $3 (Est. $3 for a sample can)
Dark Walnut stain, small can, already had it from another project: $0 (Not Estimated)
‘Delicate surfaces’ painters’ tape (did not buy): $0 (Est. $8)
White tub caulk, Lowes: $4 (Est. $3)
Glossy white tile paint, Lowes: $5 for ‘commercial enamel’. (Est. $10)
Ceiling texture patch, Lowes: $5 (Est. $5)
Locking doorknob, Lowes: $21 (Not estimated)
30″ Towel bar, Amazon.com: $25 (with shipping) (Est. $20)
Curved shower rod, Amazon: $37(Est. $50)
Carbide-tipped drill bits for tile, Lowes: $15 for a set of 4 (not estimated)
Robe and garment hooks, Lowes: $16 (Est. $20)
Shower curtain, Overstock: $26 (Est. $20)
Bathroom closet shelf, Target: $20 ($15+$5 for the cubby thing) (not estimated)
Light fixture sconces, Lowes: $27 (not estimated)

Total spent: $243.

Aaaaand here are a few decor details.
Wall color: Valspar National Trust for Historic Preservation collection: Hotel St. Francis Fawn [3001-9C]
Door trim color: Valspar Polar white [7003-16].
Door stain color: Minwax Dark Walnut.
Shower curtain: Overstock.com “Cityscape” in taupe/white.
Rugs: Already had them, from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I don’t know what brand the square one is, but the toilet rug is Nautica (Machine washable! Yes!)
Wall cabinet: bought at Walmart (I think) 4 years and 3 residences-ago.

The fan was surprisingly cheap; the towel rod surprisingly expensive. I couldn’t even find a 30″ towel bar at Lowes or Menards — I had to look online. I tried to match the shape and finish of the current fixtures (mainly the faucet and light fixture), and most of my results were priced at $50-$90 for that size. I had all but settled on a $46 bar at Overstock.com when I stumbled upon the Plumbing Overstock store at Amazon.com. Woohoo! $15 bar ($25 shipped). Still over the estimate, but at least it wasn’t 3x the budget!

New skills learned in this endeavor:
1. Bathroom fan replacement! (Mr. N had to do a lot of the removal work on this, as you found out.)
2. Scraping out old caulk with a knife!
3. Patching acoustic ceiling with polystyrene paste!
4. Drillin’ holes in tile! (Well, Mr. N did this too. But I watched and marked holes!)
5. Painting edges without masking (because you can’t mask painted tile. The tape tears the paint off the tiles).

We really like this room! It came out quite well, really. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot less scary to look at. The copious amount of hooks are probably my favorite addition, but I really love the fact that the walls are now neutral instead of that funky purply blue.