Monday 14 April 2014

I'm living wallpaper free - bathroom update.

Last week, Sue Jason shared with us about creating a minimalist bathroom and now I'm ready to share the start of our bathroom fix up process and how I'm enjoying my bathroom a bit more now. It's cleaner, fresher, emptier and wallpaper frieze free! Hello blank walls.
Every time I had a shower the wallpaper frieze just glared down at me. It was ugly and just made the bathroom feel dirty and dated. I had already removed a lower down frieze and some in the toilet but the bathroom wall is surprisingly high.

Dad and I tried just using a wet warm cloth and scrapper but was sad to discover that the wallpaper frieze had been stuck over another wallpaper which was much harder to remove. This meant we needed to hire a steamer for $39 and get to work removing it. The wallpaper made a big mess as it was removed but it was so nice to see blank (albeit dirty walls).
It was quite a process but then it looked a bit more like this... (I'm not quite sure the photos do justice to how gross the walls were)
I  had always thought I would paint the walls white to be nice and neutral but after thinking about it I realised that the.white paint mightn't be the best choice to make the old white subway tile walls pop and look whiter. I had been eyeing off some minty green bathrooms on pinterest and since I had plenty of sea bubble paint leftover from the nursery I decided to be bold and have a white ceiling with sea bubble walls. I just love how clean and bright the bathroom now feels and looks.
Unfortunately I am still learning how to photograph this space and the wall appear much whiter/apricot in the photos below but they really as mint green as the pictures above.

The bathroom has existing features that I really like- the subway style tiles, added shelf, his/her vanity, large shower with two heads and matching gold handles and hooks. As this is not a finished project yet, I look forward to having shelving to clear away the clutter on the current shelf, in hopes of achieving an even more minimalist look.

I am also considering painting the vanity white as there is a lot of wood in this room. I think painting the vanity might be just enough as painting the two doors and window frame would be too much considering how much other painting is necessary in the house.  I also want to frame the mirrors and add some built in shelving around the his/her mirror to hide the necessary bathroom items that make the space feel more crowded than it needs to be. I am considering getting some artwork too to hang on the space above the other towel rack and give the room a little bit more personality. I know it will be a small picture and need to include white, gold and mint brought together. Right now I'll just enjoy sharing the change with you readers and feeling that bit cleaner and better in the bathroom :-)
Lisa x

8 comments:

  1. the room is lovely, I do miss not having the double wash basins back here in our home in Northern Ireland that I loved while living in the US and also in Belgium.

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    1. Sorry forgot to add that I was dropping in from Sweet Sharing Monday

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  2. Looks nice! I love the shelf above the sinks. This bathroom is so much bigger than my little section of our jack and jill bathroom. I hopped over from A Round Tuit linky.

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  3. I love the green. Can't wait to see all the updates in person :)

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    1. Looking forward to having you visit again soon xx

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  4. I love the tint of a colour along with the white tiles, really freshens it up :) popping over from Jembellish :)

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  5. Looks like you're on to something here! The bathroom looks fresher and cleaner now that the wallpaper is gone. I also love the subway tile and I'm glad to hear that will be staying!

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    1. Thank you! There was no way I was parting with subway tile, after all it was one of the features I was pleased to inherit when we bought the house :)

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