So I needed to update my guest/main bathroom so it no longer looked like the 1980s it came from...

Before

After


(Numbers match pictures below)
It started out as (1) take down the wallpaper and paint. I'd already been trying to get the drawers from wobbling, and finally did after the paining. I knew I'd have to prime before painting, a first for me when painting. And I realized that (2) I'd probably end up having to replace the light fixture - the end bulb socket on the right had burnt out and didn't work anymore - and that (3) I would want to replace the mis-matched wall cabinet with a nice simple white behind the toilet. Finding that was harder than I expected, but I was VERY happy when I did find it at Target. While painting, I suddenly noticed the light switch plate was painted to match the wallpaper! (2) So I had to replace that. (4) I got the drawers to stop wobbling by putting under-center-drawer slides, which was harder than it should have been because the drawers were so thin bottomed that I had to snip the screws that hold the slides on. Or rather, I had a LARP friend with strong hands snip them! I also ended up (5) changing the hardware (knobs) on the drawers and doors, adding knobs to the drawers that didn't have any. Would have been helpful to know at that point I actually owned a drill, but instead I got out of the house to visit friends and borrow a drill for a few minutes. Okay, all good. However, having painted the whole room and made it look so nice, I could now see how grungy the drawer and door fronts looked. So (5) I painted them too, which actually went a lot easier than I expected! (6) I put up a towel bar (much better!), but then, of course!, I had to (6) change the toilet paper bar. Once it was all done - yay? - I realized the faucet did NOT match and I really should (7) replace it. Then after that, the toilet's flush handle stuck out like a sore thumb and so (8) I had to replace that too.... Whew. Okay, finally, I had been wanting to recess the light in the shower pretty much the whole time. Once I took the old one off I thought it was going to be easy, but it turned out the hold housing refused to come out of the ceiling. Arrgh. Well, a lot of grit, determination, pain, metal snipping and hammer work later, I both 1) found out that my electric screwdriver is also a drill and works A LOT better when actually charged *rolls eyes* Oye, and 2) fatigued the metal of the housing bar enough to move it around up there. I had to use tile nippers to widen the hole in the tiled over ceiling, and still fought against the old housing bar while trying to get the new housing up in there. But it FINALLY worked! Then all I had to do was get a shower rated trim to cover it. Thankfully I noticed a label on the housing that said what kinds worked with it, before I ordered the wrong one. It came today. It went up very easy! And now... (9) done! :D

Oh wait, but not. :( There's enough of a gap between the recessed lighting trim and the ceiling that I need to caulk it sealed. *sigh* Oh well, it's done enough now for pictures. See! (Above)

The bathroom looks much cleaner now. And while it's not "Oh beautiful!", it looks nice and looks like it's ready for someone to do something with it, to add personal touches. Plus, the new cabinet is modern, and the recessed light is MUCH better than the hanging "glass jar" that so dated the bathroom. Oh yeah, the peeling wallpaper made it look dated too. And of course, I forget a lot, how great the new facet looks compared to the old one. Gives the bathroom a touch of high end class.

Labels: Do-it-yourself, Home Buying