Half Bath Mini Makeover

I have said it before and I'll say it again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this house. I keep making over spaces not because they aren't good but because they aren't me. Such is the case with our half bath.

It's okay... if you like builder grade mirrors and floors and counters and cabinets. I do not. I want to eventually paint all the cabinets in this house, maybe, someday, but I have heard horror stories about people painting their cabinets only to have them chip and peel in a matter of weeks! I was afraid. After talking to my very best friend, Abby, about her vision to paint her cabinets green [yes, I will absolutely show it off on here if she does it!] I realized I just needed to do it the right way. So all you people out there that love no prep, no sanding, easy peasy stuff, this is not for you. I wanted to make sure this stuff adhered the best way possible and chalk paint just was not that. Sorry guys. I can't jump on that train.

My research found that 1. you have to prep correctly with cleaning, sanding and priming and 2. you should always use an enamel paint because it dries rock solid and won't scratch. There were a lot of recommendations for Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint and primer interior satin enamel [what a mouthful]. Only issue was that I LOVE Valspar Ocean Storm, which is only sold at Lowes, so I took in a swatch and the awesome [bearded] man mixed it up for me. Seriously, his beard was glorious, and the paint turned out a perfect match.

Moving on, to prep the cabinets I removed the doors and drawers, cleaned everything with a TSP mixture and then sanded everything with my Mouse sander and 120 grit paper until the sheen was removed.

Next, I painted two coats of Zinsser primer [from Walmart] this stuff was also highly recommended because it will stick to anything!

Then, I rolled on two coats of the paint with a foam roller [using a brush to get into the corners].

After that I added some cup pulls and knobs [in black] from Lowes and put it all back together.

this is a very accurate depiction of the color "Ocean Storm"

Once the cabinet was looking all modern and amazing, the mirror stood out like a sore thumb. I found this tutorial online about how to make a cheap and non permanent frame for a builder grade mirror, seemed easy enough so I got to work. I picked up 3 pieces of 1x4 and cut them to fit mitering the corners to 45 degrees. Then, I stained all the pieces [same way I stain everything in my house, click here for the tutorial] and screwed them together with L brackets that I spray painted black. [I left the screw heads silver because I like the mix of the metals.]

Once the frame was assembled I added command strips [that hold up to 16 lbs] to the back of the frame. I peeled off the backing and carefully placed the frame on the mirror where I wanted it before pressing firmly to attach the command strip to the mirror.

Now here she is ....

So far its all holding up well and not a single scratch on the cabinets. Even Zack was impressed. Someday, I will update those floors, counters, light, sink and faucet but its a great mini makeover for now!

Any mini makeovers you've done lately that made a world of difference?

---Jackie