Last year I replaced my kitchen cabinets and countertops and at the same time, replaced the vanity countertop in the nearby half bath. As with all remodels, one thing leads to another and I didn’t like the color of the vanity with the countertop, as lovely as each of them are separately. It was time to give the half bath a refresh.
Sometimes starting a project can be overwhelming, but the refresh really boiled down to six easy updates that transformed the room.
1. VANITY
The vanity was is good condition but the wood color did not go well with the new granite countertop.
I removed the door, drawers and hardware and primed the wood. I painted the vanity gray to coordinate with the granite and to have color continuity with the kitchen and laundry room cabinets. I had some gray paint that we used on my daughter’s bathroom mirror that worked well — and, as a bonus, no paint purchase!
I bought enough Lew’s Bar pulls in a champaigne color when I replaced my kitchen cabinets for the bathroom and laundry room cabinets. The pulls match the Delta Bathroom Faucet in the same champaigne color.
2. WALLS
I updated the original wall color (light green) to Benjamin Moore Ocean Air. ( I am a fan of Sherwin-Williams products (plus my son works there) so I did a color match in a Sherwin Williams product. It applied two coats of paint and it covered well.
3. MOLDING
I have been updating the molding on my main floor as I paint each room. This is not necessarily “simple”, but, it updates the look of the room substantially. I de-installed the 3 inch molding using a small crow bar and hammer, careful to break the caulk-seal before removing the molding to avoid pulling the paint from the wall. I installed basic 4 inch base molding and shoe. The contrast between the wall color and the bright white molding makes each color look bright and fresh.
4. OTHER METAL FIXTURES
The light fixture, towel bar and toilet paper holder were all in oil rubbed bronze and did not coordinate well with the new champaigne colored hardware. So, in the interest of my budget, I used a trick I have used when refreshing hardware on furniture to update the color these pieces — Rub ‘n Buff in Antique Gold. It was really simple to apply and did not require a lot of product. Now all the metal fixtures coordinate perfectly!
5. DECOR
These angel wings from Decor Steals were a perfect fit for the bathroom in terms of color and scale. I had two small paintings from a trip to Prague framed for the walls. Finished off the look with some hand towels and the small rug.
(As a side note, I removed the toilet first for easy access for a few of these steps. It was the first time I attempted to do this on my own. After watching a couple of YouTube videos, my daughter and I were able to de-install and install without a problem! We were very excited about this! )
