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Monday, August 23, 2010

Master Bath Makeover



We bought our house a couple of years ago and were thrilled that it was already in really nice shape which meant we weren't going to have to tackle a lot of new projects immediately upon move-in. We just didn't have the energy at the time.



And while the kitchen had been upgraded with lovely silestone countertops, tile floors and ~stainless steel appliances~, the rest of the house had only had the basics done - fresh, but plain jane neutral paint everywhere and neutral new carpeting upstairs. The rest of the decorative touches in the house are all "builder grade" boring. From the mid-1990's. Which means a lot of BRASS door knobs and HONEY OAK cabinets. Loverly! NOT! But, we knew we could live with it all until we could find the time, energy and money to make some changes.

And... we lived with it... and lived with it.. and lived with it. For like 20 years until I finally asked my toddler to poke my eyes out with a fork.



OK, that isn't true... it's only been 2 years, not 20. But it feels like it's been forever!

When I finally decided to make some changes, I figured the most logical place to start was the master bathroom. After all, it is where I start and end every day - shouldn't it be a pleasant experience? It already had a nice double sink vanity but... it was HONEY OAK, with a HUGE, plain, unframed mirror above. And the whole thing was topped off with *~*HOLLYWOOD LIGHTS*~*.

Don't you wish your bathroom was HOT like mine? Don't you? Don't you?

This doesn't show all of the wonderful features we were presented with when we moved in, but here is a photo from the original real estate listing (funny how they didn't want to show off the oak cabinets or the hollywood lights either!).



The first thing I did was get rid of the pink curtains. I searched everywhere for the right length but couldn't find ANYTHING that was 52" (unless I wanted to pay for custom - which I didn't!). Eventually, I found some "make-your-own length" panels at Ikea and was able to create some nice light and airy curtains in the perfect length I wanted. 

Next was to get rid of the HONEY OAK cabinets. Replacing them wasn't an option, so I painted them instead - a nice satin black - and added brushed nickel knobs to the doors. I LURVE the end result! More details to be provided on this project later.


The next thing i knew I wanted to renovate was the huge builder-grade mirror. Since the bathroom has cathedral ceilings, we can't paint the room ourselves and we just don't have the budget to hire professionals right now. So removing the mirror was not an option since we'd be left with no choice but to paint the area behind it. So.... Enter... a mirror frame

Now I know there are plenty of DIY-ers out there who have built their own frame and I applaud them. But, I opted for the custom-cut-kit route instead and am THRILLED with what an amazing difference it makes. More details on this project can be found HERE.

We finished off the look by replacing the Hollywood Lights with modern brushed nickel lovelies.


I still need to replace the faucets and we need to patch the holes in the wall left from the old light fixtures, and I want to replace the towel racks... but still... what a difference!

Here is the before (again, when we moved in) and after for you admiration:



BEFORE



AFTER



 

What do you think? I never enjoyed brushing my teeth so much! :)

This post was featured!! Thank you House of Hepworths!!

HookingupwithHoH




Linking this project up to the CSI Project's Beautiful Bathrooms Challenge
Visit thecsiproject.com



Squeeee!! I made the Top 10! Soooo honored!

This post was also featured by Remodelaholic! Thank you!!


 

15 comments:

  1. Kyra this bathroom is amazing, now! LOVE it! I absolutely love the new fixtures and the framed mirror -- it's perfect!

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  2. Great job!! It looks awesome!! Can't believe what a difference simple changes make. Oh no, now I might have to replace the hollywood lights and add a frame to my bathroom because now I'm going to notice them.

    (BTW you have doubled your follower count! I'm #6).

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  3. Honey Oak cabinets are the bane of my existence. Great job!

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  4. It looks great! I just re-did my bathroom the same way! Painted all my cabinets and trim (adding trim around the mirror) white, though. It's such a difference! Great job!

    I'd love it if you would link up to my Friday link party! Have a wonderful weekend. http://alittleknickknack.blogspot.com/

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  5. Fantastic job! Isn't it amazing what updating just a few things in a room can do? Love it!

    ~Chelsea

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  6. I love the bathroom! It's amazing what black paint can do! I did the same thing with my powder room and I wish I hadn't waited 5 years to do it.

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  7. It looks absolutely beautiful! I did something similar in our master bathroom a while back, and you're so right. It IS nicer to brush your teeth in a prettier bathroom. :) Great job!

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  8. I featured you this week! You can see your feature by clicking on the link.


    www.houseofhepworths.com/2010/09/08/hookin-up-with-hoh-16


    Feel free to grab a button if you'd like!


    ~Allison @ House of Hepworths

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  9. Did you take the doors off and sand them first? What was the process to paint them? Also did you have a medine cabinet if so did you redo that? My guest bathroom is small so I'm concerned about going black from the same color you had but it looks so good.

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  10. Hi "anonymous"! :) I need to write up my post on how we did the cabinets, but to answer your questions:
    - I did take the doors off and sand them first
    - then I primed them with Kilz
    - then I painted 2 coats using a foam roller
    Check out my post (from August) titled "Mirror Transformation" for details on that. You'll see that we do have a med. cab. but I did not do anything to it. Hope that helps! Feel free to email with any other questions. ANd thanks for checking out my blog!

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  11. Great job!! our vanity area is incredibly similar, i am now planning its upgrade thanks to you! :)

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  12. Oh, that looks really nice! The black and nickel accents look really sharp.

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  13. I love the changes. I eventually want to frame all the mirrors in our bathrooms and paint the cabinets darker.

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