Nicole's Blog: master bathroom: phase 1

So, our master bathroom is a work in progress. I was tired of it looking SO dated, so we did a "phase 1" update. (mostly cosmetic, only removing countertops and mirrors as major reno parts). If you'd like to see some of my planning and inspiration, check out my Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/nic073/home-master-bathroom/

Here's a quick Before/After to check out:

And, let's walk through a bit of the updating. It started out with "let's replace the mirrors"... (I wasn't sure what size would be correct, so I tried out paper on the wall to get a visual)

Hmmm... what size is right?

Which led to.... "I'm going to just paint this cabinet and change the knobs"

(Knobs are from Target, by the way) I distressed the cabinets because I wanted them to have a worn in, farmhouse feel. And because we have a million kids and "perfect" doesn't stick around here for long. Painting... let me tell you. I think I did something wrong. I used white chalk paint and didn't prime before (I feel like I'd read you DO NOT have to prime before?" Anyhow, I'm pretty sure I put on like 7 coats of paint. Ok... maybe more like 4 or 5. But a LOT. I did use BLACK chalk paint on the cabinet in our half bath (I'll share that update later!) and it went on in 2 coats and covered like a CHAMP! This cabinet was my "tester" because I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to paint our kitchen cabinets and after the half bath painted over so easily I thought... let's try white and then I'll give the kitchen cabinets a go. Well. Our kitchen cabinets are still orangey-wood so that tells ya how scared I am of that project HA! I will, however, primer first should I attempt this again.

Better, yes?

Then down came the mirror and up went some Sea Salt colored paint and white trim.

Holy crap white trim makes so much difference! (I didn't paint the window trim because it was a pain and we never open the blinds on these windows)

Now for the mirrors.... AHHH I splurged on these babies. I spent HOURS of my life trying to find them cheaper, but ended up buying them from Restoration Hardware. If you know me, you know I'll spend far more time than necessary trying to find something at a better deal... and in the end I probably should just suck it up and pay the price. (Though lots of times I do find good knock offs! What can I say, I'm a bargain girl at heart!)

So, you can imagine the horror when I attempted to mount this mirror myself, leaned it up against the cabinet and it fell backwards and shattered. I cried. I legit cried. I called RH and cried to the unsympathetic customer service guy on the phone who basically told me "That's a bummer". Luckily, when I got my crap together and called again to reorder, I told the girl my sob story and she took pity on me and shipped another mirror out to me! I LOVE HER.

Now its time for countertops. Again, the master bath gets to be my guinea pig for the kitchen. I really really really wanted soapstone in the kitchen but had heard it was super soft and not super durable. But I loooove the worn look it has. So, the master bath gets soapstone. I freaking love it. In my mind, its like granite and marble got together on a one night stand and had soapstone. It has the veins of marble, the granite specks and unevenness, and throw in a bit of matte finish... AHHH! In these pictures I have it oiled (mineral oil) but I rarely oil it because I like the dry, matte finish. We've had it for almost a year and would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I LOVE IT. I'm actually considering it for the kitchen. Hmm.

Now we need lights.... I got these from Lowe's:

And I put those babies up myself!

It's coming along!

Check out the Before & After in progress:::

We still have to do something about that tile... GAH! I'm not sure exactly what to do because I'd love to do some white subway tile, but the tub + shower + toilet is a slight off white. Not "beige" but definitely not white. I have thought about doing some grey/cream/white tiles around the tub and then a darker floor. I don't know if I can justify the cost of renovating those things... but maybe we need to. I don't know. For now, we live with the tile.

Here was my design board for the master bath.