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The New Loo

OUR 1st HOUSE

Our first floor bathroom view (from the mirror reflection) before:

Yup – that is our archaic washer and dryer hanging out in the first floor GUEST bathroom. I had a constant fear that I would accidentally leave a load of laundry in there. Then a uber-nosey guest would go in there…shut the door…and check our undies for skidmarks. It was terrifying. At first chance, we moved that sucker to basement – away from the prying eyes of panty peekers.

Now when you peer into the bathroom mirror, the reflection looks a little more refined with my newly painted cabinet! YAY!

Before the cabinet was dark, dated and pretty depressing. After a little TLC, I brought this baby back to life.

All my beast needed was a couple coats of primer and paint. I used a roller for all the flat parts, a foam brush for the crevices and a regular brush for the spindle-y legs. The primer was actually Zinsser’s oil-based primer – which is fabulous for furniture because it seals and is a stain blocker. This hand-me-down didn’t have any visible stains but it was an extra measure that ensured that no hiding blemishes would peek through my white top coat. Two coats of primer (three is special spots) and two coats of Benjamin Moore’s base paint in Pastel White gave the dark veneered wood a traditional, clean, and time-lasting look.

Ya’ll voted for the color of the inside and I listened. Since the vast majority chose the blue-gray smokiness of Benjamin Moore’s Atmospheric for the inside of the cabinet and the inside of the drawer, I made a mental note that the next time I was out I would get a pint. But when Jeremy was making a trip to Lowes – I decided that I probably could find an alternative color that was screamed Atmospheric. Enter Valspar’s Winter Flannel. Immediately, I was totally crushin’ on this color. A little less blue and a little more gray than the Atmospheric. And is it just me or is this not as punchy but more cozy? Or am I just taking cues from the name?

We definitely splurged on the hardware. Usually I have a three dollar limit for each knob or handle. But when I saw these brushed nickel pull cup handles – they practically danced their way into my buggie. I got them at Ace Hardware – but for an online version, check these out.

I also moved some of the existing art in the room. The two black and white pictures that flanked the window now live above the cabinet. I got them at TJMaxx for $5 each.

I told Jeremy that when I bought this art that they were an interpretation of us. He is the one on the left….orderly, stable, transparent. Me – I am the right hand photo…messy, romantic, and sometimes I fall apart. I knew I was meant to own the b&w prints. Plus now I have a clear view to ponder the balance my boyfriend brings to my life as I do my bid’ness. Two thousand points go to interpersonal art.

So that is it folks. The tour of my new bathroom complete with new-old cabinet is finished. But now that I spent so much time in the loo, I found about seven more things I need to add to the to-do-list. Does that happen to you? It’s like chores only lead to more chores. Maybe we should all just leave it as-is and quit, that way we would have tons more time for more important things…like reality TV 🙂

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  4. GIRL HUSH! No that is not the same….Oh my…You get the GET IT GIRL AWARD for making it HOT! Man that looks good.

  5. katie it looks FABULOUS! love it! nice work. the glass centerpanel is a great touch, too. now you have me debating if i go back and paint the hutch inside…which reminds me i need to post photos. nice work!

  6. Perfect color! I was so worried about that red option. This one looks lovely.
    Katie

  9. Wow! It looks great! Good call on splurging for the hardware — the pulls especially make the cabinet.

  10. Dear Katie:

    Please come to my house and help me paint my dining room hutch. I’m skeered and I need your oozing creativity.

    It is amazing. It truly doesn’t look anything the same…. And, I’m loving that interior color.

    xoxo
    Kim

  13. It looks fanfreakingtastic! And how did you know you needed to hide your undies from my curiously nosy upcoming visit (ha!)

  14. Break me off a piece of that cabinet because it is fiiiiiiine. Fabulous work as always! Love it love it love it.

    xo,
    Sherry

  15. OH.MAH.GAH. It looks stunning!! I love the interior’s blue even more than the original option. And the glass insert is just fab! And those cup pulls are like gorgeous jewelry for the piece. Sexaaay. (We have the same ones in our kitchen!)

    LMAO @ “skidmarks”!! There is now coffee splattered all over my ‘puter.

  16. Ahhh people – stop it! You are making me blush. And you giving me way too much credit! Just so you know – I didn’t include the glass panel door…it was there before. It just wasn’t as visible because of the darkness and poor picture quality. Amazing what a coat of paint and windex can do, right?!

    And Emily – you are officially hilarious. put that on your blog.

    XO – Katie

  18. Katie- this looks amazing!! That cabinet looks so great, I wish I had the vision to see old furniture in a new light like that. And I wish I had a husband who would do all of the work for me. 🙂 Great job!!

  21. Oh my gosh, that piece looks SO WONDERFUL now! I would have never picked it out and thought it could look like that! I love it! Great job!!

  22. That is so beautiful! What a transformation!!!

    I have some old veneered furniture I am contemplating painting white….and this is a strong argument!!

  24. Fantastic work Katie. I have 2 dressers that we are using as night tables that I hope to paint as well. The only thing stopping me right now is the weather outside. Take a look at my blog I mentioned your cabinet revamp.

    Take care,
    Lisa

  29. Sure Lisa – they are from Target. Here is the link if you wanna look at them on the Target website:

    http://www.target.com/Fieldcrest-Classic-Stripe-Bath-Towels/dp/B000M043CE/qid=1233183034/ref=br_1_46/186-6212502-5941148?ie=UTF8&node=14227101&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=14227101&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=1

    We love them and they are tough too. My little nephew smeared red georgia clay on one of the hand towels and after a little soaking with oxyclean, it was as good as new.

    XO – Katie

  30. The cabinet looks great! I have not attempted to paint furniture yet but I think it is in my future!

  35. I saw your blog at Kimba’s. Your washroom looks so great! The armoire is totally rockin’ my world. Great job!

  37. Found your blog at Kimba’s. Your bathroom looks gorgeous, and I love your cabinet makeover–fabulous!!

  39. I came over from Kimba’s and just had to gush about your bathroom! The cabinet makeover is gorgeous as well.

  43. It looks great, and I love love love the cabinet! It looks perfect in white. What color are your walls? I know looking at a picture on a computer moniter is not exactly accurate, but it looks like what I’m looking for. I just revamped (not remodeled, mind you- the budget wasn’t big enough for that!)my kitchen and have been through 9 samples of paint to try to find the perfect gray- not too dark, rather light but not too close to white, and not greenish, bluish, purplish or anything else- just gray! A nice silvery gray, even. So I finally thought I found the perfect one (Benjamin Moore’s Wickham Gray), and it has a blue tone! So my kitchen looks like a lovely baby’s nursery. Ok, well, not exactly like a nursery, but I did not want blue gray in my kitchen! Anyway, I would love to know what color you used, and maybe I can sample that one. Thanks so much and love your blog (I’m here by way of YHL- can you believe that name change fiasco???)!

  44. Hey Katie,
    Just wondering how you got the glass in your bathroom cabinet to stay? My husband and I are fighting with two kitchen cabinet doors trying to get the glass to stay in without us breaking it first. We tried these little metal triangles (didn’t work, broke glass) wood strips stapled in (didn’t work, broke glass)…now we’re going to try silicone caulk? Any advice?

  45. Hi! I love the transformation! Did you have to sand the wood at all before priming? I’m going to be taking on a couple of nightstands soon and plan to do something similar. Thanks for sharing this!

  46. Katie, I’m kinda late to the party so I don´t know if you’ll read this but i was wondering exactly what paint you used? I live out of the country and am painting a cabinet similiar to yours, so I’m trying to find paint like the one you used, but I don’t know how to find it on the Ben moore page. THANKS!

  47. Hi there Cat,

    The paint we used for the cabinet was an oil based white paint with two coats of a bright (or pastel) white latex paint. Benjamin Moore carries the pastel white as a base (it is able to be tinted to blue or pink or whatever)…but when I buy it, I always ask for the untinted version.

    Goodluck!

    XO – Katie

  48. Thank you!!
    oo and in my rush to ask i forgot to add…
    LOVE your blog, CONGRATS on dinobaby (although im sure he/she will be MUCH MUCH cuter than a dinosaur).
    And thank you for your posts, I look forward to them everyday!
    Love
    your NUMBER ONE (Argentine) FAN

  49. That is one stinkin fabulous cabinet makeover! Ive always turned up my nose at pieces like that before b/c Ive seen them as “outdated” but you totally brought it back to life! (Can you tell Im catching up on all your posts Ive not yet read since Im a new follower? I just cant get enough Katie girl:)

  51. Love the cabinet and entire makeover, I really love your home colors and thanks so much for sharing them with us!

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