Master Bathroom Budget Makeover: Builder Grade to Rustic Industrial

I feel like I've been waiting weeks for this reveal!  Oh wait, I have.  

Projects always take longer than I anticipate, but it makes the end result even more satisfying.  I have to admit to you guys, this is my first legit dive-in-with-a-plan room makeover.  The rest of our house has been designed based on lucky finds and the rooms transforming on their own.  But I wanted to create a little getaway in our master bathroom since we've mainly focused on the downstairs up until now.

This space started out with everything builder grade- white primer walls, builder package floors, a basic frameless mirror, plain window, simple nickel framed shower door.  

It was a very blank slate, but it is really nice having that clean canvas to work with instead of replacing old, outdated features.

It just needed character and a calming ambience, and I wanted to create my vision for less than $400.  

Mission accomplished.

It all started when we replaced our builder grade mirror with two I found for $19 each last year at Kirkland's.  They had the perfect rustic style with a hint of glam.  

Our old mirror now hangs in our garage where Robert keeps his weight set for workouts.  So it's still being put to good use to check form for iron-pumping sessions.

I gave our builder basic nickel framed shower an industrial makeover to make it look like this factory window shower door that I pinned forever ago on Pinterest.  I'll be showing the full tutorial on Remodelaholic in a few weeks!  I'm dying to tell y'all how I did it.

Pretty awesome for less than $60, don't you think?

Last month, we gave our moulding-less window a facelift too.  It helped add a ton of character!

Our reclaimed ladder that we pulled out of my in-laws' barn works great as our towel rack.  I just gave it a cleaning and a couple coats of polyurethane, and it was good to go.  I love that it looks beaten up.

We hung up an old window that was stored in my in-laws' barn too.  Once I added a few pages from an old Audubon field guide book, it came to life.

Our DIY weathered wood plank wall has added a lot of personality to our plain garden tub nook.  

Let me tell ya, bubble baths are the bomb-diggity now.  (So bomb-diggity they make me use 90s catch phrases.)

Remember how I've been working on embracing blank spaces from yesterday's post for a minimalist approach?  I'm fighting against the urge to hang something on that other blank wall in our tub nook. 

What do you think?  Leave it blank or add something?

My thrifted candle holders are cute on our tub too, but since Olivia likes to climb in there and play while I'm getting ready, they have gotten moved back to our hallway window shelf out of her reach.  

We'll pretend those are always there. :)

Some people have asked me if we've had any concerns with the wood being in a humid bathroom.  Ours has been great, but it's over a tub that doesn't get used by our little one very often, so there isn't water being splashed directly on it every day.  

I gave the wood two coats of marine grade polyurethane to make it moisture resistant, and we've had no problems since we put it up a month ago.  

For our water closet, we just hung a cubby shelf for any odds and ends.

It's great for little things like wash cloths, bath salts, and candles.   

You can read all about the details of our painted bathroom cabinets from last week's post.  

I'm so glad I went with a lighter shade to brighten up the room.  It feels so much bigger in here now than it did when they were wood.

I really wish I could get a better shot to show our industrial shower and wood plank wall side by side but this is the best I can do.  Our bathroom is really long and narrow so photographing this space is pretty tricky.

Having all of my jewelry on the wall on my DIY jewelry organizer has been great too.  I'm so glad I don't have to dig in a box and untangle my earrings now.

Our label drawer pulls has helped us organize all of our toiletries.  That is when a 2 year-old doesn't come along and decide to move everything around on us.  

It feels so amazing to have this space finished.  I'm thinking I should probably start designing all of our rooms in our house with an actual plan now since we've slowed down on the need to furnish our once empty rooms.  

So do you want to know the final cost of our master bathroom makeover?

Grand total:  $374.09

I'll have a post with our entire source list, paint colors, and cost breakdown on Monday.

And since I got a lot of requests for a part two from last week's 8 Tips to Revolutionize Your DIY Blog Photography, I'm dishing out even more tomorrow for any fellow blog/photography buddies out there.

So that's the grand tour!  What do you think?  An improvement from the builder grade?  We're loving it so far.  

Blessings,

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Master Bathroom Makeover: Painted Card Catalog Cabinets

We are so close to being at the end of this bathroom makeover tunnel.  I'm seeing the light and it is glorious!  There are just 2 items left on my to-do list, and I can stick a fork in this room.  Okay, that figure of speech doesn't work at all in that context.  But you get it. (Update:  You can now see our full bathroom reveal!)

One huge step for this space, which I had been putting off for too long was painting our builder grade cabinets.  To be honest, I was scared.  This wasn't like a piece of furniture that I could take out to the garage and strip a bad paint job or give up on altogether if it didn't go well.  These were cabinets.  There was no turning back if my DIY went awry.

But you know what I realized?  I had nothing to be afraid of!  It was all in my head.  And if I royally messed it up, at least they weren't our kitchen cabinets.  (Hence why I considered this practice for that big space one day.)  Robert and I are the only ones who see these cabinets so no pressure.

Here's how they looked before.

I'll admit; they really weren't bad at all.  And they were at least on the more high end of the builder grade scale.  But they had a reddish tint that drove me nuts.  Red and I don't get along usually.

I didn't document every single step on this one since this was my trial run, but now that I'm the "expert" (definitely need quotations there), I'm sure you'll be seeing one at some point.  For now, you can check out this really thorough one about how to paint cabinets that Laura from The Turquoise Home posted.  I didn't follow her method completely, but it had some great tips.

I did learn a few things along the way that I know I'll do differently next time though.

I chose some label drawer pulls that are the same ones I used on our faux planked coffee table in black.  

I love how they can instantly give a piece that vintage flair; they help organize odds and ends; and best of all, they're cheap for less than $1 each!  Everyone's happy...or at least I am.

Since our bathroom cabinets usually end up with grime on them from makeup or hair products or drips from face washing, I decided to laminate my labels with these Scotch laminating sheets that I picked up in the office supply section of Walmart.

Now they'll be protected from all that messy business.

For our cabinet doors, I bought these hammered black ones that already have that aged, worn look I love.

For the paint, I chose Winter Gates by Benjamin Moore in semi-gloss.  

I admit, I was nervous when I painted on the first coat of this color because I was worried it was too close to our wall color, Pediment by Sherwin Williams.  But I like that it's not dark so it brightens up the room.

Our bathroom feels so much bigger now!

That jewelry organizer I shared yesterday fits right in.

And the labels really help to organize our drawers.  Although, we still have a two year-old who likes to do us the favor of rearranging it all for us.  Ya know, just to keep things interesting.  That little booger.

I still want a rug of some kind for the floor to break up all of the gray.  It's nice having this peaceful space to get ready, even if getting ready in the mornings can be chaotic.

I need another glimpse at the before shot of our bathroom from last year.  

Definitely not as plain anymore, huh?

You'll be seeing a little more next week with a full reveal and source list coming soon.  

What do you think so far?  Have you been brave enough to paint your cabinets before?  Do you have any tips for tackling bigger cabinet spaces like a kitchen?  Are you a card catalog pull junkie too?

If you liked this project, be sure to check out this one too: (Just click the image.)

Blessings,

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