How are we already nearing the half way point of the One Room Challenge?! If you're just tuning in, I'm making over my builder basic master bathroom and I've got big plans to give the space a new graphic glam look. Last week, I finally made a decision on which bold, black and white cement tile pattern to use in the space, and I loved hearing which one you liked best as well!
This past week was a bit crazy, since I spent half of it in Salt Lake City attending SNAP, a conference for creative bloggers. But despite playing hooky for a few days, we've made a lot of progress in the room...painting, tiling, and even putting a big hole in the wall. Read on for this week's update, and then check out an awesome giveaway I have for you at the end of the post!
Before heading to SNAP, I rushed to get the bathroom painted. Ever since painting our master bedroom in Benjamin Moore Metropolitan Gray, I've been dying to get that same color on the walls of the bathroom. We headed to the store to get the paint mixed, and encountered the nicest guy who took lots of extra time to involve our boys in the entire process.
We also had some dark gray mixed to match the accent wall in our bedroom. I edged the water closet in the charcoal color, while Scott worked on taping the rest of the bathroom. {I honestly never though I'd share a photo of me sitting on the toilet here on the blog... but never say never when it comes to DIY.}
I've always hated painting bathrooms because there are so many nooks and crannies, and so many places that are really awkward for getting on and off of step ladders. I am not a huge fan of doing anything on a ladder, so put it on slippery tub floor or an bumpy shower floor, and I get even more nervous getting up and down over and over to refill my paint roller.
But when my friends over at
HomeRight found out that I had a big painting project in the works, they offered to send me a
PaintStick EZ-Twist Roller {
affiliate link}. I had seen other bloggers using this tool in the past, but didn't really "get it." Well now I do, and it's A-MAZ-ING! I'm going to be doing a full video tutorial for you, which I'll share in a few weeks, but let me just say that I don't ever want to paint any other way {and neither should you - which is why HomeRight and I are giving one of these babies away at the end of this post}.
Here's the scoop... the PaintStick EZ-Twist holds tons of paint right in the handle, so all you have to do is fill it up and go!
I only had to refill the roller once during the entire painting process. It seriously blew my mind. And it actually made painting fun! I loved being able to just keep going and going {just call me the Energizer Bunny}.
I've been so eager to banish the beige in the bathroom, and it makes me beyond happy to see that gorgeous light gray on the walls. It makes such a difference in the space!
With paint on the walls, I put the rest of the work on hold and jetted off to Salt Lake City for a weekend of fun at SNAP.
I thought I'd be stressed about my all the One Room Challenge work that wasn't getting done... but I was having so much fun goofing around with the girls that I didn't have time to worry about the ORC! If you aren't already following Melissa at
Polished Habitat and Corey at
Hey There, Home, you are missing out! These girls are a riot, and super talented designers to boot!
In between classes and hanging out with my blogging buddies, I hopped on Facetime with my boys as often as I could... I mean, those faces! Can you blame me?!
My boys even got to Facetime with Corey's kids back in California. Chatting face to face via moms' phones...it's like being pen pals for a new generation!
While we were enjoying crisp but beautiful weather in SLC, Denver was expecting a huge blizzard.
As the flight cancellations in Denver started to pile up, I began to worry a bit that I wouldn't make it home on schedule, and the ORC timeline would get even more crunched. But the weather in Denver turned out to not be as bad as predicted, and I made it home with no delays.
Then it was time to get back to work right away... literally! We actually stopped at Home Depot on the way home from the airport to pick up the tile we needed for the water closet.
On Monday morning, the first thing on the list was getting that giant mirror off of the wall. It was glued on, so I didn't expect it to come down in one piece, but I enlisted some expert help, and the mirror survived!
Better yet, the damage to the wall was pretty minimal as well. Now the lights just need to be removed {and the electrical relocated to the ceiling} and that gorgeous cement tile can start going up on this wall!
Do you guys use the Nextdoor app? I try not to spend too much time reading the conversations for my neighborhood because, like all social media, it can bring out the worst in people... but I'll tell you what, it's an amazing resource for finding new homes for items your ready to part with. I listed the mirror in the free section, and within a few hours had three neighbors lined up ready to take it off my hands. We sat it out front, and someone should be picking it up tomorrow!
The cement tile above the counter hasn't started going in just yet, but we do have tile happening in the water closet...
And we also have a rather large hole in the wall. When I told you I wanted a door to block the view of the closet, I bet you didn't expect that we'd instead add a window into the closet!
Actually, this is just step 1 in the plan to add a door while still keeping my precious bathroom television. {I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm hooked on watching sitcom reruns from the tub}.
This big hole is getting framed out, and will allow the TV to be recessed into the wall. And I can't wait!
That's it for this week! Next week the update should be a whole lot prettier as the cement tile and the new lights go in! And then we'll be racing the clock to pull all the other details together.
Thanks for checking in to see our progress. I so appreciate you coming back each week, and as a thank you, HomeRight and I are giving away a
PaintStick EZ-Twist Roller {
affiliate link} to one lucky DIYer. I wish I could give one to each of you, but here's the good news - if you head over to
Polished Habitat you can double your chances, because my friend Melissa also has a PaintStick giveaway going on this week as well!
After your enter the giveaway, be sure to head over to Calling it Home to see the updates from all of the other guest participants! There are over 200 ambitious projects underway!
Labels: bathroom, DIY, Home Right Sponsored, One Room Challenge