It's the little changes that make all the difference

I finally got around (mentally) to tackling some little home improvements this weekend. I have wanted to paint our cabinet in our bathroom for a while but just couldn't muster the energy. I blame it on being 6 months pregnant and also having an 8 month old, working full time and maintaining a household - you know - life. But I knew I needed to tackle it sooner or later. It was just an eye sore.

So to bring you up to speed, our one and only bathroom is what I call "shotgun style" - very narrow and long. It only has one cabinet (under the sink), which isn't much storage.

So when we moved in, we bought a small bookshelf (that's it on the left) to hold baskets so we had more storage for day to day items. It was unfinished so I just put several coats of glossy white on it and called it a day. That was 4 years ago...and apparently it's been a rough 4 years for this little cabinet.

See what I mean? And that's after I cleaned it! It was starting to look really grundgy and I always think that when something in a room is worn and tattered, you really don't notice anything else. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Off we went to Lowe's for some supplies Friday night while I was still feeling motivated. I was already planning on another project for the weekend...you know...one of those "oh this will be quick but make all the difference in the world" kind of projects but turns out it was a "holy cow this is not going as planned" type projects. More on that in a later post.

Here's all I needed:

1. White paint - I used high gloss trim paint
2. Colored paint - I chose Chateau Brown, Lemongrass and Edamame sample colors from Sherwin Williams because they matched the color scheme in the bathroom
3. paintbrush - one regular and one small for detail work
4. circular top or stamp or anything to use as a template (or you could free hand it if that's your style)
5. painters tape

After applying 2 coats of white and letting those dry (mostly, I'm not the most patient of gals) I started on the artwork part of the project. I decided that stripes on the top would help hide the rough wear and tear that it recieves (it's wear my flat iron warms up, where I put my contacts at night, etc) So it was as simple as taking painter's tape and making the size stripes you want to make. When you pull the tape up, it's still white underneath so you can either tape it again or like I did, just hand paint the white parts the color you want. It had a straight line already defined so it wasn't that hard.

Oh and did I mention I opted to paint the shelves in the Chateau Brown? Our baskets are green but when they go in and out every day, they can scratch. And lets face it, my make-up basket is great at leaving dust all over and well, men aren't the neatest.

Then I decided for the sides that polka dots would be an unexpected, whimsical touch but done in matching colors, wouldn't be too kid-y. I took the top from a small jar of paint and dunked the tip in the colors of choice. Plastered that all along the sides in random pattern and then filled them in using the small paint brush.

I almost considered leaving the dots unpainted because they sort've looked like cool bubbles but in the end, am glad I filled them in. It didn't take long to paint it - just part of Saturday - and most of it was because I was waiting on paint to dry and entertaining little peanut. Oh and because at the last minute, what I thought was originally white paint turned out to be clear enamel (yes, that's why I went to Sherwin Williams AND Lowes), I decided to coat the entire unit in the polyurethane to give it extra luster and protection. Because of that, I let it dry over night so it was good and dry and not tacky before putting anything on it.

Here's the finished product:

Just enough color to set it apart and make it look finished. I considered painting something on the front but I think that would have taken it over the edge in to kid-y town. And in case you missed it, here's a before and after.

Much better! So now our bathroom doesn't have the Stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb-dirty-shelving unit bringing it down.

So what about you? Do you have a piece of furniture that just brings down the house (and not in a good way)? Need some artistic inspiration? Post a comment! With a little snapshot, I can give you all kinds of ideas on how to spruce it up.

Oh, and shameless plug: if you're local and don't want to tackle something like this on your own check out www.pepperpotsdesigns.blogspot.com. It's my little side hobby/business painting furniture or painting whimsical artwork.

OK, shameless plug done. Happy painting!