Bathroom Renovation...Part 1

So on Friday night, at around 10:00...I was in our master bathroom and thought... "I'm so tired of how disgusting this bathroom is!" So, while the Mr. was watching a movie I re-painted the counter top with countertop paint...and it all started with that....

We've lived in our house for almost six years and the master bathroom looks the same as the day we moved in...well, except the door to the shower fell off sometime in 2010 and we have yet to replace it. Because of the lack of door we don't even use the shower in that bathroom and instead use the hall bath...which. is. ridiculous. Our house was built in 1970 and so the whole monochromatic color scheme was in full swing. Our bathroom's color: lavender. The tiles are all speckled lavender with a trim of solid lavender. The vanity is a disgusting off-white with speckles and the floor is tiny lavender and white tiles...

Here are some before pics of our bathroom as of Friday at 10:00

I already had the counter top paint because I'd used it before on our kitchen counters a few years ago. There was just enough left to cover the bathroom counter. You can purchase a can from Lowe's for $20. They come in a variety of colors Let me warn you...it is STRONG stuff! You'll need some serious ventilation during this process. Also, just throw your bursh away at the end, don't even try to wash it out. Painting the counter tops took about 45 minutes.

I've been reading up on painting tile for a while but have never attempted it, but I thought now was as good a  time as any. I had a can of primer that I'd picked up a few years ago at Lowe's in the 'Oops' paint section. (This is where people bring paint back because the color isn't exactly what they want) The primer was Valspar and was extra strong so that only 1 coat was needed, I only paid $3 for it!

Using a brush and a roller I primed all the tile on the walls. It only took a 1/2 hour to dry so after it dried I started painting. I had a can of white paint laying around that I'd used on our kitchen cabinets. There was still plenty left so I used this. (I wanted it to be as neutral as possible). Below is a picture of the primed wall (the primer was a blue-grey color). I first brushed the grout and then filled in the squares using a small foam roller. All in all it, the walls required two full coats and one touch up coat...it was a lot of painting.

I picked up some 18x18 stick on vinly tile squares from Lowe's. They are so easy to install and as of last night I'm halfway done. They were $2.59 each and I will need about 20.

So, I still have a lot to do but I'm loving how the project is coming. Here's what left on the to do list:

• Put a frame around the mirror to make it look more contemporary
• Finish the floor
• Re-paint the vanity
• Caulk the areas that need caulking
• Put up shower curtain
• Paint the top half of the bathroom (probably a medium brown color)
• Update hardware on vanity

So far I spent a total of $55.30 on vinyl and a foam roller. The vinyl was by far my biggest purchase. My goal is to keep my expenses under $100. I can't wait until it's done...let me know what you think!