Like most new homeowners one of the first things we’ve done since moving in to our new home is paint.

One of our first projects was our upstairs bathroom. Boy, did it need work. Here are some before pictures.

I actually don’t mind all the green tile (while it would never be my first choice, I promise, it’s better in person). I do like what the previous homeowners did with the shower stall to try and modernize the space. However, the paint color they chose had us gagging. And although the shower stall and faucet were attempting to modernize the bathroom, the honey oak sure was dating it.

With everything that needs to be done in the house, and other financial commitments, we don’t really have the funds for a major bathroom remodel. In order to modernize the space, we decided to continue the work of the previous homeowners and bring out the colors from the shower tiles in the rest of the space. Paint was going to have to do most of the work.

We started with the honey oak. That had to go. To get rid of the wood grain, we used Zinsser Bin Advanced Synthetic Shellac Primer. After two coats on the cabinetry it did a good job of hiding most of the oak grain. However, to get rid of all the wood grain, it would’ve been best to sand the cabinets and then use the Zinsser Bin. But with a project this small that effort wasn’t quite worth it yet (call us lazy DIYers).

To tie in the shower tiles with the rest of the bathroom, we pained the cabinets Very Navy from Behr. The color is close match to some square tiles in the shower stall. We finished them off with simple, modern cabinet pulls.

Realizing that blue cabinetry and green bathroom tiles are a bit crazy town, we put a very, very light grey on the walls (Behr’s Silver Polish) that actually appears white in the bathroom.

Finally, again to bring out the colors in the shower tiles, we paired the paint with orange towels and a bathroom mat (which aren’t the easiest things to find mind you – especially when you’re trying to coordinate with a shower tile).

Here’s the finished product. A bit out there, I know.

Note to self: No more wrinkly shower curtains next time you take pictures

Now, I’m excited to, one day, design my own bathroom. No more fixing other people’s mistakes.

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