Week 4 Assignment - Results

What a week!!!  The hubs was away on business the whole week which meant once the kiddos went nana I was "in the zone"!  The only problem with being in the zone is I was so into what I was doing that I don't think I got to bed before midnight most of the week!

The first project I tackled with the Master Bathroom trim.  All I can say is WOW!!!  The Glidden Trim & Door Paint ROCKS!  It's a bit pricey (about $20 for a quart) but in my opinion totally worth it!  I did the baseboards, crown molding, and door with one coat and used maybe 1/3 of a can and I can't believe what a difference it makes!  I love the fact that it's super shiny, easy to clean, and for the most part is perfectly smooth.  I think if the previous owners hadn't used toothpaste and a toothbrush to paint the trim and the door before it would have turned out even better, but considering the horrible shape the trim was in before I repainted I couldn't be happier!!!  A few warnings if you are going to use it:

1)  It's oil based, so clean up is a little harder than water based paints.  Make sure you have paint thinner or mineral spirits on hand.
2)  It's STINKY and takes forever to dry...but remember, it's worth it!
3)  It really doesn't cover dark paint well. so if you have any "oopses" you may want to prime them or use a second coat to cover them up.

Well...what do you think??

And I bet if I wasn't too lazy to do a second coat it would look even better...but I had other projects to tackle.  :)

Crates, glorious crates!!  I had a 20% off purchase coupon at Joann's, so these little beauties cost me $8.79 each.  I have a ton of Espresso stain in the garage, which I used to stain the crates.  Then, for a little bling I used Martha Stewart's Mercury glaze (watered down a bit because it was going on thicker than I wanted) which runs around $5.50/bottle.

And the results??  Well, take a look and tell me what you think...

Want more?  Well, the UPS gods were on my side and my surprise purchase from www.cooltiles.com showed up Tuesday afternoon...To give you a little history, our Master Bath when we bought the house was ATROCIOUS!!  I wish I had the foresight to have taken "before" pictures but let me try to paint a mental picture for you.  Imagine peel and stick vinyl that really didn't stick, a cheap vanity and counter top that weren't installed flush to the wall, and a bathtub that has so many cracks in it that we've used it once since we moved in 8 years ago.  Originally the plan when we bought the house was to gut it, but now we are thinking of remodeling the house someday (i.e. when I go back to work or we win the lottery) and turning it into a jack and jill when we add on a new master suite.  Long story short, I needed to make some cosmetic updates that didn't cost a fortune because hopefully the whole thing will be torn down to the frame before I die.  :)  So back to my surprise purchase...it always bugged me that there was more than 1/4" gap between the edge of the counter top and the wall...more like it grossed me out!  But the gap was too big to caulk and I hate those adhesive rubber trim pieces, so I ordered some amazing glass tiles and installed a tile back and side splash!  I was surprised at how easy it was once I stopped trying to cut corners and just did it the right way!  Here's what I learned:

1)  The Depot guy may want to try and sell you a tile mat which is basically a huge sticker you put on your wall that your tile is supposed to stick to...I say "supposed to" because while the mat stuck to the wall, my tiles...not so much!!  I had to rip all the tiles down and removed at least 4 layers of paint from the wall to get it off.  Trust me, save yourself some time and headaches by just getting a premixed tub of tile adhesive and a $2 trowel and do it the right way!
2)  If you are tiling an area without a natural border, just  mask the area off with painters tape to elimate getting adhesive and grout on your wall.  Just make sure you remove the tape immediately after each application.  Once the adhesive or grout dries, you are going to have a hard time getting it off with a clean edge.
3)  If you are using glass tile, make sure you caulk BEFORE you touch up paint the wall!!  I did the touch up paint first and you can see some of the paint on the back side of the tiles between the tile and the caulking.  Might just have to rip the caulk out and try to scrape the paint off...we'll see how much it bugs me!  :)

So...here is the finished result.  Tada!!

So my Master Bath is finished...or is it?  We still need to deal with the cracks in the bathtub, and my husband suggested we should install shelves in the vanity below the sink.  Hmmm...

In the meantime, here is (FINALLY) my new Master Bathroom!

Wow!!  I'm tired!  Might take it a little easier next week!  :)