Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! We’ve finished our bathroom paint and trim update (we shared the plan last week and you might have seen a sneak peek in our recent house tour video). Here’s the current look:
The transformation is pretty dramatic compared to where we began. You may recall we removed the glass shower doors early on, then didn’t touch the room again until we tackled the wallpaper.
This room is tricky to photograph because of all the doorways and nooks, so forgive the vertical crops and cropped shots. They should still give you a good sense of how it looks now.
We chose a blue ceiling to balance the blue hex tile floor. We love the tile, but wanted some visual interest up high to complement it. A few inspiration bathrooms guided our decision to add a simple architectural transition between the blue ceiling and the white walls.
First, we taped a horizontal border around the room to mark where the blue would begin. We settled on about 8″ down from the ceiling so the border wouldn’t be interrupted by door or window trim but would still feel intentional. I used a level and pencil line as a guide for painters tape. I didn’t stress about perfect precision since the trim would hide small imperfections.
Choosing the right blue took a few tests. We tried colors we already had: Nelson Blue from the kitchen, a leftover Sylvan Mist, and Spirit In The Sky from a previous test. In this bathroom’s lighting, grayer blues read more gray than blue, while bold blues can become overwhelming when painted across an entire ceiling. We picked a color that leaned more toward a true blue but was slightly lighter and less intense.
We bought a quart of the new shade, called Spring Mint in eggshell. Two coats later we had the blue border and ceiling we wanted. For a moment we considered leaving it without trim, which is a perfectly nice option if you’re short on time or tools. Ultimately we decided to add simple molding to give it a finished look.
We used pre-primed lattice strips—the same lightweight, inexpensive material we used for a previous board-and-batten project. Sherry measured and cut the strips on the miter saw and we taped them into place as we went to check the layout. Despite the many nooks, it took less than an hour to cut and position everything (with a fair number of steps up and down the stairs).
To make installation easier, we labeled each strip on the back so we would know exactly where it belonged when we painted and nailed them in. That saved time and prevented lots of trial-and-error during reassembly.
We painted the lattice and the walls the same white (Simply White by Benjamin Moore) before nailing the trim up. This is one of those jobs that’s faster with two people—Sherry held the strips and the level while I fired the brad nails with the nail gun. The small space made the nail gun sound especially loud, so ear protection was a must.
We worked around the room, making sure each piece lined up with the last. After everything was hung I ran caulk along the bottom edge and into tiny gaps where the walls weren’t perfectly flat, then filled the nail holes. When the caulk dried, Sherry painted the trim front and underside for a crisp finish.
There are still a few small tweaks left for this Phase 1 update, like swapping the light fixture, but we’re pleased with how much personality the room has gained since we removed the busy wallpaper.
The white paint made a big difference too. Here’s a comparison of the room after wallpaper removal and after the paint and trim update.
We also rehung some artwork above the toilet. These are prints we brought from our last house—a lighter blue gradient print and a deeper blue print—placed together to help visually connect the ceiling to the tile floor.
The whole update cost just over $50. Here’s the breakdown:
- Removing glass shower doors: $0
- Peeling wallpaper: $0
- Lattice trim from Home Depot: $25
- Quart of blue paint for the ceiling (Spring Mint): $30
- Shower curtain, white paint for walls and trim, and art: $0 (already owned)
- TOTAL: $55
If you don’t already have a shower curtain, wall and trim paint, or art, you might spend closer to $100 to pick those up.
We have a few more inexpensive updates in mind, but it already feels much brighter and more cohesive than the dark, wallpapered version we started with. What projects did you tackle this weekend? Any bathroom or trim plans on your list?
P.S. Last week we woke up to surprise snow and Clara had a blast playing in it.