Bathroom Makeover: Part I

For those of you who have been dying to know the paint color I selected for our hall bathroom, wait no more. In my search for a lighter, brighter color, I began gravitating toward greens. Maybe for some of you, this wouldn’t be a very big deal. But for someone like me, who tends to make “safe” choices, it was a bit of a bold move!

I knew that there were many ways that I could go wrong with this particular color: too pastel, too putrid, too pukey, too fluorescent, too garish… you get the idea. After comparing many paint samples and testing out a couple of them on the wall, I decided on the winner: Behr’s Mojito. The name alone was appealing enough, and I felt surprisingly confident that it would be just the shade I was looking for.

After clearing everything out of the bathroom and taking off the door, I started taping off the trim, bathtub, and sink with 3M ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock Protector (graciously provided to me by 3M in exchange for a review of their product). Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed like it had extra sticking power even as I was pulling it off the roll. I accidentally ripped it down the middle a few times, but I think that was from pulling it off too carelessly in my haste.

The taping itself was a little tricky in spots, only because the builders who painted all the rooms themselves did a sloppy job and had gotten red paint onto the trim, tub, mirror frame, and ceiling (see below). Apparently they didn’t feel the need to use tape, or to paint the the trimwork before putting it on the walls. So no matter how good of a taping/painting job I did, I’d still have to go touch up the trimwork with white in the end.

Also, when I tape, I prefer to do it in shorter, overlapping strips as opposed to trying to get the whole length of trim, etc. in one long strip.

UGH! Just look at the sloppy painting job on the trimwork and ceiling corners.

This would be a blast to fix.

Finally, it was time to paint!

This was the first time I’ve used Behr Ultra Plus Premium Paint & Primer. It was $35 for a gallon (satin finish), and had the consistency of a very thick pudding (pistachio pudding, for that matter).

After my white touch-ups on the ceiling had dried, I taped off those corners and used the new brush from my 3M painter’s kit to cut in all the corners and taped edges. I had hoped that maybe the paint & primer formula would be able to cover the red with one coat, but I soon realized how foolish that was.

Unfortunately, my photos don't do justice to this color. Next to the red, it just looks beige.

Painting the rest went pretty quick with the roller (also provided in my painting kit), except our 10-foot ceilings added a little extra time and effort. Getting behind the toilet took some additional neck-craning (to get behind the tank, I slid a piece of plastic sheeting on the backside and taped it on, then just shoved the brush as far behind it as I could).

Also, I used a small artist’s paintbrush to get in the narrow space between the sink’s cabinet drawers and our door trim.

The ceiling now looks a hundred times better than before. Woot!!

The room was undergoing a big transformation after one coat, but unfortunately a second coat was needed, so it ended up taking me most of the weekend to finish up.

I still had to touch up a few tiny red spots here and there (mostly due to our textured walls), but the two coats were enough to sufficiently cover the old paint. And I ended up having a little paint left to spare for any future touch-ups.

I was super-excited to start peeling the tape up. It came off nicely, and left a very clean line along the trimwork, tub, and ceiling. The only place it got a little messy was the grout around the sink. I’d say that’s probably due to a couple factors: 1) I was trying to cover up the red paint that was on the grout before, and 2) I don’t think crumbly grout makes a very good surface for adhering to.

As far as the 3M Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock Protector, I was very satisfied with the results. With that said, I also feel like I wasn’t able to use this product to its fullest potential on this particular project. For instance, it would be great for achieving clean stripes, blocks, or other patterns. I think I'm going to try another smaller project with this tape in the near future.

Anyhow, I’m still in the process of getting the rest of the bathroom put back together and accessorized, so you’ll have to wait just a little longer for the full “before & after” reveal. And don't forget, I'll soon be having a giveaway for a roll of ScotchBlue Painter's Tape with Edge-Lock Protector! In the meantime, here's some handy product info: