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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Bathroom - Bring on the Green!

With Saint Patrick's day coming up, I tried to think of some clever story to bring you through this post.  Clever or not, I'll liken this post to a good pot of Irish Stew.  I have but a few ingredients, but the end result is a tasty mixture that fills me with warmth and even has a pot of gold at the end (of this post).  Let's get cook'in!

The Meat

This is the main feature of my bathroom.  In my last post, I stripped this base cabinet along with the taller tower cabinet (not shown) to the right.  Here it is fully stained including the 4 inch structure added to the top to raise the overall height.  I wanted to add storage here, but 4 inches wasn't enough for a drawer or a cut out.  I used 3/4 plywood for the frame and 1/2 inch oak for the face.



 

Carrots

Those little orange pieces that add color and brightness - I had a mixture of brass and bronze ones - drawer pulls, of course!  I set up a spray painting station in my basement since it is 20 degrees outside at most.  It consists of a large box opened up and lined on the bottom with paper.  I laid out the hinges directly on the paper and placed the drawer pulls on cardboard by punching holes for the screws so that the pulls would stick up a bit for easier paint coverage.

 


I also had a brass towel bar and towel ring, plus a silver robe hook to paint.  I took an old steel dowel and pushed it through the towel bar balancing the ends on the edge of the box.  This, again, made it easy for me to spray all around the bar.  I used steel wool on all the pieces I painted, rubbing off the shine so that the paint would stick better.





I used the entire can of oil rubbed bronze metal paint on all the above.  I also purchased a spray paint for plastic in white to cover my heater vent.  Now that I think of it, that heater vent used to be white before!  I had sprayed it antique bronze to match the old metal finish of the drawer pulls.  White is so much cleaner looking for a bathroom especially since I'm painting my base board trim white.



Now for the filler - Potatoes

The filler for this project - Wood filler!


Since I planned to paint the door to match the trim, it was time to fill in the chipped edge.


I lightly sanded the door on one side only with 100 grit sand paper and cleaned it up with Tack Cloth.  Tack Cloth is a wonderful product.  It lets you remove all the powdery sand without wetting down the wood.
 

Seasonings - Pepper and Salt

It's back to the pot, or in this case, the spray painting station.  I sprayed the door's hinges, door knob, and hook.  I will replace the trim on the right side of the door after installing the counter top.


Onions

Have you ever peeled an onion, layer by layer?  For this stew, I brought in a couple more layers to test paint colors.  I started with Sherwin Williams Wheat Grass made up for me at Home Depot using Glidden paint.  I lightened it with Swan Wing - a color I've used on the exterior of our cottage windows.  I had it on hand and liked the idea of going lighter.  You may not be able to tell, but this is the GREEN I promised to bring on!  It does have a lot of yellow in it, so I'm not going entirely Irish here.  Aren't you glad?


The material draped loosely over the window is going to end up being a roman shade, but for now, I needed to make sure the paint color will match the fabric.  I really like this fabric and at 27.00 a yard, I'm using it.  Paint can be changed.

 

When I tested the paint colors, I mixed 5 parts Wheat Grass with 1 part Swan Wing.  I ended up adding another part Swan Wing to go even lighter.  It really wasn't a big change.  I also added a solution to retard mold and mildew.  I used my safety glasses this time.  The label said it can cause irreversible damage if it splashes in your eyes.  Luck of the Irish or not, I played it safe.



Before painting, I had to do some drywall repair in a couple of places.  This is the large hole the electrician made to install the receptacle that will be for the main light over the mirror.  I surprised myself and did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.  I must have done 4 to 5 layers to slowly build up the surface since my drywall patch was a bit recessed.




The ceiling including the shower got about 3 coats of Swan Wing.  The walls got 2 coats of my Wheat Grass mixture.  I covered my cabinet with plastic before starting.  More safety measures, this time to protect my hard work staining.

Before
After


At last the pot of gold!

Okay, this isn't part of the stew, but we had to have a pot to keep up the Saint Patrick's day theme.  I wanted a new white toilet, but budget has me waiting on this.  I had Don remove it before I painted.  It was rocking and had to be reseated anyway.  Don also bought a tank repair kit, but I didn't expect it to end up on my dining room table.  There will be a lot of cleaning happening all around.



Three more posts and this bathroom will be done as far as I can take it. 

Enjoy a safe Saint Pat's day!  

 Have fun with this you-tube quick video link.


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