Fabulous Focal Point

Today I'm cleaning up the film of dust that has settled over everything in the house from my bathroom remodel.  So, I thought I'd show off my fireplace that we did when we first moved in last October.  The walls in this room were all white, and the fireplace was in the corner, the walls behind it coming to a 90 degree angle.  I talked hubby into making me a new wall which cut across the corner, giving me one wall over the fireplace.  I then painted the rest of the room a deep red and I painted just the fireplace wall in an ivory and framed it with molding to make it stand out.     I finished it off with some accessories I bought at Hobby Lobby 1/2 price, a flea market mantel clock, and a picture I already owned.  Now the fireplace, rather than the TV is the focal point in the room.

My New Bathroom for less than $250 (Before pictures are on an earlier post)

Here it is!  I still need to put up some crown molding I had laying around the garage and eventually put in a bronze faucet, but most of it's done and it looks like a new bathroom! 

This makeover cost me:

New cabinet hardware and towel racks - $60

Paint, stain, supplies- $45

Molding -$31

New shower curtain and rod - $42

New vanity light - $64

I already the rugs, towels and accessories. (Which were originally purchased on sale, of course.)  

Grand Total: $242

How I did it: 

 Cabinets - I bought a precut decorative wood molding and glued it to the front of the cabinet.  Then I used liquid sander on the cabinets and primed them.  Then I painted them with 2 coats of antique white paint.   Instead of buying the antiquing glaze, it was much more cost effective to buy the smallest can of Minwax water-based stain and wipe it on over the paint.  I did a small area at a time, because the stain dries fast.  I took a paintbrush and stained in the grooves and edges.  Over the whole thing I put a polycrylic clear coat to protect the paint.  I replaced the knobs and drawer pulls with bronze. 

Vanity Mirror - I didn't want to lose my three way mirror and cabinets, or spend a lot of money on a new one, so I took it down, and with a little help from hubby and his miter saw, chopped off the top where the lights were part of the cabinet so I could hang a separate light fixture, and reframed the mirrors with chair rail that I painted, followed by clear coat. 

Finally - I painted the walls in a light brown, hung up bronze towel racks, hung the new shower curtain, and washed my old rugs.  

  

Before Pictures

Here's my old boring bathroom.  The previous owners tiled the floor and the bathtub, and put in a cultured marble counter top/sink, so I had a good start.  The vanity and medicine cabinets needed a serious update, however.

From "Eighties" to "21st Century" for under $300

Have been remodelling my bathroom this week.  (Pictures to come!)  So far I have painted and antiqued my vanity and added some decorative molding (looks like a new vanity for $15 and a few hours of my time) and  I am currently working on the cabinet over the toilet. I have also modified my existing vanity mirror/cabinet for $28 (with a little help from Lowe's, hubby's mitre saw, some wood putty and stain.) Tomorrow I paint the walls and put up the new light fixture.  Details to follow...