Adding Instant Refinement To a Powder Room

Hello dear friends!  Thank you so, so much for stopping in to visit today.

Sometimes, when life knocks you down, you have to grab yourself up by the bootstraps (or in this gal's case, the fabulous pump straps, ha-ha) and move on.  As one of my favorite TV personalities Tim Gunn would say, 'Make it Work!'  Thank you so much for all of the sweet messages I received at the passing of our dear family friend.  I truly and greatly appreciate it.

Today, I am sharing how to take a powder room from blah to wow with just a few simple steps.  I hope you enjoy the post!  

Choosing a Theme

Look at this powder room.  A bit forlorn and sad, isn't it?  Also, the paint isn't as fresh, so over the years it has begun fading in different areas...all the toiletries are visible (which looks like clutter).  Just embarrassing!  I decided to give this sad, sad room some much-needed love.  I wanted a powder room that was elegant yet masculine (the hubby would like that too); pretty without being too frou-frou.  I also wanted a color palette which was cohesive with those already existing in the house.

To accomplish this, I chose a very bold pattern for the walls.

 

Prepping the walls

Begin by removing all artwork, mirrors, light switchplates, and coordinating hardware.  Goodbye, Picasso, we will see you soon!

 

The next step I took was to thoroughly wash the walls.  I used an old terry cloth and water to remove any debris or dust from the walls.

When we purchased this home, we paid to have the walls textured.  Shown here.

I used pre-mixed compound and a medium-sized putty knife to fill all of the texture and any existing nail holes so that the walls would be smooth.  I wanted the walls smooth so that 

A)  the fabric would adhere to the walls easier, and 

B)  the texture of the walls would not show through the fabric.

Allow to dry completely.

Walls:  prepped!

I used simple office-style pushpins to hold the fabric in place.

 

Using a standard paint roller and liquid starch, I saturated the fabric by rolling the liquid starch onto the wall.  Hindsight tip:  you may want to use a drop cloth because it does drip and is very messy!

I used a large taping knife to get rid of any ripples in the fabric.

The taping knife especially comes in handy making the fabric adhere in the corners!

 

Once the fabric was semi-dry, I used a very sharp utility knife to score and cut away the fabric around the doors and also on the wall where I wanted.

After the fabric was cut away, I added very thin and simple pre-painted chair rail to create a faux border.  Measure the wall, and leave a tiny bit extra for cutting.  In the corners, cut the chair rail at 45 degree angles so that the two pices meet.  I used the same compound to fill any tiny gaps to ensure a seamless fit.  Note that below the rail, there is dripping of starch.  Prior to painting, I cleaned the starch with a wet towel.  I painted below the chair rail white.

Once everything was painted, I added the hardware,

art (welcome back, Ms. Blue Nude!),

mirrors, and accessories.

The toiletries are put away in another cabinet, leaving a much prettier open shelf.

What a difference!  If I ever decide to add the toiletries back for easier access, I certainly will be adding doors!

Here are a couple of side-by-side comparisons.

How has your Summer been?  I hope well!

 

Shoes,  Badgley Mischka

Fabric, Joann's Fabric

Liquid Starch, Wal-mart

Roller, pre-mix compound, taping knife, chair rail, putty knife, and paint, all, Lowe's

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