After 5 years in this house I finally got around to the basement hall and bathroom.
It has been a long time in the making. I have hated the brown square floors and the tan tub, toilet and sinks. Every time I went to the basement they were a constant reminder of what year the house was built. Of course I decided to do the this while our master bathroom was in remodeling too. Sean was not too impressed with my timing. The new plank flooring went in easy! If you have a basement where you can't put real wood floors these are a great fix! Love them. I can't believe I didn't do it earlier.
Now on to the bathroom... This tub is what got me started. I know it looks gold here but it is really very tan. I find tan to be very dated. It drove me crazy. When we moved in it had tan tub, toilet, sinks. The girls did not want this to be there bathroom, but it was pretty low on my list. So it waited for other things to come together. I started watching DYI videos on painting tubs and I wanted to test it out. Sean and my mom tried to talk me out of it, but I couldn't be swayed. So I ordered Tub and Tile paint from Amazon... Again let me express how unhappy Sean was that I was taking this on while the tile guy was upstairs doing our walk-in shower.
When the first coat went on I was terrified! Not only was the paint SUPER thin, it wasn't going on smoothly. I was absolutely high on fumes. They weren't kidding when they said it was toxic. It was nuts. I was high as a KITE. Sean wouldn't even come in the basement. The second didn't go much better but then things got better. My roller broke and I got out a new one and then it was magic!
Things I learned while painting the tub
1. use a SMALL foam roller
2. Don't use a paint brush use a little foam square brush for the corners.
3. PREP PREP PREP. I spent as much time prepping as painting. I got all the caulk off, then cleaned like crazy, then I sanded. I learned after painting the tub that you have to get everything off the tub or else you will have bumps in the paint. Before doing the surround I had to sand over the newly painted tub to get ride of the bumps. That sucked. So I was way more careful when I did the surround.
4. wait an hour to apply the paint after activating.
5. don't be afraid when it isn't perfect the first coat.
6. change your roller every single coat!
Painting the counter top and vanity was super easy. The paint didn't smell as bad and it was easy and came in 16 colors this one is pewter. I had a great time doing the counter top. I loved it.
As you can see I am still missing the shower curtain and bath tub fixtures. I am SO SO happy with it. Who knew paint could be so awesome.
