Bathroom Face Lift – Part 1

When my husband and I bought our house a few years ago we were blessed with two bathrooms and since we get up at the same time I was incredibly thankful. However, I was never thrilled with the mismatched colour scheme in the guest bath I used every morning. Eventually we’re planning a remodel but for the time being a little paint can go a long way.

TIP: When cleaning NEVER mix ammonia and bleach. The fumes can be deadly.

TIP: Fresh latex paint doesn’t like water! Try not to use the bathroom for 12-24 hours to let the paint dry well and no harsh scrubbing for 2-3 weeks until the paint is fully cured.

Whenever my dad would go away on a trip my mom would get busy rearranging the furniture. I paint. And since I don’t mind the occasional bowl of cereal for dinner there is plenty of time after work for a little DYI. Last night’s project? Scrub the bathroom grout clean (a wash with ammonia and water followed by a scrub with paste made from baking soda and water) then tape off the grout lines (painstaking) and paint with a concrete paint in a light gray to match the wall tiles better.  Since grout is pretty porous a concrete paint (I used Muralo’s Quik Tred) works well and will be easy to keep clean.

Even though the grout is freshly cleaned the beige colour doesn’t match the rest of the bathroom.

Taping off the tiles was painstaking but well worth it.

Two coats of concrete paint and it’s looking better already.

After taking off the tape you can get off any paint that bled under with a damp sponge.