I really detest removing old wallpaper

11 years ago

....my finger nails are down to the quick as I have just

finished removing the worst glued down bathroom wallpaper

nightmare of my life. But I am done. Yippppieeeeee!!!!!!

Now I really need the Home decor gurus to help me out.

This is an UGLY bathroom. Prepare yourselves for YUCK!

I posted over here in Decor as I am not changing the hardstuff.

I have no idea what to paint the bathroom walls.

This is an upstairs extra bath that 3 kids sometimes use.

Ages 17, 15, 12

I do not want to invest much money in this space until the

youngest is a senior in HS. Give me 5 more years to deal

with what is here.

Things that have to stay.

-hideous 90s white 4 by 4 white tile. I can not afford to

replace it right now. And I lack the talent.

-Cabinets stay but I could gel stain, paint or keep them as is.

-Floor tile needs to stay.

-Fixtures, toilet, sinks, tub need to stay

Things I can change...

-wall color (no wallpaper)

-light fixture,

-faucets

-hardware

-theme. We used Scooby doo but now that I have teens

I prefer no themes with a "pot head" kind of feel.

: )

Here is my before Pic help me make this an after. One thing to

keep in mind my daughters use this bathroom to sometimes

put on make up which means a good color for skin tone might

be a good option. Although, who the heck cares, anyone

under 60 looks fantastic in any color. To have that skin,

natural pink lips and perfect eyelashes. Heck we can paint

this room a puke green and all teens would still look

great. Oh to be youthful again but with the intelligence

to appreciate it.

Thanks in advance. I REALLY mean this, Thanks so much to

all on GW for all the help.

~boxer

Ps. forgive the grime in these images. I did not clean

since taking down the wallpaper. This will come later.

Along with resealing tiles etc..

Yup there is a pocket door. This come in handy because

there is only one other bathroom these teens share and

three are good at fighting. Pocket door means one

can be in the shower while the other is drying hair.

Floor tile, The grout is actually a light gray for some

reason it looks taupe or beige. Not so. Very gray

Featured Answer

lukkiirish

11 years ago

Boxer,

I feel for ya! Wall paper is the worst, but at least it's done! I don't think your room is so bad, there's lots of potential. We did something similar to our spare bathroom as a quick fix for guests we were expecting. We kept the flooring, cabinet, removed a wall paper border, changed the mirror and light fixture. It looks like a completely different room and was done on a very small budget.

What colors are the rest of your house in or are you drawn to? If it's for teens, you may want to consider a blue or green gray color for the walls and paint the cabinet espresso or black for a more modern feel.

Here's what we started with (a penguin theme) and how it turned out. We have other plans for the room in the future, but will keep it like this until we're ready to upgrade.

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Comments (24)

arcy_gw
11 years ago
I have one room left. The master bedroom. Four walls covered with cheap floral screaming 80's wall paper. So far we have removed paper in this house to find walls that were never "finished" because they were putting up wall paper, no doubt, wall paper that took off the wall board cardboard when it came down, wall paper glue that WILL NOT wash away!! I cringe to see/hear paper is making a comeback. All it is is a nightmare for the one who comes behind you. Even "properly hung" paper can become a nightmare. There is no guarantee. That is not an opinion that is experience.
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boxerpups
Original Author
11 years ago
lukkiirish,

I LOVE IT!!!!! You made a fantastic transformation.
Oh my gosh, could I do this in this space? Do you think I
could?

This seems far too pretty. I love your blue and black.
And of course it would go great with the floor tile I
currently have and the hideous 90s white 4 by 4 counter.
I could actually get away with keeping the counters and
later updating to a pretty white marble or something....

Okay now what faucets? What light fixture? hardware?

Oh my gosh the possibilities...
Thank you so much for posting those pictures. I love
blue and black. I wear blue and black all the time.
Why didn't I think of that.

Oh the colors in my home are anywhere from sage green,
to cranberry red to chocolate brown to soft muted cream.
I really do not have to match any of these other colors.
Thank you again,
~boxer
lukkiirish
11 years ago
Oh thanks Boxer! You are always so helpful to others it's nice to finally be able to help you as well.

The color we used is Sherwin Williams Tradewind, it photos bright and some people have said it's a little too bright for them in person too but I really like it. We also used Sea Salt which is a light gray with a faint green tint to it in our master. To me, both colors are very calming.

As far as fixtures go, that's where we spent a little more money. I ordered our light fixture from lightingdirect.com and faucet from faucetdirect.com. If you like the over all style I went with in our room, you could do something similar to this one

http://www.lightingdirect.com/sea-gull-lighting-alexandria/c17026

or for a more contemporary/modern feel you could do something like this:

http://www.lightingdirect.com/index.cfm?page=search:browse&term=Kovacs+Pierce.

For hardware, I used the new Martha Stewart line at Home Depot and I was really surprised at the quality. Price was super good too!

Here are some photos to show you sort of how the colors would look in your bathroom. Of course the monitors never reflect the true colors very well but it still helps to have a visual, right?

this is the tradewind color that we used,

A darker steely blue gray

Lighter blue gray

And a green gray

I'm sure a lot of people are going to have some great suggestions for you. I hope you post pics when you're done!
Laurie
11 years ago
Congrats on the wallpaper removal...that can be such hard work!!

I like the idea of going with darker cabinets. Your floor tile is really nice and I would recommend BM Revere Pewter (it's a light grayish taupe) for the walls. Possibly some modern/simple chrome or brushed nickel faucets and cabinet hardware.

-Laurie
boxerpups
Original Author
11 years ago
Lukkiirish.

That is wonderful. Thank you so much. The tradewind is
beautiful but I am thinking maybe the lighter blue gray
color in the third pic down.

The idea of going with darker cabs is exciting too.
I need to possibly go with an ebony gel paint/ stain.
I am reading up on all this now and checking out some
old links.
~boxer

Thanks Laurie,
Gray?? That is a nice idea. I am going to run and pick
up some paint swatches. I am thinking a gray blue maybe?
~boxer
chris11895
11 years ago
Boxerpups, I was at Home Depot and they had a display of the new Rustoleum Cabinet Renewal System (link below). I recently read a review of this on a blog and they liked it - but now I can't find the blog! It may be worth looking into for your vanity if any of the colors fit the bill.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations
allison0704
11 years ago
The lady at Between Naps on the Porch did wallpaper removal with Safe and Simple. linked below. She's raved about it numerous times on her site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Safe and Simple
lukkiirish
11 years ago
Boxer, I totally agree, a lighter blue gray in your bathroom would look lovely. When I painted our cabinet I used that new paint by Behr that is a primer/paint mix and it worked pretty well. Now that I think about it, that's what we used on our walls too. I just had the SW paint color matched. I have found that SW has the best varieties of gray colors, they're not too bright and not too dingy looking. I hope you have one near you so you can check them out, can't wait to hear what you end up choosing.
boxerpups
Original Author
11 years ago
My husband does not want to change the cabinet colors.
He thinks we should paint the walls first
It it still needs more pizazz we cn paint the cabs black.

Maybe he is right....

I love Behr paint with the primer. I used this on a bedroom
and it came out wonderfully. I am going to check out the
SW and BM shops and see what I can find for colors. And
have Behr mix it with the primer combo.

Have you ever tried any of these colors???

March Wind by Sherwin Williams

Comfort Gray by Sherwin Williams

I kind of like this soft blue called
Blue Hubbard by Sherwin Williams

Magnetic Gray by SW

Thanks so much. I will keep you posted. I may be able
to change his mind. I leave for a business trip this week
so I won't be back until the weekend. Hopefully I will
have a color picked out by then.
~boxer
dianalo
11 years ago
Taking down wallpaper is the pits. Congrats on getting it down and moving along.
I always like Quiet Moments by BM for a mellow vibe.
elle3
11 years ago
I was going to suggest quiet moments also...I have never seen that March wind you posted--that looks lovely.
Everything looks to be in great shape--the changes you suggest will be fabulous. The added bonus is that it shouldn't cost too much :)
Here's to hoping you can change dh's mind about painting the cabinet. Show him your expansive picture file!
beekeeperswife
11 years ago
Hi Boxer,

Oh, I hear ya sister. Been there, done that, and have to do it again! (The exhaust fan broke in there and has caused havoc to the paint job) I"m repainting again because I still have the same paint and my ds picked it out originally).

My ds is colorblind, (yes the one in art school) and I gave him 3 choices for a color. He chose a spa like green color. It is really nice. I figured at the time he was the only one living here, so I might as well go with looked good to him. It looked great. It was a Ty Pennington Color that I had matched at Lowes. Since I doubt you can get the color anymore, I'll just leave it to your imagination--spa green.

I put up a nice chrome shower curtain w/ white ends, clear curtain with curtain hooks that roll really nicely. Little bamboo shade. On the counter, put a silver tray with several clear/chrome accessories. Lots of white towels. All the stuff you can get at Home Goods. And called it a day.

The place looks great. Well, it did until the bamboo floor (oh yeah we replaced the vinyl) got wet between the joints and it looks horrible, it will be replaced soon too.

Removing wallpaper is a pain, but so glad you are now done!

-Bee
beachlily z9a
11 years ago
Boxer, thanks for posting that light blue (Blue Hubbard). It's exactly what I think I want in my MB. I could have searched forever without finding it!
prill
11 years ago
Boxer - great accomplishment! I'm facing the same thing in my upstairs bathroom, UGH.

I painted my downstairs bedroom Martha Stewart Cumulus Cloud. The sample looks quite gray, but in my house is a very pretty light blue. I also just tried a sample of BM Constellation - It's a little brighter blue depending on the light. BM Beacon Gray is also pretty, but maybe darker than you want.
(I have samples of blue colors painted all over on my walls at the moment).

Here's the Cumulus Cloud - not sure how the pic will show.

It's a bit more blue than it shows here - but that will depend on your monitor too.

The rest of your choices are also endless. Good luck. Keep us posted.
lukkiirish
11 years ago
My DH didn't want to paint our cabinet either but it was an ugly oak color and had terrible water marks on it. He also completely objected to the black thinking it would look bizarre. Luckily I finally got him to agree and boy was he ever surprised with the results.

Your cabinet is lighter and has a nice tone to it. With the wall color and some new knobs it could easily look just as nice as it would painted. If it still looks a little worn, another option would be to sand it and put a new layer of varnish on it. Painting cabinetry is a lot of work, if you can get by without having to do it you're lucky!

I sampled Comfort Gray, it's a green gray with a contemporary feel to it, nice but I too wanted blue not green. It's actually a darker version of what we used in our Master Bath and that's SW Sea Salt. Our color changes between blue and green tones depending on the lighting. I love all of the samples you're considering; everyone of them is really very pretty.
boxerpups
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi All,

Beachlily-Glad to help a fellow GW.

Prill-You have incredible taste but you've heard me gush
about your kitchen. Love that paint choice.

Bee-lol. I love that your DS is in Art school and colored
blind. Watch him be the next Picasso! Well not with chasing
women but with art.

elle3- I am all over the place because I have another
bathroom that needs to be updated too. DH realizes how
great disappearing wallpaper looks and has encouraged me
to tackle that next. I need my fingernails to grow back
first.

Chris-I checked out the rustoleum. Yes, this a possibility.
thank you.

Arsy- When I get back from my business trip I will post
pics of the space and you will laugh uproariously at the
hideous wallpaper.

Lukkiirish- I checked out Martha Stewart. Pretty colors.
Truly pretty. Now what??? help me

I am going to keep the wood as is. Because I have another
bathroom with the exact same wood that I am going to stain
darker a chocolate color. DH is on board with this. I
found an inspiration pic and of course the above pics
helped tremendously. Thank you for your photoshop and for
your own bath pics.

I went to Khols today and found marked down these
bath rugs. I have no idea the quality but the fact they
are a 100% cotton appealed to me and they were super cheap.
I also bought matching towels in the light sea green color.

Then after I went to HomeDepot. Light fixtures were
butttt ugly. I can not see spending $100 on something I
only tolerate. I am going to search on line.

What do you think? Which paint looks better with the cabs?

(Stupidly I picked the colors up before writing them
down... I think it is in this order
milk pail ML, rainwater, perfect taupe, winter's day and frozen pond

Frozen Pond Behr
Winter's Day Martha Stewart
Perfect Taupe Behr
Rain Water ML
Milk Pail ML

The cabs look so orange in the pic they are far more yellow.
Or should I chuck these all and go back to something more
blue and less sea glass.

I am thinking for the downstairs bath Black, pale blue and
white will be the prevailing them so this bath more
beach glass classic cottage look...

Any ideas would be awesome.
~boxer
boxerpups
Original Author
11 years ago
maybe this pic is better
msrose
11 years ago
I think Winter's Day is the prettiest color if it looks blue in person like it does on my screen, but I don't think it's the best match for the rug.
prill
11 years ago
Those all look pretty dark on my computer. I think the second from the left looks good but it's probably totally different in real life.

Aren't the light fixtures awful? I think you have to pay a bit more to get something that's decent quality. Maybe you can find something on line.

Good luck.
lukkiirish
11 years ago
Boxer! I am so glad it's coming together for you, you are definitely on a mission! I like the rug a lot! Since the monitors tend to skew the colors, I can't really tell monitor what works the best. Let me ask though, is that gray stripe in the rug a blue gray or a green gray at all? If so, why not use that color (or a lighter version of it) for the walls? If you like that color, I'd take the rug to the paint store and have them color match it. If not, then do you have a Sherwin Williams in your area? I ask because their fan decks are not expensive at all, if you pick one up, you can take it home and play with the colors before buying samples. I've had mine for a couple of years now and can't tell you how handy it's been to have around.

Lighting: Totally agree, Home Depot is not the go to place. Check out lightingdirect.com. I had a great experience there and the prices are reasonable.
chickadee2_gw
11 years ago
When I read that your husband didn't want the cabinet painted, the first color that popped to mind was navy blue. The white tile with the cabinet color kind of has a nautical feel to me. I don't think that taupe color would work on the walls. Maybe in towels.
beekeeperswife
11 years ago
figures that I like the one with the worst name...Winters Day! When will it end? I need Spring.

If the rug wasn't in the picture, then of course the next depressing name would be my fav--yep, Rainwater. (Expecting flooding tonight)
lukkiirish
11 years ago
Yeah, the rainwater color is pretty. Wish monitors showed true color. :c(