Master Bathroom Bliss

Let's say you just finished a very strenuous fall and winter.  You traveled a ton, both professionally and personally, you had a houseful of beloved and boisterous family nearly every weekend, and even though you owned it, Christmas exhausted you.  What do you do on your very first weekend at home with no visitors and nowhere to be?

Well, if you're me, you get a project.  There's something so satisfying about finally being able to focus on the house again.  I love this little abode and I love improving it every chance I get.  It didn't exactly scream anything but "builder-grade new construction!" when we moved in, so I love tweaking it and making it personal.

Tuesday night I went to Jo Ann's and picked out some awesome fabric for new pillows.  My friend Lindsey is quite the sewer, and she so generously agreed to make me some pillows for our previously bachelor pad-like couches.  I realize you haven't seen much but glimpses of the new living room, and I have to apologize.  I'm in the process of tweaking it still and I think you deserve only the best.  So you'll have to wait a little longer for the tour.  But feast your eyes on my new pillows!

Aren't those fabulous?  I am so lucky to have such a talented and willing best friend!  And yes, all pillows must pass the "pet snuggle test."  Don't tell Ryan that Landry was on the couch.  I can't wait to show you guys the living room once it all comes together.

But is that ever enough for me?  No, of course not.  I always need another project  Lindsey turned me on to another blog called Centsational Girl and I stumbled across this post.  What a dramatic makeover!  And if you remember anything about the bathrooms at my house, you'll remember I have builder-grade fake oak looking cabinets with nooooo hardware.  That doesn't exactly scream zen spa does it?

I sent said link to the mister and much to my surprise, he was on board.  We spent a lunch at Home Depot (heaven) armed with Kate's instructions, but then we stumbled across this kit by my friends at Rustoleum.  See, I trust Rustoleum.  They are makers of my right hand man, spray paint.  So we read about it, discussed with our paint professional, and took home this kit big enough to do our bathroom and Alli's if we so desired (and we do).  All we had to do was select dark or light (dark for us) and then pick the color we wanted off of the 20 or so on the box (we chose Espresso).  We grabbed some simple, chic hardware, and waited impatiently to get home and give this kit a try.

I was extremely nervous, but Ryan figured hey, what could make those cabinets look worse?  I love him.  He jumped right in with....

     Step 1:  Remove Cabinet Doors/Drawers and De-Gloss

Using the provided liquid gel and brilo-like pads, Ryan scrubbed our cabinet doors, drawers, and frames down.  Then you let it sit for 1 hour (or 10 hours if it's Friday night and you fall asleep on the couch).

     Step 2:  Apply Tint Base (2 coats, 2-3 hours between coats)

Enter yours truly with the painting expertise.  All you have to do is paint with the grain of the "wood."  It was as simple as it sounds, thanks to the instructional DVD included in the kit.  We're still on step 2 - I have two coats on the frames, drawers, and backs of the doors, so I still have to do the front of the doors before we move on to optional (but we are doing it!) Step 3: Glaze and mandatory Step 4: Top Coat.  But  I really think it is looking good and I can't wait to see the finished result.  Stay tuned.  And for interested parties, that is my organized sink on the right.