Powder Room Makeover With Wallpaper and Painted Cabinets

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Years and years of touring model homes and parade homes have made me notice that designers go big in the smallest room in the house, the powder room. It's usually bold and full of design and color. When I moved into our house, this small little bathroom, which was probably the most used, was the most boring. It was dark in there too, with no natural light and beige walls and ceiling. Everything was a shade of brown pretty much, down to the cabinet, counter and faucet. 

A few years ago, I wanted to brighten the space up so I added board and batten and this fun diamond pattern onto the walls. It has stayed like this for a long time! 

But then...you know how it goes. I needed a change. I thought I wanted this whole powder room to be painted white. So, I did it. And I hated it. I thought I would get used to it, and that never happened. I know, right? Something was all white, and I actually didn't like it. ha! I was searching for some faux brick for my kitchen and came across this peel and stick wallpaper on sale for about $7 for a little over 118". I thought it was a good deal, and thought, why not try it? If I liked it, I would buy more and if I hated it, I wasn't out much. 

Peel and Stick Wallpaper Link

I left it up there for about a week. My husband didn't say anything, so I took that as a go ahead :) And I actually really liked it, so I started putting it up. 

I measured from top to bottom for the first strip, and cut it. Luckily, this peel and stick wallpaper had the grid on the back that made this process so much easier. 

I put up the first piece, made sure it was level on the sides with my level. I then matched up the next piece and cut it to size, and put it up. I found it best to working from the sides that are supposed to be lining up and pulling out the backing from there. I worked with about 5" at a time. I would smooth it out, pull, smooth it, pull etc. Sometimes I had to rip the whole thing off and start over. It did take some time and patience, I won't lie. But it was worth it!

Working around the light was a pain. I could have made it easy by taking off the light, but didn't want to go to that extent. So, I cut the wallpaper into two pieces, one for the top and one for the bottom. 

With lots of measuring, I figured out where to cut the little notch out for the light on the top and bottom piece.

I loosened the light fixture just a bit in order to get the wallpaper to fit behind it. I found that painter's tape was a lifesaver, not just for this instance, but in general when trying to line up the pattern and when you start pulling the back away.

For the corners, I used the same sheet and just folded it around the corner to keep the design going. When all was said and done, I think I used about 400" of this peel and stick wallpaper. I do have a ton of random leftover scraps that I'll have to figure out what to do with. 

I think the wallpaper in this powder room made the perfect "wow" factor. I didn't want to add too much color since I do decorate in here for the holidays. Yes, I'm that person...putting Christmas decor in a bathroom :) So, I went with a wallpaper that would transition easily from holiday to holiday and not compete too much. 

Framing this mirror was a whole other project on its own, then came the board and batten. Click on the links to see the tutorials for those :)

Frame mirror tutorial      Board and batten tutorial

I feel like I've been updating this bathroom for the past 6 months...slowly. One of the updates were these shaker pegs to hang the hand towels from. 

...and of course, what ever other decor I want at the time :) This bath is small, but it is full of decorating options! :)

Another update was painting this vanity. I have natural knotty alder wood throughout my home, and have been wanting to paint the cabinets for years. My husband pretty much forbids it in my kitchen, so while he was away for a week, I went and painted all the bathroom vanity cabinets white. It made such a difference! It has brightened everything up and has made me love my home even more. I know painting wood isn't for everyone, but I have lived in this house for 13 years now, and have hated the cabinets every day since. I want to live in a home that I love every aspect of, and I gave those dang cabinets 13 years, I can have them changed for the next 13 :) 

(little peak at what I'm been working on in my kitchen above :) )

Here's the before again of this same angle from above:

Oh, and here's the other mirror angle before the frame:

And another before of this cabinet.

I'll do a full tutorial on how I painted these knotty alder cabinets when I share my master bathroom update soon.

And here's the after again! 

Walking by this bathroom just makes my day now. It's the bathroom that you see from the main area of the house, and I'm not ashamed to keep the door opened any more! I have more fun updates using peel and stick wallpaper coming soon! I have a big thing happening in my kitchen using it....actually I'm using it in two places in there! 

I never before thought I would be using wallpaper. If you had told me 20 years ago as I was helping my mom pull wallpaper off every square inch of her house, that I would eventually add some to my own house, I wouldn't have believed you. Thankfully, peel and stick wallpaper is now a thing and super easy to put up and take down! What do you think? Will wallpaper today age well? Or will I be cursing my younger self as I pull it off years later.

I have lots going on behind the scenes! Be sure to follow me on my social channels 

  

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

Did the Easy Off Oven Cleaner Method Work? Apothecary Cabinet Makeover

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I've had my eye on this little piece from my mom's garage for years now. She never knew I wanted it. One day she said she was going to take some stuff to the thrift store and asked if I wanted this little tool drawer cabinet. I was like....umm, yes! As you all may know, I have an obsession with apothecary type cabinets and drawers. Here's what it looked like before I got my hands on it:

Very primitive looking, but definitely not my style. I decided I wanted to try the over cleaner Easy Off method to strip the wood. I have done this to my coffee table and a mirror, and wanted to see how this piece would look with it's bare wood. 

I sprayed that thing with the oven cleaner Easy Off probably like 5 times. Had it sit for longer on some of the applications, I scrubbed and scrubbed. It took about 2 hours to get this far. That's seriously with the whole entire thing covered. Didn't get very far, did I? This is to show that sometimes this method does not work! I know it does on some things, since it's worked for me, but on others...there are better ways :) Like sanding or painting stripping.

I decided to skip the whole bare wood idea after all that work and switched to paint. I then used my petroleum jelly and paint method :) I get a little finger amount of the petroleum jelly, rubbed it on the edges then put two coats of paint over it. 

Once the paint dried, I used some sandpaper and gently rubbed the edges. The petroleum jelly is also a great way to get some good crackling on the paint. Just put a good amount in a spot, then paint. Don't sand this area when you see that it's cracking, just leave it! If it chips later, all the better for a more natural looking character. 

I bought some cute brass drawer pulls and added them to drawers to finish off the piece. 

Drawer pulls: link

I placed this on the console table in my hallway. It fit perfectly underneath the arches. 

When I was in the middle of the Easy Off method, I came across a hand written note on one of the drawers: "To Donna, Thanks for everything. Tom and Carol - 1986" . Kind of fun to see original messages like this! This was found in a friend's old cabin and given to my mom years ago. I'm glad it found it's way to me. Do I have anything in the drawers? Nope. :) It would make a cute tea cabinet in the kitchen...if I drank tea! Maybe one of these days it'll find a good purpose, but for now it's just looks.

This entryway/hallway is also used to house my kids shoes. It's small, but it's definitely functional! 

pin for later:

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

DIY Farmhouse Shelves With Shaker Pegs

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I don't do many posts about my kitchen, mainly because it's the one room in my house that my husband does not want me to update. I have dreams for changes in here. One would think it would be to paint the cabinets, it's not. Well, it was a few years ago, but now it's taking out cabinets and adding backsplash and floating shelves. As I wait to pick out the perfect backsplash (I say that as if it's going to happen anytime soon, ha! ), I decided to update this little section of my kitchen. 

I painted this herringbone wall almost ten years ago, and once I realized that, I knew this whole area needed an update. Seriously, some areas in my house have stayed the same for that long! ha! A couple of years ago, I added this hutch to this wall. It didn't fit the space well, but it added the extra space for a pantry that I definitely needed. See that little cabinet to the left of the hutch? That is all I have for a pantry. Yep. A single stack of cabinets. I'm glad God blessed me with a little family! 

I have been dreaming about those floating shelves in my kitchen for years now, and never got around to adding them where I really wanted them. Mainly because it requires removing cabinets...which requires my husbands approval. And well, you can figure how that is going. Then I had a duh moment, and realized I could get a little of what I wanted by adding some on this empty wall. It was just deep enough and long enough. Here's the finished result: 

A few steps went into doing this. Some of which just happened along the way :) 

First was to paint this herringbone wall...which I couldn't bring myself to do! So, I decided to to see what the shelves would look like with it still on the wall. 

Herringbone pattern wall tutorial

I used this shiplap panel and cut it to size; the length was approximately 56 inches with the height of 48 inches. I then measured and cut out outlet and light switch holes. This was probably the trickiest part of the whole process. Measuring about 8 times to make sure they were perfect. I cut them out with a jigsaw.

I then needed to extend my switches out just a smidge, so I added these outlet extenders. They are actually quite easy to use. You can youtube how to do it and find tons of tutorials :) Just make sure you have turned off all power to outlets first! 

I then secured the vertical shiplap to the wall. I nailed it in with 1 1/2" brad nails. 

I capped the top with a 1x8 pine board. I secured this board into the studs with 2" screws. I also add a 1x 1.5" piece of molding to the end to finish it off. 

I then added these wood brackets. They are easy to make, but if you are like me and just don't want to make them, you can buy them for fairly cheap. I've just had quite the time finding good decent pieces of wood at my local home store and I didn't want to deal with that :) Here's the link of the pair I used: Wood Brackets: Link

Wood Brackets: Link

Next was adding the top shelf. I used another 1x8" pine board cut to size. I made sure it was level and then secured the brackets to it from the bottom.

To finish this part off, was to paint! At this point, I ran out of pine boards, so I decided to style it while I waiting to get another. I used Glidden's Pebble White. This is a very soft white, and not stark white at all. It has the great warmth with no blue or yellow undertones. 

Styling it was mainly to see if I should paint the herringbone. I thought for sure I would end up painting it, but actually still loved the way it looked. It wasn't the complete look I was going for, but it made this wall more unique.

Striped Ruffle Tea Towel: Similar

This is when I started adding all the extras :) I created this shaker peg rack using shaker pegs and 1x2.5" molding. I'll do a tutorial on it soon! But for now, you can purchase ones that are already put together here: Shaker Peg Rack

Shaker Peg Rack: Similar

So, now here it is all styled with the shaker peg rack. Made a good difference! As you can see, I was still using the bottom of the hutch that was here before. I was going back and forth on making the perfect cabinet for the space, or finding one used. Luckily, I had time to find the perfect piece :) ...luckily because making the one I wanted would cost roughly $250 with the price of wood right now! 

At this point, I decided that one shelf was not enough. So, I added a 1x10" pine board on top of the bottom shelf. I wanted the shelf to sit on the board and not on the wall to keep the look cohesive. 

I repeated the process of adding the wood brackets, painting and securing the top shelf. 

I then got all my Rae Dunn pieces, added them and turned them around :) I use every one of these for food storage of some sort so I couldn't get rid of them. I know some people still love their Rae Dunn... I do love the style of the pieces, I just think I'm over having words every where :) 

I also added some vintage pieces to go with the new, like this small french crock, mustard crock, spice bowl, and my favorite salt and pepper set that came from my great grandmother. 

For the shaker pegs, I added this sweet striped tea towel, these amazing wood measuring cups from Hobby Lobby and a few of my cutting boards/bread boards.

Wooden Measuring Cups: Similar     Striped Ruffle Tea Towel: Similar

Now for the buffet. It took me about three months to find this piece. I had lots of ones I wanted, but they were either too pricey, too small or too big. I had only so long and so deep for this space. I saw this one, and even though it wasn't the style I initially had in mind, I knew it would be perfect. I love the different compartments since this houses some of my canned goods and snacks for my kids. Kids snacks are on the right, the main section are for canned goods, and the left is to hide the cat food :) 

Here's a look at the before again. I didn't realize how underutilized this wall really was until adding the wider shelves and buffet. And what do you thinking about the herringbone? Keep it or ditch it? 

So, what did I do with this hutch? I actually found the perfect place for it in our upstairs landing. It now houses all of our games in the bottom section, and I'm still trying to figure out the decor on the top :) 

I have lots going on behind the scenes! Be sure to follow me on my social channels 

  

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”