Updated Guest Bath - DIY With Just A Little Paint

Dysko7710
by Dysko7710
3 Materials
$20
1 Day
Easy
In a previous post, I showed how I painted the bathroom counter top in our downstairs guest half bathroom. But, that was only one of several projects I did in that room. We had it painted a beautiful bluish/purple and decorated the walls with metal art in a fish/sea theme. Which left the mirror, light fixture, light switch/outlet plates, cabinet and towel/toilet paper bars standing out like an outdated sore thumb. So, here is how I updated the rest of this bathroom, with just some paint!

First, I tackled the outdated gold outlet cover and light switch cover:

To do this, I first removed the outlet and light switch from the wall and painted them both white using white acrylic craft paint mixed with a little bit of baking soda to help it adhere to the surface (this is essentially homemade chalk paint). I probably used about a tsp. of baking soda per cup of paint, to give an idea of the ratio (but I just add bits and mix until I get the consistency I want). Next, I mixed a combination of acrylic paint colors (copper, silver, black) with a good bit of glazing medium and painted this over the white. Glazing medium allows you to paint it on and then blend it in and remove as much as you want to get the look you want. I wanted it to highlight the designs on these outlets and create a distressed look, so I wiped most of it off the base and left more on the design around the outside.
The next thing I tackled in here was the mirror frame and the cabinet underneath my sink. To do this, I just used white acrylic paint and a small to medium sized brush. I dry brushed the paint over the mirror frame and on the cabinet. I did this three times, letting it dry after each coat, to get a distressed look on the cabinet and mirror. Dry brushing means you add some paint to the brush and then wipe all the excess off, so that the brush has paint on it but is very 'dry'. It creates a streaked look, so for the look I wanted I needed several layers. I did not remove the hardware, because I didn't care if some of the paint touched it since I was going for a rustic/worn look. I did the same technique on the mirror frame. I did not tape it off because I did not go all the way to the edge, since it was a rustic look. Normally I tape off for projects where I need a precise finish.
The light fixture above the mirror was next, because it was also an outdated gold color. I taped off around the glass light fixtures and taped off around the wall. I did not want to have to dismantle this or take it down. I also needed the paint to stick. I used white acrylic paint on here, as well, mixed with baking soda. I made this mixture very thick, and it gave it a cool rough stone/concrete look when it went on. This mixture was probably at least half paint to half baking soda. Here is the before and after of the light fixture:


Finally, I painted the towel bar and the toilet paper holder with the same thick white mixture to give it a roughed up stone texture:
Here is a picture of the final result of all of this (This does not include the towel bar and toilet paper holder side of the bathroom, I couldn't get it all in one picture). The before picture is from when we first moved in and on the right is the final result:


Suggested materials:
  • Acrylic Paints (white, copper, silver, black)   (Amazon)
  • Baking Soda   (had on hand)
  • Glazing Medium   (Amazon)
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