My First Solo Project - Guest Bathroom Blah to Beachy...continued!

6 Materials
$40
6 Hours
Medium

I have a love/hate relationship with my cats. While they are so very lovable when they want to be, I hate they can also be holy terrors.


Case in point:

You might recall my guest bathroom I turned from "Blah to Beachy," all by myself. I took so much pride in this particular project because it was the first one I did without (much) help from my hubby. Also, I was thrilled it had been published on many different websites, all thanks to the publicity I received from Hometalk. icon


Well, my cats didn't care. You know how I know this? Just look at what they did:

Infuriating, isn't it?


However, I learned a very valuable lesson from all of this and I feel I should pass this information along to you- DON'T USE BEADBOARD WALLPAPER IF YOU HAVE A CAT. Instead, use the real stuff.


Since I didn't use the real stuff, the following shows how I overcame my predicament:

First thing's first. I had to remove the rest of the wallpaper the "Feline Foes" had already started taking down. icon


Once I started taking it down I noticed that the walls hadn't been properly sized (aka, primed). Therefore, no matter that I scored the walls and soaked them in both Dif and plain water, I still managed to remove part of the drywall. I tried to fix it with joint compound but I think it made it worse. Luckily, the bad lighting in there is very forgiving of my horrible painting skills.

Next, I needed to remove the bottom layer of rope I had applied to the wood trim so that the other wood trim would sit flush against it.

My next order of business was to cut a hole into the wall. "Why?" you ask. Well, since the bathroom is so small, we didn't have a really good place to put a toilet paper holder. In every place we considered, it would have interfered with something/someone. The only solution we could come up with was a toilet paper cubby.

After that, I measured the space between two studs and cut four pieces of MDF to fit.

Then secured it to the studs with screws...

I slathered it with joint compound...

and finally I sanded it.


I was so proud of myself. It was as smooth as a baby's bottom. icon


-Or so I thought.


After I painted it, it was apparent I wasn't as good of a "mudder" as I'd thought. I was going to have to think of a way to hide the imperfections while I moved on to the next step: the faux board and batten.


You might not agree with the methods I used here. I figured, since I didn't want the "board" sticking out from the baseboard, I was going to need a very thin piece of wood. By doing so, I wouldn't be able to nail it nor screw it to the walls (the board would split from the nail or I wouldn't be able to screw it into a stud). Thus, leaving me with only one option. Gluing it. So that this wouldn't be a long, drawn out affair, I had to use a glue that would adhere almost instantaneously.


Q: Any guesses on what I used?


A: my trusty hot glue gun.


I had used it previously in that bathroom years ago when I glued the rows of rope to the wood trim and they are all still securely attached. My only worry would be on how the sheetrock would handle when I decide to change my bathroom and take them off. I thought the only logical thing to do was to prime the wall. So, I gave the walls a couple coats of paint before I stuck the trim on.

Since the hot glue was somewhat thick, it caused the wood to stick out a tiny bit. That was an easy fix.

I simply caulked that space before I painted it.


Finally, I went back and reglued the original rope to the wood trim.

Don’t get me wrong...I’m still really mad at my cats. But I will say, I think I might like this new look even more than how I originally had it. What do you think?


You can click on the link below to see my original post from three years ago.

Suggested materials:
  • 1.5" wood trim   (Lowe's)
  • Valspar satin paint   (Lowe's)
  • Glue gun/glue   (Hobby Lobby)
See all materials
Heather McKinney
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  1 question
  • Marie Baughman Marie Baughman on Feb 27, 2019

    Where did you purchase the shadow boxes for the shells? I'm in the process of changing a room into a nautical theme and would love to incorporate our shells in this manner. Also, from where did you purchase the fisherman's net? Thanks

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 3 comments
  • Valerie Burge Valerie Burge on Jan 27, 2019

    Nicely done! Glad you revised your approach instead of banishing your kitty! Looks amazing! Excellent work all by (mostly) yourself! You should feel proud. :) Love the rustic/nautical theme you chose.

  • Spikecatz Spikecatz on Aug 26, 2022

    I only just came upon your first post-LOVE IT! I have a scratch happy cat, wonder what was so interesting to them?

    Anyway, I had saved it to go back and make my list of parts I want to use in my Oasis -bungo, up popped part 2. It's a Winner. Love love the whole ordeal and it's outcome .;-)

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