Making Bathroom Cabinets Look Completely Different

I Just Couldn't Stand the White Bathroom Cabinets any More!

All my cabinets are white......all of them. That includes the kitchen and all the bathrooms. I've done over the kitchen and now it was time to do the bathrooms. I started with the master bathroom.

There are so many techniques these days for faux finishing furniture and walls. I've tried many of them with much success. For these cabinets I decided to use sponging, except I never really use a sponge. A lambswool pad works much better for me. I purchased a few of them at Home Depot. Blending the colors is much smoother using the lambswool.

I always sand lightly first. This makes the wood grab the paint much better. These cabinets were high gloss anyway, so they definitely needed a sanding. I painted the base coat a rusty orange-a scary color if you ask me. While the cabinet is still somewhat wet, I come along and blend a dark brown color over the orange, always moving my wrists and blending, blending, blending.

Above you can see more clearly the blended colors. Just for some additional detail to these cabinets, I ran some gold Rub & Buff on the edges of the panels. I always have this stuff on hand for adding decorative touches. I purchased mine at Michael's Craft store. It also comes in many different colors.
Above is a photograph of the entire vanity after completion. I re-used the original cabinet hardware, spraying it over with Rustoleum Hand Hammered paint. I love how this spray paint looks on metal. It makes your hardware look brand new, stops rust, hides flaws, is easy to use and saves you money (you don't have to buy new stuff). I used the antique brass color but it now comes in 11 great shades. I taped off the white part of the handle and just sprayed them all together outside. After they dried they get two coats of clear to protect them.

Above are the rest of the cabinets under the garden tub. Actually you don't see the rest of the bathroom here because currently I am still working on it. The walls are painted a beautiful beige color with accents of red and green.

You can actually change the look and feel of those stark white cabinets for the price of a can of paint and some time.

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A Few More Things

Thanks to my friend Kathy I found the perfect stool for my thrift store vanity. My vanity (in perfect condition) was purchased for $8.00 but needed a small stool to place underneath. I found this at TJMaxx for $29.00. Certainly not cheep, but since I only paid 8 bucks for the vanity, I could justify the expense. It turns out to be an exact match for the vanity. I really got lucky with this one. Looks cute, right?

The other day I stopped at the local Goodwill and found these four little espresso cups. In perfect condition and made in Italy, they cost me $1.00. What a deal!

I bought this lamp about 5 years ago for my daughters room. The lamp itself was wrought iron with a fabric insert that was a light purple. At the time, the lamp matched her room perfectly. Since then the room has been changed into a guest room done in earth tones. I use Mod Podge and some more rustic looking tissue paper and changed the entire look of the lamp. So, before you get rid of existing furniture, think about how you could change it to match your new decor.

Old lamp, new look.

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What I Did On My Summer Vacation

It's hard to resist collecting shells when you're at the beach. Seashells vary so much in color and shape depending on what part of the coast you are visiting. While vacationing in Florida two years ago, we picked up some real beauties- perfectly shaped and in wonderful pastel colors. This year the coast of North Carolina offered crushed up, tiny pieces of shells. So I had a couple of bags of shells collected from two separate vacations and needed to come up with a creative way to display them.

I love seashells, but they don't exactly match my decor. That didn't stop me from wanting to create something. Now that it's done (and yes, it took a long time to do), I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with it or where it's final resting place will be. I'm thinking it would make a great table or a lazy susan perched on the kitchen table. Whatever I decide, it will land up always reminding me of the two vacations we took. Ah, the memories..........

The seashells that surround the perimeter are from the Florida beaches-perfect in size and color. The center shells are all from the North Carolina beach, tiny pieces of shell all crushed up. They lay flat enough that you can actually place a cup on it. I started this project by purchasing a "pine round" from Lowe's (around $10.00). I used clear drying glue to fasten the perimeter shells to the round board. Here is a closer look at all the little shells that were glued onto the board. I added the tiny shells with a teaspoon and moved them around with tweezers. In case you think I've lost my mind-you would be correct. I have to admit that I did all this at night while watching television. It actually was very therapeutic.

The edges where painted a salmon color and the whole thing was coated with glossy, triple thick clear spray.

Hey, it's a real memory keeper!

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