THE BATHROOM IS FINALLY DONE!!
The bathroom is finished! We have a few small details, floor trim, etc., but all the faux painting is finished!
This was one of the wall projects I created in preparation for my Elite OSCI Certification requirements. This is a small, narrow master bathroom that had been papered in a very slick vinyl-type paper with an ivy pattern. Not horrible - but certainly not my style! I had to remove the paper from two walls and apply a wall prep. Because the people papered right onto the wallboard WITHOUT a finish, as I pulled off paper, wallboard came away as well. Rather than pull down the wallboard and start from scratch, I went with the rustic look and plastered over what could not be patched. All the books I consulted said this wouldn't work - but it turned out just fine. You just have to be sure you put several coats of waterproof finish over the final product so moisture does not cause any paper to come loose.
My goal was to create the feeling that one was bathing in a rustic European-style garden setting. The floor has been painted to look like rock with gray grouting. The cabinets were painted a copper color along with a wash of blue and purple. There is a faux-kitty sitting on one wall. On the opposite wall, an errant tree has burst through the back wall and through into the garden bathing area. Vines and wisteria circle the wall at the top. I might eventually add a faux arbor ceiling with clouds in the background - and possibly a bird on the wall opposite kitty. We'll see! I'm ready to move on to painting other rooms in the house!!
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 Checking the color. |
 Color
applied and multiple layers of additional colors and specking added. |
 First pass at the grout lines. |
 Cracked plaster area added. I painted the leaves and wisteria to give me hope that this was going to turn out pretty in the end! |
 I'm
standing on a ladder - sure wish I was this tall! |
 Toned
down the grout and darkened the rocks - lots more detail applied - and
lots more to go - and the start of the faux kitty in the upper right
corner. The light areas top and bottom are the rocks that remain
to be detailed. |
Lessons learned at this point: (1) Make your grout lines as small as possible (less to shade/highlight); (2) Use a lighter tone for your grout lines so it is easier to shade/highlight with modest changes in the tone; (3) I love to paint - but I'm not crazy about the prep work; (4) I understand why Donna recommends you charge more if you have to go up and down a ladder.... |
 It
is 99% done! Finally! I only need to apply a satin finish so
it will be easier to clean! Next it is on to the floors, cabinets
and other walls in this room! I'll add more as it progresses! |
 Slightly different view so you can see the vines on the left. |
 Close-up of cat. Looks better expanded to a larger size. Husband suggested that I soften the top right portion of the cat's back so it would look like it was extending back away from viewer. I made that change and like it a lot. You can see the earlier pictures at the beginning and see the difference this made. |
 Final view of the breakaway wall. Modified the grout and shading. I like this better - more definite and pronounced than the earlier version. |
 Wall over the tub. Decided I wanted to keep playing with breakaways. This is a "punch through" branch. |
 Closeup of the branch. Next to painting the cat - this was my absolute most favorite wall to do! So fun to play with rounding the branches and working on the high/low lights! |
 Closeup of the bricks pushing through from "opposite" side of wall. Shadowing around the edges of these really made them "pop". I love to do murals!! |
 Faux towel hanging on bathroom door. Door is fauxed to look like old fencing. Real hook at top of the faux towel. |
 Another view of the faux towel on faux old fence-type bathroom door. |
| Lesson learned at this point: When starting on a major project, break it up into pieces that can be easily finished so each time you have to stop - you will have a portion completely done. Anyone who sees the work in progress will not know what you have in your head - just that everything they see at the moment is done! |