Our bathroom quick fix

While we adore our “new old house,” the bathrooms are small.  Like funny small considering my husband is 6’3″ and is a big guy and I am not tiny. Neither are our offspring. But what do you do when your dream house has tiny baths?  {Master bath is 5′ x 7′ and kids is 4 x 8″, downstairs powder is like 3.5″ x 4.4″ I am not kidding} You just deal with it, after all older homes have quirks and you just say “one day we will remodel” and I think we def will but it wasn’t just the size. Also the color and age and condition of some of the tile. The house was built in the 1940s after all.  Enter Rustoleum.  And this post is NOT sponsored by Rustoleum this is just my PSA.

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I googled and looked on pinterest, as you do, and discovered this was hands down the product for the shower tile. I had considered Miracle Method and even called and got an estimate but it was $1500 for our tiny shower.  It’s 32″ x 32″ y’all.  There had been a leak but it was fixed and retiling a space a tiny space we didn’t love seemed silly.Decided this was worth a try as a bandaid until ready to remodel.  I could not find the Rustoleum product at my local Lowes or Home Depot so I ordered it off Amazon.  It took two boxes (even for our small shower) and I bought a mask for the hubs and begged him to wear it!

BEFORE

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This was the before of our master shower.  Y’all this is clean! It was clean when we moved in and my mom went NUTS on it (she is a cleaning ninja) with even more cleaning and it still looked like this. (and because it was clean and very roughed up and porous it holds the product great so you have to clean well first)

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This is a great project to do BEFORE you move into a house or while kids are on a little vacation because it really stinks.  We were able to do it before we moved in while work was going on downstairs with lots of time to cure between coats.

DURING (after one coat)

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AFTER

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My husband did this and he did a great job but he said beware the fumes are dangerous so wear a mask, turn on fan and open windows!  There are some great posts out there about using rollers and brushes but it isn’t rocket science.  You can do this..so glad we did and didn’t pay $1500 to have someone else do basically same thing.  And while isn’t perfect it feels clean and the bright white really helps the small space have light and not feel claustrophobic.

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Of course my other quick fixes include: vintage nude sketch matted in white, monogram towels, schoolhouse electric lights, my fave bamboo shade, oversized glass knobs from Home Depot, and a little marble tray for Waterworks (Joss & Main score). I am eyeing a marble topped “mail order vanity” to replace the current vanity!

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Floor and wall tile original as are huge but porcelain towel bars! Wall color is good ol’ BM REVERE PEWTER…clean and simple.  I think that is the key if tile isn’t perfect and things aren’t exactly houw you want just keep it clean and simple! I actually kind of love the floor tile even though it’s cracked. Old tile setting was so different ..very deep.

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 The light is the Schoolhouse Electric Otis with the schoolhouse shade.  I used this light several places in our home in hallways and baths.

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The room is so small I can’t even really get a shot of the shower with curtain closed.  It’s just plain jane white.

My bestie Camille (who came to see the new house yesterday..so fun to see her) recently did some similar paint slathering in her new old house in Abilene.  Check her post here . . . the before and after are amazing.

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She is more the DIY girl and she used a different product but similar results! Bottom line if you have a shower you hate go for it! I will share more later on what I did with the boys pink floor..simple white but its working for now!

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Comments

  1. Holly I’m so glad you shared this as I’ve looked at this product over and over. We came close to trying it last spring just before company was to arrive, but thought we might be in over our heads. I’m definitely going to use it on our yellow tiled bathroom. By the way, this family of four only has two tiny vintage bathrooms too, but I wouldn’t trade it for the charm of an old house.

  2. You guys did a GREAT job on the tile! It really is a great way to buy yourself some time before a major remodel. Love you and SO glad to get to see you. I’m STILL smiling!!!!

  3. Hey Holly! That is an amazing transformation! Would you use Revere Pewter in a house with an open floor plan (for living room, foyer and kitchen)?

  4. Holly…I am amazed…that looks great! Thanks for sharing…good to know!!! 🙂

  5. Kelley Brown says

    Holly, the transformation is beautiful! It looks like a new bathroom! Do you think the same product will work on a yellowed porcelain tub? My daughter is buying an old house that has tubs with the yellowed hard water stains everywhere.

  6. Katie Morene says

    Holly – I can’t find the recent posting about the new towels you ordered for your sons. I thought I had bookmarked the information. Can you let me know where you ordered them from? I loved the monogram options.

    The bathroom is great, can’t wait to try this on our shower as it’s another two years until our Baylor girl graduates and we can afford a bathroom remodel!

    Thanks!

  7. Hi Holly:
    James and I love seeing the pictures of your new house! I had to comment today because the tile paint is an AMAZING fix and also wanted to let you know that we saw several pretty bathroom vanities and a big pedestal sink at the Restoration Hardware Outlet in San Marcos yesterday.
    Take care!

  8. Holly the tile transformation is awesome! I’m so impressed with that product I may have to try as well we also just bought a “new” old house!! Oh, and I had to comment to tell you that I bought the vanity for our bathroom reno at my current house from kitchen and bath collections (through Amazon) and had an amazing experience I would not hesitate to use them when you are ready to buy. The marble doesn’t have the thick edge but it has a beautiful profile and for the price it cannot be beat! We’ve had it for 4 months now and I am so in love with it!

  9. It’s beautiful, Holly! Your designs always inspire!

  10. Gorgeous results! I am happy to seen this post as I have a tiny tiny bath upstairs in our new old house with pink- peach stained tile that needs to be painted. Good to know about there fumes.

  11. What a great fix! I love it! I was just going to ask you if I could use this on my master bath tile floor, or is it slippery? I saw you’ve got a post coming about your boys bath floor, but if you have a quick reply or product you’d recommend, I love to hear! Your new home is so so beautiful, I love following along.

  12. Mfrancesduffy says

    It’s charming. I love it.

  13. Thanks for the details of what you did. It turned out so pretty. Have a good day!

  14. theveryflowers says

    It already looks lovely!!!
    I’ve been wondering for some time; with this sort of application, how does it hold up to cleaning, and what can you clean it with???

  15. Did you use this product on the floor as well? I did not see any “after” pics and was wondering if you used something else.

  16. FANTASTIC JOB! Our tiny, old bathroom is Revere Pewter, too, as I had some left over from the kitchen cabinets. Love the glass knobs. I’m inspired to do a little more work on our little bath.

  17. So great! Cannot wait to see the boys bath. We are about to move into a house with a bathroom that has pink tile floors and walls. My two boys won’t go for that either!

  18. Wow! That definitely took it from gross to ‘I would stand in there with bare feet’. I reminds me of the article the BHG did on you back in ’04 or ’06 where you showed how you painted over old formica and bathroom sinks. I still have that article by the way and have been a fan since then.

  19. Looks great – My Grandfather painted his bathroom 50+ years ago with epoxy paint and it still looks good:) Good stuff:)

  20. Terri Takacs says

    Wow! I wonder if it works on tile floor as well. This would solve a huge eye sore for me!

  21. amazing! now i want to go get those knobs. so cute. why remodel???? it’s perfect!!!

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