My newly painted gray bathroom | before and afters
When we bought our house, here's what the bathroom looked like.
It's a little hard to tell how shocking this shade of green was, but it was awful.
Like, so bad that when you looked down the hallway, a green glow emanated from the bathroom.
And the ceiling was green as well as the walls.
One of the first things I did when we moved in was paint the ceiling white. And also: replace the flowered shower curtain.
That helped some, but we also did eventually replace the crackle painted cabinetry (oof) and replace the flooring.
And I painted the walls with leftover paint from the office walls, mainly because I had extra paint, and that cost me $0. 😉
I've never been an enormous fan of the color, but you know, I've had other painting priorities.
The color was just a little dark for my current taste. I used to like darker colors, but lighter ones are calling my name now.
So, I set out to find a light gray that would work.
I had two missteps along the way (thank heavens for sample cans) and I landed on a Benjamin Moore color called Metropolitan.
I really love it! It's so much brighter in that bathroom now, and the white and gray contrast really nicely.
Oh, and here you can see what we replaced those very overwhelming cabinets with.
The bathroom still isn't perfect...there are some tile issues (one of the floor tiles has come loose, for instance), and I really do not love the light fixture that came with the house:
(It's not AWFUL, but it's too ornate for me)
But. I do love the bathroom way more with a fresh coat of paint in a lighter, brighter color.
Yay for paint! It's seriously one of the cheapest ways to give a room a facelift.
Oh, and I gave the ceilings and the moldings a fresh coat of paint too.
By the way, I used Benjamin Moore Aura paint (not affiliated) this time. It's made specifically for bathrooms, and is supposed to withstand moisture better than regular paint.
Also, we finally got a bathroom exhaust fan installed in this bathroom (it didn't have one when we bought the house), so between that and this special paint, our walls should be in good shape.
I am now sorely tempted to paint my bedroom a lighter shade...we'll see if I'm up for that challenge next summer. It's a very saturated red, so that will be a task and a half if I decide to take it on.
But I'm not gonna think too hard about that for now. Maybe next year....
If you don't plan on replacing the light fixture right now, I would suggest flipping it upside down. I did this in my bathroom & it totally changed the feel & look of the fixture....plus it's free!
oh nice suggestion! I bet this does wonders for the space, and yeah, it's free!
I really like the grey! I'm a big fan of tonal colors.
We are almost at the one year mark in our house and I am just starting to look around and think about little paint jobs or projects. I like all of the ideas I am finding here on your site!
I love the grey bathroom too! The neutral tone just makes the bathroom look so relaxing and luxurious like what I see on HGTV. I will def reference this post if we decide to remodel our bathrooms!
That gray is so pretty!! I have a similar color for my room, but haven't gotten around to painting yet.
Question, how hard and expensive was it to install the fan in the bathroom? Our master bath doesn't have one, and I'm beyond frustrated with that.
Well, we paid someone to do it! It involved routing the venting through the attic and then outside, so it was definitely more than we wanted to take on ourselves. We have a friend who does electrical work on the side on the weekends...he can charge less that way and make quite a bit on the side (since he gets to keep all the money, whereas when he works for the company, the company keeps part of what customers pay).
My living room was a similar red to your bedroom. We had the whole 1st floor painted this spring, and I was shocked that the painters covered that color in 2 coats of beige paint, no extra primer. They used SW Cashmere paint and the coverage was awesome. The paint is pricey, but I think it is worth it if you can get away with 2 coats instead of 3 plus primer.
Hmm, that's encouraging to hear!
This weekend my daughter's long standing request to paint the accent wall in her bedroom was met so I got to see how this paint performed with a non-pro doing the painting. Previously, her wall was a shade best described as electric blue. We bought SW Cashmere, low luster, in a light grey. My daugher (16) and her two friends did the painting. Old color was covered in 2 coats but did require a 3rd to fully cover. I think if a more experienced painter was at work, 2 coats would have done it. The room looks so much more peaceful now with that loud color gone. The hazards of letting an 11 year old pick the paint in the first place!
I hear you there! My two youngest girls picked paint for their room last summer, and boy, they picked some very, very loud colors to try out. Luckily, they were able to compromise on a slightly less saturated shade in the end.
I like the gray very much. Back in the 60's my parents painted their bedroom gray with white trim (we had dark wood floors) in our 1940's era house, and my mom added plain white curtains and spread. I remember how attractive it was. This bathroom is taking me back, in a good way.
The "before" cabinetry was just, um, no.
When we moved to our farm, there was a large bedroom downstairs that was not only deep brick red, but the paint the previous owners had used was textured with some kind of sand. It took forever to cover that, and the texture just sucked up the new paint so that it took several gallons for each coat. That experience has kept me from putting red on a wall ever since. 🙂
I've actually been criticized for using multiple colors in my own house, painting every room a different (light) shade, so I feel good when I see others using colors on their walls. I like Kristen's colors. Nothing is wrong with all white or off-white, but it doesn't suit me.
Yes. I can't imagine a place where that cabinetry would look good. I think I tried to freecycle it, but I can't remember if anyone actually took me up on the offer!
The DIY crackle finish was so hard and thick, it would have been nigh onto impossible to sand that down and redo it. So whoever took it would have probably had to love the look. 😉
That color of gray improves your bathroom at least 300%!
Looks great, love the new color!
I love the colors! Yes...the new ones, not the old ones so much! 🙂 I'm still trying to get up the energy and motivation to strip the mauve colored wallpaper off our living room walls. Oh, and yes, there's blue 1980's era carpet to go with it. However, the room is huge (old farm house) and even the ceiling has paper on it that appears to be very tightly adhered. Not sure when I'll get the energy to start!!
An old maple sap worker once told me about how he ruined his kitchen's wallpaper by making very thick maple syrup on his stove. He took some some syrup home in order to further reduce it on his stove. The steam -- maybe because it was sugary? -- made his wallpaper disattach from the wall.
So maybe try simmering maple syrup in your living room?
Do you have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area? You might be able to find a very nicely priced fixture that suits you better. And you could donate the one you don't like at the same time.
I think gray is one of the most difficult to paint with. The undertones are pretty tricky. I painted my bedroom gray and love it. Your bathroom looks great.
I love the historical BM colors most of my rooms are painted using their colors. The historical are pretty timeless.
And it is so, so, easy to err into baby blue territory with a light gray. That was what was wrong with my first try!
Phew! You've been a painting machine. 🙂 When we bought our house, there was one room that was NEON GREEN, from the baseboards all the way to the popcorn ceiling. It was torture painting a popcorn ceiling, lemme tell ya. But wow, what a difference a coat of paint makes. 🙂
Yes! I've painted stippled ceilings before (at our townhouse) and my goodness...it's so messy. All the little points break right off and come down.
The paint looks great!
Did you all replace the flooring yourselves or did you have it done?
My brother and Mr. FG did it years ago.
The light coming thru in your "after" photos is so pretty. Very nice, Kristen.
Regarding the red bedroom paint, I like it though I may be in the minority about that.
Love the black dress!
I love the red in the bedroom too! But I also understand that we each have our own taste, and that sometimes a change is good just for the sake of change.
I love your bathroom now - modern and clean. I was touched, though, by the way the previous owners gave so much, uh, attention to the bathroom with All. That. Floral. You just know they thought it was pretty gorgeous - especially those crackle floral cabinets (ouch.)
To each their own!
I know, right? That was a lot of work. I hope they got lots of years of happiness out of their very floral decor.
I love the light gray! It really makes the black pop at well. And your bathroom is much brighter now. I happen to like the current light fixture, so when you are ready to replace it please let me know. I might still be in the market for a new one. Mine is ancient and ugly!
Love it! When we built our townhouse, we paid a little extra to have them paint the entire townhouse nearly that shade of gray. With white trim and doors, I love it, and it was one less task to try to complete upon moving!
When I bought my place, the original 1950's decor still ruled the bathrooms. The hall bathroom walls were industrial green and the floor tile a pattern of industrial green and white tiles. As if that weren't bad enough, the master bathroom was pepto bismol pink. The floors were a pattern of PBP & white tile, the walls were PBP on the lower half and white on the upper, and the showers were SOLID PBP TILE. All the way to the ceiling! It hurts even to remember it.
I left the basement bathroom in its original state, but that was grey and white. The hall and master baths got the total reno treatment.
The house my sister bought a few years ago had a master bedroom with pink walls, pink carpet, and pink furniture (which the owners took with them, thank heavens.) The master bath was the same -- pink carpet (carpet in a bathroom, yuk!), pink walls, pink tub, toilet, counter tops, cabinets, sink, and shower stall. It was a lighter pink, but still... pink. I can almost imagine your PBP pink. Stomach-turning!
Some of us LOVE those original mid-century colors and fixtures! Check out
http://www.RetroRenovation.com! You can SELL or give away the things you hate to someone who will cherish them!!!
Looks great!
It looks fabulous!! I'm working on my bathroom... and it's quite a project. Mine had carpet... really, really gross. So I pulled that out to discover disgusting damaged green vinyl underneath. Ripped that out to discover a layer of tar paper welded to the sub floor. Finally got that out, so laying a new tile floor is the next step. Then I get to tackle the green plastic wall tile, oy! For the moment I'll probably just paint it white to see how the color looks.
But seriously, I don't understand the whole green thing. This house had avocado green shag carpeting throughout, the kitchen was teal, the living room was sea foam green, the bathroom had green vinyl floor and green wall tiles, and the bedrooms were turquoise. Even the ceiling in the basement is green. WHY??????
That, I really do not understand. Carpet! In a bathroom. What could possibly go right with that?
We had carpet in our bathroom AND the kitchen. Ick. Still have it in our half bath but someday ... it will meet its doom ...
Kristen, I can't believe you didn't love a bathroom that looked like a bridesmaid's gown from the 80s! 😉 Although I have to say ... it was probably trendy in its time ...
I gutted my bathroom last fall. House 40 years old and I had the aqua blue marine tile. The tile was in great shape,but in the shower it was caving in. I went all white tub,sink and cabinets. My floor is the long rectangular tile gray/white and we put that in the shower with very dark grout. I now do not have to clean the tile on the shower. My countertop is quartz and my walls are a light grey. All white towels and a very nice light above the mirror. We hire all of our painting out as we have found 2 ladies that are very reasonable. I am ready to pick colors for my family room and hallway. Needs some freshing up.
Have you thought about moving the shower rail up? You can get longer shower curtains on Amazon I think and it makes the room look taller. Like hanging the curtain poles high.
I had to paint over a Ralph Lauren Red (a big paint misstep if you don't get a ton of light) wall that was sucking the light from my soul and I found there are primers that go over specific colors. I can't remember but it was only one or two coats of primer and one of paint. I was shocked that it was that easy because it was RED! Light and bright is my jam as well:)
I love your bathroom and that red in your bedroom is great! I like my bedroom changed all the time (even summer to winter) - I finally have a neutral enough duvet cover so I swop out the rug and pillows and it looks lighter or more cosy (in winter).
My foreclosure purchase was previously owned by " Crayon box people " . I have one yellow bathroom . A bright pink bedroom and a bright blue bedroom. My kitchen is neon orange. Family room is rose colored. Living room areas are two kinds of tolerable greens. The owner fancied himself as a contractor. All the paint is a bunch of different kinds and seemingly the wrong kind used. I have stained brown closet doors peeling. Due to the expense and labor involved, I plan on leaving the green and going basic beige\sand with white trim . I plan on buying that sander you talk about and hoping to slowly do my own work.
I love the clock in the bathroom. I've never thought of it, but sometimes you're on a schedule.
Yes! We have a clock in both bathrooms and it is so, so handy to be able to keep an eye on the time when you're getting ready to go somewhere.
I've been in the market for gray paint this past week and I know it's a struggle! Glad you got it right 🙂 I've seen some really nice remodels of those light fixtures that just involves removing the outer glass covering and replacing with either Edison bulbs or lampshades, and using oil rubbed bronze spray paint for the silver part...if you're up for a Pinterest kinda challenge one of these days check them out!