Taking the 80s Out and Putting the 50s In! My Bathroom Transformation

In early December 2012, my husband and I decided to refinance our home due to historically low rates. In order to complete the requirements for approval of the new loan, we needed to renovate.  We replaced our garage door, replaced doors in our sunroom, painted walls, re-finished ceilings, replaced toilets, sanded, spackled, power-washed decks, and cleaned like crazy. During this arduous process, I decided to finally tackle the 1980s "country nightmare" that was my downstairs powder room.

The walls were coated in wallpaper similar to what's depicted above.  For years, I tried with all my might to avoid it. I even attempted to conceal the country-themed abomination by decorating the bathroom with 50s knick knacks and chalkware.

Since 2010,  I have been slowly transforming my 1985-constructed home into a mid-century showcase. I have taken most rooms from 80s "shriek" to Eames-era "chic." While most of the house has enjoyed a 50s facelift, the powder room was the "lone holdout."

Despite my frustration with the poorly-timed renovations (uh, hello, Holiday season!), I pushed the impending stress from Holiday shopping and cooking aside and focused my rage on the hideous bathroom that seemed to taunt me! It was like the wallpaper was my kryptonite, rendering me powerless to defeat it and take it down (figuratively and literally).

The bathroom in question is about 20 square feet. It has a toilet, cabinet sink, and mirror. Just the basics.  Not a big deal, right? Even though the work involved many steps, I was able to complete the transformation in about a week.

After taking the gross paper off the walls, this is what the bathroom looked like:

I washed any remnant of wall paper and glue off the walls and began spackling patches. I let the spackle dry and the sanded. Talk about DUSTY! Spackle dust gets everywhere!

I washed the walls again and then began the white primer coat. I got so dirty and covered in paint! But I loved it! Reminded me of art school!

After the two coats of primer were done, I painted the ceilings flat white. Then, it was time for the fun part! Color paint in a satin finish! The color I chose was a bright pink. I had read that pink or teal were popular colors for mid-century bathrooms. Despite Big Daddy's initial hesitation, he decided to let me "run with it."

The blue paint tape was applied and the pink went into the walls! Let me tell you, the bathroom glowed with Pepto-pink realness!

After the walls were dried, I began to re-do the standard brown wood sink cabinet. I painted the cabinet black and added pink diamonds on the doors.

When the paint was completely dry, I added two coats of polyurethane. It was so stinky and took forever to dry!

When I was young, my mother used to buy untreated wood furniture and stain it herself.  She also would search for vintage pieces to renovate and refurbish. I remembered watching her work in our garage until late and I learned quite a bit along the way. As a result, I was so thankful that I was able to utilize the skills my mother taught me for this project. Nevertheless, I sealed off the bathroom for a few days with a fan on to help diffuse the clear coat fumes.

When the clear coat was dry and smooth and the poly coat no longer smelled, I then added gold starburst transfer decals I bought off Etsy to the walls.

I also bought a white shelf from Target and spray-painted it gold and mounted it on the wall above the toilet. I added my two Holt Howard ceramic cats and also added two hand-painted shadow boxes.

To finish, also purchased a bronze-colored mirror from Target and spray-painted it gold. I refreshed the caulk bead on the edge of the sink and wall and viola!, the bathroom was finally done!

I am pleased with my work and I cannot wait to start on my master bath! The color I have picked out is a Bermuda/South Florida-like teal. The color is bright and lively! I cannot wait!