Upstairs Bathroom Updates + Is a Makeover Ever Done?

Hi friends. It’s another snow-pocalypse here today out of the blue, which is actually OK by me since I’ve been laid up sick in bed for almost a week. It’s funny the things you think of when you’re stuck inside, like how you want to makeover every, single, room in the house.

One mini makeover that’s been happening {not just in my dreams} is with the upstairs bathroom. Last we saw it, I painted the vanity with chalk paint, replaced the top, got a new faucet and it looked like night and day compared to the old version of itself. The inside of the door is the color it used to be.

There were a bunch of cosmetic things I was doing to the bathroom, since it’s the main one we use, although it is small, I was hoping to spruce it up a bit. The projects included:

• New faux roman shade
• Painting the window and door trim, which is today’s update
• Uncovering an original hex tile floor

Three quick last items I needed to check of the list were to re-paint the back of the door, paint the trim around it and strip the doorknob. This is the trim around the door, which was an orange-y tone so I decided to paint it all white, like I did around the window. This room, our basement bathroom and our kitchen are the only rooms in the house without original 114-year old trim.

Plus this stuff was just dying for a makeover.

To get to work, first we took off the door. All you need to do is take out the pin in the hinge and off it comes. This door with the mirror on the back weighed more than a baby whale, so I decided to take the mirror off first.

To paint the frame, first I taped off around the latch and the frame on the wall. Then I sanded the frame and cleaned it off with some TSP. It’s a cleaner and de-glosser in one and I like the way it preps things for painting.

Then I used oil-based primer and oil-based gloss paint for the frame, since I wanted it to last a while and be easily cleaned.

Then it was on to the door and the doorknob. We carried the door all the way out to the garage and set it up on sawhorses to work some magic. Once I saw that the paint under where the mirror is was in good shape, I decided not to go through all the effort and strip it. Besides saving time, if I left the door white, it would then match the trim I was painting. And most of it gets covered by the large mirror anyway.

I lightly sanded it and used the oil-based gloss white paint to freshen it up.

Then it was on to the doorknob. Here it is before, quite dirty and you could see the old, old paint under the most-recent white. And the dirty paint on the back of the door.

This is what all of our doorknobs in our house look like. Ironically, this is the only one in the entire house that is painted. I guess previous owners did that when they painted the back of the door. To get though all those layers of paint, I carefully chipped it away with a thin flat head screwdriver and removed it from the door.

After using my favorite non toxic Citri-Strip Stripping Gel and buffing it close to its original finish, which is coppery, this is now the front and back of the refinished doorknob.

What’s funny about this is that I think I put the knob on sideways. All the others in the house are vertical, but I kind of like it this way, it’s easy to grab in your hand.

After the trim was finished, we hung the door back up and now the space is more complete. There are some imperfections on the mirror and I still may caulk in between the frame and wall since it seems to be off. I don’t know what is crooked, the door frame or the wall! #oldhousequirks

We also got the new baseboard in too, even if we replace the floor someday, it can easily come out.

Here is where things are with my mini bathroom updates plan. There’s only one item left.

• Paint and seal the vanity More on that here
• Spray paint the mirror and sconces More on that here
• Prime and paint the window frame More on that here
• Make a roman shade for the window More on that here
• Get some kind of covering for the window glass More on that here
• Put up a shelf and some art on the walls More on that here
• Re-do the towel hooks More on that here
• Get a new rug See the rug that I found in the attic (free!) here
• Finish cleaning off the floor adhesive
• Replace broken floor tiles
• Replace baseboards
• Prime and paint the ceiling More on that here
• Replace the vanity top More on that here
• Select and get a new faucet for the vanity
• Paint the heat vent cover More on that here
• Paint and seal the door frame
• Strip and seal the back of the door
• Restore the doorknob

Replace the broken floor tiles.

This item is from when I uncovered the original hex tile floor in here in my happiest moment as a home owner to date. Here is what the floor looks like now and it’s not in great shape. There is a large crack across the middle and one near the toilet, plus three corners are missing tile and are filled with self-leveled concrete. Not exactly the long term look we’d go for.

Although I love that floor more than chocolate, it’s beginning to wear on me. Up close it’s pretty damaged as I mentioned and I can’t help but wonder if we should replace it all together?

Which leads me to the question:

Is a makeover ever really done?

In my dreams for this space I’d do the following:

• Remove and replace vanity with a new one, something like #2
• Remove floor and replace with the same #1 or maybe different #4 hex tile to keep the original character of the house
• Replace the toilet #3

The funny part about this is that we already have a new toilet. It’s been living in the attic for more than a year. We bought it together with the toilet for the basement bathroom renovation and have yet to install it.

But we wouldn’t replace the toilet without replacing the floor.

And we wouldn’t replace the floor without replacing the vanity.

So now you see why all of these need to happen at the same time? Or am I just crazy in thinking this?

This of course is not including a phase four makeover {do they ever end?!}, which would be to re-tile the shower/tub area. It is screaming for a makeover too.

Clearly I need to stop this makeover madness somehow. What are the chances Mr. Decor Adventures will let me get a new floor and vanity?

P.S. I entered my dresser turned wine rack in the 2014 Creating with the Stars competition. I’d love to have you click on my entry, number 232 here!

This post contains affiliate links.