{Bathroom Printables}

As I have said many times before, the hubby and I are re-designing our bathrooms on a shoestring budget.  This especially goes for all things decorative.  Kevin is such a man...he sees no need for decoration.  I, on the other hand, LIVE for this part of the process!

Since my decorating funds are so tight, I decided to try my hand at designing some of these cute little printables that are taking over Pinterest and Etsy.  I wanted something that would be fun, pop art-ish, and easy for my 5 year old to read.  I am so pleased with how these prints turned out.  The boys love them, so I am beyond happy!

Feel free to download them for yourself.  They are high resolution images and should print well.  I actually sent mine to my professional printer, so that the paper quality and color are better.  I recommend Mpix.  I use their sister company Millers Professional Imaging for all of my Angel Kisses Photography print orders, and just adore them!  All you have to do is right click on the image and save.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

{Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint}

Our house has approximately 5 different finishes scattered throughout.  I really did not think it was that bad (or I just chose to ignore it). Then one day, I decided to check it out.  I was horrified!  I am all about the little details.  When we started our bathroom project, the OCD version of me had a massive hissy fit for two reasons:

1) We have a billion different outlets, A/C vent covers, door knobs and hinges.  The time that would be spent changing these things out would be ridiculous.

2) The cost of replacing all of those items would be astronomical!  Of course, my favorite happens to be an oil rubbed bronze finish.  This is also the most expensive in most stores. Womp womp.

Enter Rust-Oleum's Universal Satin Metallic Spray Paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze...

This little $7.28 can of spray paint is really a thing of joy!  One can has beautified every item on my wish list and then some. 

Now, we went a little crazy with the spray paint.  I found a chrome faucet with a really great shape at Home Depot for $22.00.  A similar ORB version was a whopping $80.00...Crazy!  That's a big difference, so we figured we would give it a shot.  We sanded the faucet down really well and then spray painted the heck out of it.  After it was dry, we lightly sanded it again and added another coat of paint.  It looked great for the first couple of weeks, but now has a few chips here and there.  We are making it work for now.  The great thing is, that we can just do a little touch up when needed.  Hopefully, in a month or so, Kevin will let me buy the real thing.  A girl can dream!

Fake It Til You Make It, Right?!?!  I am perfectly fine with that.  Anything is better than the situation we were dealing with before!

Here are some after shots.....

REVIEW: Rust-Oleum's Universal Metallic Spray Paint might have just saved my sanity!  For things like light switches and outlet covers, it works great!  The finish is perfect.  You would seriously never know it was spray paint.  We have been very pleased with the finish and durability on those items.  On the faucets, the durability is not as impressive.  But, hey, it was certainly worth a shot.  And, it's given us some more time to save for the real deal.

{If you want to see more of our renovation photos, follow us on Instagram at #theburtchsrenovate}

{DIY: Rust-Oleum Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit}

Better late than never...right???  It is a well know fact that I loathed our yellow bathtub, shower and counter tops.  They were seriously the bane of my existence.  However, our tight budget on the bathroom renovations did not allow for us to replace them.  So, we got crafty, did some research and found the  Rust-Oleum 1 Qt. White Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit.  These kits allow you to refinish the bathroom surfaces with a durable, high gloss epoxy acrylic paint.  We watched tons of Youtube how-to videos and read about a thousand reviews before we pulled the trigger and purchased the kits from Home Depot.  They are not currently available in store, so you can check them out HERE.  We are trying to take care of both bathrooms at the same time (crazy, I know).  We ended up purchasing four kits, which have taken care of a bathtub, shower stall, and 2 counter tops.  We were able to take care of 2 coats on all surfaces.  I would have liked to do a third coat for good measure, but we needed a functioning bathroom ASAP.  So, if needed, we can always go back and add that last coat.

Here is the process that worked for us:

Step 1: Clean, Clean, Clean!  We used a hefty dose of Comet to get a really good clean on all of the surfaces.

Step 2: Give the surfaces a good sanding with a fine grit sand paper.  According to Kevin, this was his least favorite part, but it makes a BIG difference in the end result.

Step 3: Pull out the painters tape and tape off all of the surfaces.  If this product gets on your walls or cabinets, it's not coming off any time soon.  Be sure to secure the tape, and you should be good to go.

Step 4: Mix the materials as instructed on the box.  FYI - the smell is pretty intense.  We are fortunate and have an attic fan.  We did this on a nice, warmer day, so we were able to turn it on and cut back on the fumes.  If you have children, you may want to get them out of the house for the day, open the windows and wear a surgical mask.  Seriously...it's tough to take in.  The smell doesn't stick around for too long, though.

Step 5: Start painting the first coat.  We used a foam roller and foam brushes for a more even finish.  I was a little wary after we finished the first coat.  I seemed a little spotty, and like the coverage wasn't going to be great or even.  The first coat dries super quick, so you do not have to wait a long time to start on the second coat...maybe 1 to 2 hours.

  

Step 6: It's time for the second coat of paint.  This will make all the difference in the world!  Once the second coat goes on, you will forget about the crazy color of your old tub or tile or counter top.  It's like magic!

Step 7: We let this paint dry overnight...just to make sure.

Step 8: Remove the painters tape.  Kevin used an x-acto knife to do this.  We wanted the edges to be sharp, so we didn't just rip it off the walls, like we tend to do with regular wall paint.  It was a tedious and careful task, but the edges turned out perfectly!

Here are the after photos of the bathtub and counter top:

REVIEW:  The Rust-Oleum Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit was awesome!  The price is great and we are very pleased with the results.  Are the surfaces 100% perfect?  No, there are a few spots where bubbles dried in the paint.  But, those are few and far between.  Honestly, I don't think you could notice, unless you did a detailed inspection.  I will do an update in a few months to let y'all know how it is holding up.  Fingers crossed!!!

COST: $103.88 (4 units @ $25.97 each + free shipping)

{Bathroom Before & After}

At the beginning of December, Kevin and I bought my great-grandparent's home from the rest of my family.  This home has been more of a home to us than any place we have lived (and we've moved a lot).  I have so many memories in this house from childhood.  I lived here after college.  This is where Kevin and I brought Hayden home to after he was born.  This house is sort of my happy place.  Since moving back from Florida, we have been thinking about pulling the trigger and buying this house.  So we are very excited to get our hands dirty and make the updates and renovations that we have been talking about FOREVER!

We have 2 bathrooms in the house.  The kids and I use the larger of the two, and Kevin gets his own smaller version.  Both were clad in that awesome 70's mustard yellow.  I am sure you know the color...can't miss it!  Well, my Paw Paw must have loved the color when he built this house, because it is everywhere.  Yep...the tubs, the counter tops and even the toilets.  Indeed, I have two mustard yellow toilets.  I bet you weren't even aware that they made colorful toilets.  Oh, they do my friend, and they are pretty special! 

Here is a peek at our before photos:

There is also a lot of dark wood in the house to spruce up, as seen in the picture above.

Our goal in renovating this house is to do it as inexpensively as possible.  We plan to stay here for a while.  But when we do move, we hope to use this house as a rental property.  That being said, we don't want to dump a ton of money into it.  We are getting creative with our updates and it has been so much fun!  This week, I will share with you some of the great products we used to renovate the bathroom.  For now, I will leave you with the after photo.  I am very proud to share this.  I think I am still washing paint our of my hair, but the end result is worth every bit of it!

If you would like to follow our progress and see additional photos of the process, you can follow us on Instagram at #theburtchsrenovate