Mini bathroom makeover

I have to agree with the wise words of my husband tonight. There are hard times in life and there are easy times. This is one of the hard times. Yet we are still so blessed by our loving God.

I'm clinging to that fact when it all feels too much, with Paul commuting to work in Auckland each week while I try to keep the girls fed and fulfilled, grow a healthy baby boy in my tum and get projects around the house finished off so we can show it in its best light at open homes.

All the while I try not to stress about the fact I don't know where we'll be living in three months when I'm going to give birth to this baby boy of mine. Or if I'll even be living in the same city as my husband at the time.

When it all feels too much, I turn to my home makeover projects to keep me sane. At least they're something I can do, to hopefully speed the process of selling our home and get our family living in the same city as Paul is working.

We've basically finished the bathroom now, although the scotias need another coat because two hasn't quite cut the mustard. It's finished enough that I can show you how it's looking at least.

The bathroom before its mini makeover was the least offensive room of the house, hence why we painted it last. (You can check out the girls' bedroom here, office here, master bedroom here and kichen/dining/loung here.)

The walls were already white, so the room wasn't as dark as other rooms around the house.

The paint was getting a bit chipped though, and the walls had never been properly finished - the joints between the different pieces of drywall were still showing.

That really bugged me, so for this makeover I got to learn how to plaster with compound tape to join those cracks up. Fiddly and time consuming, but it got a good result!

We painted the whole room in a white semi-gloss, even painting over the natural wood on the side of the bath, around the mirror and on the shelf above the toilet.

We also painted white over the green door and scotias. The one pop of colour we kept is around the window, which is now a vibrant blue to make me feel like I'm holidaying in Greece.

I'm especially loving the white weatherboards along the side of the bath - a look I've always loved. And I'm digging how clean, light and fresh everything feels now. I keep admiring how smooth the walls look, now that I've joined up those cracks.

It's the little things in life that keep me sane.

Before

All our painting tools at the ready to sand and plaster the walls.

After

Before

Check out the unjoined drywall above the shelf.

After

Smooth white walls.

Before

After

The shower curtain looks pink in this photo but it's actually white.

So there it is. Another labour of love (almost) completed.

(Side note: If we were staying in this house and had the funds, I would love to rip out the whole bathroom and extend it into the hallway next door to make it big enough for a separate shower. But since we're not staying, at least I can feel good that it's looking fresh and tidy for whoever buys the house.)