Gray Master Bath - Before and After

As I mentioned to you guys a couple of weeks ago, I've been wanting to paint our master bathroom for well over a year.  Well friends, it's finally happened!  The hubby and I tag-teamed it yesterday and got it done.  I don't know why we waited so long!  

Thankfully my in-laws watched the little one so we could focus and get it done with few distractions.  It took us less than four hours (not counting drying time between coats), and I am oh so happy with the outcome!  The color I chose was Mountain Smoke by Valspar.  Here's some proof on how much a can of paint can really transform a room!

Before:

If you look at the area between the mirror and the window, you can see a bit of the faux finish previously there.

After:

I absolutely love how the gray paint immediately elevated the look of the tiles and the space.  It looks so much more put together and sophisticated (and no more faux finish!).  The previous green did little to compliment the existing tile, but now the color pics up on the veins that run through it. And despite the walls being a darker color, everything looks more crisp and bright in there now.  I'll be honest.  This would not be my first choice in tile, but I wasn't going to spend lots of money on something new, so I had to work with it.  And I think the gray was definitely the best choice. 

All day yesterday I kept telling Jon "I love it!  What a change!  I'm so glad we did this!"  It's been while since I've been that ecstatic about a paint job.  And he likes the final outcome too (which is good since he did a lot of the painting!).  Overall, I couldn't be happier with our $65 project (including the paint rod extender).  My master bath finally feels just as it should!

I'll leave you with one more before and after shot for comparison:

Are there any projects that you've been procrastinating on?

A Gray Bath - The Before

I've been told that you know a good hair dresser when you see one whose roots need a touchup.  They are so busy with clientele that they don't even have time to do their own.  I'd like to think the same can be said for designers...or at least ones who haven't hit the motherload yet.  If I had tens of thousands of dollars coming in every month, I could just hire someone to finish the areas of my house I'm not finished with yet.  But alas, I don't.  Which may or may not mean I have paint swatches on the wall in two rooms of my home for months. 

Confession:  I've had paint swatches on my master bathroom walls for over a YEAR.  Cue the gasp.  I'd like to blame part of that on finding out I was with child a week after those swatches went up. BUT now my baby is 8 months old.  I must find time to get to it.  Even if that means dropping the Little off at the in-laws for a few hours so momma can paint with no interruptions.  And I'm thinking next week might be the prime time.

The current walls have a beige base with a moss green faux finish on top.  I'm not saying all faux finished walls are a bad idea, but most "Hey, I could totally sponge paint that wall!" moments are.  The previous owners of this house must have had one of those moments.

It's a little hard to tell from the above images so here's a closeup. 

Our bedroom walls are a soft taupe, and our room is filled with all neutral pieces.  Since our tile is already neutral as well (and there's a lot of it), I'd like to add a little contrast with the paint and go gray.  This room if very open and gets a lot of light so going darker is not an issue, especially since a good half of the room is covered in tile anyway.  

I helped my mom redo her dining room a few years ago and absolutely fell in the love with the gray paint we used on the walls.  Just to be sure though, I purchased a sample of it (Mountain Smoke by Valspar) along with another gray to see which I preferred best.  Mountain Smoke was the obvious winner.  It's a warm gray that will compliment the veins in the existing tile and wood stain on the vanity.

My mom's dining room in Valspar Mountain Smoke

I can't wait to finally knock out this room!  I've always loved a gray bath...

After a new coat of paint, I think this room will be looking brand new and much more sophisticated!  I'll be sure to share the after photos when I'm done...which will hopefully not be another year from now :)