I finally bit the bullet and painted the downstairs bathroom…with stripes.

Remember my mood board?

Until now, I’ve been such a hypocrite. I suggest stripes to just about everyone who asks me for decorating advice-but I had never actually done it myself. Now that I have, I can say with certainty a few things:

1. This will take more time than you think it will.
2. You will find yourself confused about which side of the tape is what color.
3. You may curse the fact that you ever started this project.
4. And, IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT.

I already had some leftover paint, which made starting this project a weeeeee bit easier, but here’s what you’ll need to get the job done:

• Paint (2 colors)
• Painter’s tape
• Laser level (a cheapo is about $20 and will save you time)
• Mini rollers and tray
• Large rollers and tray
• Chalk
• Tape measure

First things first, paint your room with one of your colors- preferably the one you think will be covered best by the other one (if that makes sense). Let’s call this “color A”. Next, decide on a stripe width. I did this by measuring my space, about 324″. An even number of stripes will give you the right alternating pattern of colors. I started with 4″, but that left me with 81. So on a whim I tried 6, which ended up being perfect. Once I knew 6″ would give me an even number of stripes, I began marking them around the room to make sure everything came out right. I HIGHLY suggest doing this before getting into taping. Just put a dot every X inches and repeat “color A” and “color B” around the room until you feel like you’re a little crazy. When you get to a corner, just wrap your stripe. If you come to an obstacle that leaves you with a sliver of a stripe, you can always fudge that over.  I found out that on the last wall I’d need to add about 1/8th of an inch extra into each stripe. But I could have ended up with one VERY wide stripe at the end if I hadn’t gone through this process.

Once you have your marks up, you can begin taping. I just used cheapo laser level that sticks to the wall. I lined it up with my mark, then made sure it was level and pushed it onto the wall. Using chalk, I marked the line every few inches. I DO NOT recommend using pencil. I did for most of my walls, and then found out that it didn’t erase/wash/scrub off. I’m not sure if it was because I used a mechanical pencil or not. But, chalk works great and comes off without a fuss. When you tape, you want the tape to be inside most of the stripe you just painted (color A). For some reason the taping was really confusing for me. Admitting that is embarrassing, but if any of you try this and get frustrated-I want you to know you’re not alone!

After you’ve figured out your tape, use color A to paint over the tape in the stripe you will be painting with color B. Yes, you’re going to paint another coat inside a stripe that you will paint again with a different color. It sounds weird, but this will help you get a clean line by sealing the tape. Once that dries, you can then paint the stripe again with color B. I did two coats and ripped the tape off immediately upon completing the second coat. Once I saw that first stripe, I WAS IN LOVE.

I want to have a party in my bathroom.

Now it’s not completely done (I still have to hang art, get a new shower curtain, etc.), but here’s a sneak peak.

{The mirror will be hung and the outlet switch plate replaced…}

My new word is posh. My bathroom is posh.

You may notice that I painted all the fixtures with Oil Rubbed Bronze. I’m planning to paint the faucet also. The mirror was only $20 from Ross, do you think I should leave it black or paint it white? Another color? What do you think of the stripes? Maybe I’m partial, but they are rocking my world!

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How To Gel Stain An Embossed Fiberglass Door.

Remember when I posted about my hopes for a front entrance makeover?

I couldn’t be more pleased with the results! I am a total gel stain convert-this stuff is amazing. Here’s what you’ll need to try this door makeover:

• Fiberglass embossed wood-grain door
• Old Masters Gel Stain (you can use any brand I suppose, but I’d heard good things about this one)- I used American Walnut
• Lint-free rags
• China bristle brush (should be less than $1, I used a 1.5″ one)
• Exterior flat paint in a yellowy/taupe color (I’ll explain this later)
• Exterior UV protective polyurethane

Before I get started, let me remind you how our door used to look.

Of course from this distance everything looks peachy, but up close you can tell the paint is scratched and just plan rough (this picture was taken in 2008).

In order to get the payoff in the end, you have to do something a little wacky first. Like painting your door an odd shade of yellow.

Pardon the creeper cat appearance. Here’s a truer color shot from the inside.

In case you want to run out and paint your door this color, it’s “Glazed Pecan” by Behr, color matched to Glidden Exterior Flat. This is a great way to give your neighbors a heart attack, by the way. Not that I hate yellow- that’s not the case at all. It’s just this particular shade combined with the colors of the house…well let’s just say I almost put up a sign saying it wasn’t permanent. In any case, I kinda took a gamble with this color as the base. After doing tons of research, I had seen taupe, ochre, and everything in between used under the stain. For some reason, this color jumped out at me from the sea of swatches. Since my door was cranberry on one side and white on the other, I knew I needed a clean palette for both sides and took a chance on this more-butterscotch-than-pecan color. Sidenote- now is a great time to paint your hardware.

Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze strikes again! Now the fun starts (and the sighs of relief!). In order to get the most realistic and natural effect, you’ll want to stain in sections. Start with any raised panels and then do all the vertical grain, followed by the horizontal grain (you can reverse the last two). Use painter’s tape to mask off the sections at the joints.

When I read that gel stain is literally fool proof, I was doubtful. But, it totally is. All you have to do is take your brush, dip it into a TINY amount of stain and brush in the direction of the grain. It goes on very dark and opaque. I brushed about a 6 inch area then wiped it lightly with a rag in the direction of the grain. Then I went back with my mostly depleted brush and feathered it with the grain. You’ll want to move quickly, but don’t panic-you can always brush more stain on and try again. Some of the base paint color should show through. Don’t try to get perfect coverage the first time, I think the layering lends to a more realistic effect so shoot for two coats.

I moved on to sides of the door, the outer edges of the raised panels, then the window frame. Finally when those areas were dry, I was able to tape around the horizontal planks.

By the end of the first day, I had a really impressive look already!

The next day I began the process again, doing each area in the same order. I’m really happy with how it turned out!

{love}

Try to ignore the blue tape, the inside of the door still needs a second coat (it wasn’t quite dry this morning). This is really important: even though the can says you can recoat in 8 hours, DO NOT do this if the surface is tacky at all. I know this the same way I know most of what I tell you- I’ve been there, done that, and messed it up. After completing the outside of the door, I began on the inside but the new stain was rubbing the old stain off. Not good. Patience is a virtue. I figure it was more hot or humid in here than outside.

I still have to poly the door on both sides when the stain is dry, then I’ll start on the upstairs door and the shutters. Pretty soon, I’ll convert our cranberry madness into classic American Walnut!

Have you guys ever done this? Would you be willing to try? Have you used gel stain for other projects?

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