Dudes I am super stoked about today’s post because 1) I got to repaint the only room in my house that has been painted less than three times, and 2) I get to give away a SUPER AWESOME PRIZE to ONE LUCKY WINNER!

Are you excited? Cause I am 🙂 I’m partnering with Procter and Gamble as part of the Get it Ready. Get it Done. Get it Clean. campaign for painting projects. So let me introduce to you my next victim:

dark and cavelike before

The upstairs bathroom got a little freshening with the addition of beadboard and molding last year, but then it kinda got stuck there. But the updates in the downstairs bathroom got me revved up to make more changes. See how the picture is pretty dark? Yeah, that’s how it feels when you’re in there too. I wanted to remove the heavy Roman Shade, change the color scheme, and brighten up the space.

I first painted this bathroom right after we bought the house…way before blogging and DIY became a daily part of my life. I just rolled on the paint (hit the ceiling a few times, whoops!) and called it a day. Fortunately it’s a small space, and I managed to not make it look terrible. But I did forget one important thing: LET THE PAINT DRY before re-installing things on the wall.

wall damage

Here’s the dirty little secret I usually hide behind the shower curtain. I didn’t let the paint dry properly before putting the tension rod back up, and then we moved it a few times, and then…well, you get the point. Womp womp. This kind of of damage requires spackling to fix, so I am using this room to illustrate the main focus of the Get it Ready. Get it Done. Get it Clean.: prep work and clean-up.

Let me be clear, there is no substitute for proper prep work! This is a lesson I have had to learn over and over again in the time I’ve been blogging. It’s sad, but true. Sometimes you’re so eager for the outcome that you’re tempted to cut corners. Painting seems pretty simple, and it can be, but you do need to prep!!

Firstly, dust and wash the walls. You really want to make sure that you have a nice surface to start with. Dust bunnies in fresh paint=no bueno. The Swiffer Sweeper is a great start, run it up and down the walls and ceiling, around doorways and moldings.

clean the walls

Then I like to wash the walls with an all purpose spray and a rag, and follow up with Magic Erasers to get the tough spots and to clean the molding (for some reason Magic Eraser is literally the.best at cleaning white trim). Don’t forget the tops where you can’t see. I have gotten a brush full of dust while cutting in around the top of a window before!! Speaking of the Magic Eraser, I totally didn’t know that they now come in a sweet “select-a-size” package.

magic eraser select a size

Baller! I like the small ones for rubbing around molding, they fit in my hand better than the full size. So, after you’ve cleaned the walls, you can apply painter’s tape around the areas you don’t want to accidentally paint. I didn’t do this in my bathroom because 1) I’m pretty good at painting now,  2) I was planning to touch up the white trim/beadboard after anyways, and 3) The floor is tile. But those are just my circumstances, and I always recommend tape if you haven’t painted your house at least 10 times 😛 Also, I always use drop cloth in carpeted spaces! In this case, I only had to paint the upper half of the wall, but I have found that I like to use drop cloth anytime I’m painting floor to ceiling because the roller can splatter the teeniest tiniest flecks of paint right below your baseboards. They are a pain in the you know what to clean up. Ask me how I know this. Drop cloth is your friend.

Painting is still my #1 favorite way to transform a space, and here’s why:

much lighter after

brighter bathroom

I did learn my lesson about letting the paint dry, so for now I hung the tension rod ridiculously low inside the actual shower enclosure. Once I can hang it on the wall, I’m going to replace the curtain and work on a new window treatment!

bathroom progress

benjamin moore lychee

bathroom makeover

I’ve still got a lot of work to do up here, but I’m so pleased with how the color looks (It’s Benjamin Moore Lychee color matched in Behr Ultra, by the way).

Are of of you hoping to tackle a paint project in your home soon? Would this help?

Home Depot P&G Prize Pack

  • Swiffer Sweeper
  • Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Original
  • $50 The Home Depot gift card

One of you will win this great prize pack from Procter and Gamble and Home Depot!

Here’s how to enter:

  • Leave a comment here telling me what you’re planning to paint.
  • Like The Home Depot on Facebook.
  • Like Procter and Gamble on Facebook.
  • Like Lovely Crafty Home on Facebook.

Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget starting at midnight 3/8 (late tonight) givewaway will end 3/15/2013. Open to residents of the US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 Responses

  1. Misty Martin

    I love your helpful hints! We will be painting our teenagers bathroom next month & your wonderful prize pack would be helpful if I won! Please keep the great advice & photos coming!

    Reply
  2. Mary Stewart

    Your bathroom is similar in size and layout to mine. Love the way its looking! I’ve got two other bathrooms to redo – top to bottom! Would love to win that package!!

    Reply
  3. Lynda

    Just finished doing the paper bag floor in my daughter’s room (great improvement) and painting it too. Now I have to paint my son’s room, just as soon as the holes in the walls get repaired…not a simple task. Anyhow, the, “Get it Ready. Get it Done. Get it Clean. ” package would be very timely. Enjoy your site!

    Reply
  5. Sharon

    Like you, the upstairs bath. Hasn’t been painted since we first moved in years ago. It was the first room we did because it was all done in peptobismal pink! Had to go.

    Reply
  6. Becca L.

    My son’s room needs a makeover now that he’s not a baby and it’s still in nursery mode.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer S

    My next room to paint is my newly sheetrocked laundry room. Great tips!

    Reply
  8. Anne Marie

    I am going to paint my guest bathroom and kitchen – actually need to paint other rooms but these are first on the list.

    Reply
  9. Susan McDonald

    evidently, that curtain rod issue you had is common. We have the same telltale signs of impatience in our master bathroom from when the last person painted! We need to paint our master bathroom and downstairs 1/2 bath.

    Reply
  11. Tracy

    This would be super for our up-coming move! I have a 6 year old who is so excited to pick out her own room color!

    Reply
  13. Emma

    I’m going to paint my living room… with a bright, vibrant accent wall and finally update my lackluster ‘neutral’ tan! I hope I win!

    Reply
  14. Theresa Delano

    Thank you for this post. We moved into our house in November and I still can not seem to get our bathrooms sparkling. We also have white crown molding and trim throughout our house and I was looking for a way to keep the bright white look.

    Reply
  16. Julie Kraft

    We just finished painting the outside of the house so now it is on to the inside. We need to paint the entire inside. We plan on starting with the guest bathroom first.

    Reply
  18. Erin

    Thanks for the opportunity! We need to finish painting our bathroom (its an awful orange from the previous owners), while our room is dark grey and light grey! :O We also need to finish our daughters room! We are slowly working to fix it up before we get more military orders and move again 🙂

    Reply
  21. Helen Miller

    I am redoing an adult bedroom to my grandchildrens multipurpose room, i have found so many great ideas on here, i am anxious to redo. 🙂

    Reply
  22. Abbey C

    About to paint the entire basement…..including family room, playroom, laundry, craft, bedroom and a bathroom. Going to be a huge project and lots of paint!!!

    Reply
  23. Liz Tetley

    We actually JUST decided on paint colors for the interior of our house. I am super excited! This weekend we will start with our entry hall and living room/kitchen which will be painted in a light grey. Then if we arent too tired we will try and conquer the downstairs bathroom, which will be a light teal color to compliment the future room color of the downstairs bedroom, which will be a darker teal!

    Reply
  24. Liz Tetley

    This may or may not be my second comment (something happened with my internet). But we are beginning to paint the interior of our house this weekend. We are starting with our entry hall and open concept downstairs, all of which will be painted light grey!

    Reply
  25. Amber

    When we moved into our house, to say it was a fixer upper would be an understatement! Your bathroom is very similar to mine and when I first painted it I grabbed the only can of oops paint I could find which is a very dark blue. It’s such a dark color for that space I want to redo it! I just discovered your blog and I love what I see so far, I’m going to have a try a couple of your ideas!

    Reply
  29. Demetrice Worley

    I am ready to remove the wallpaper in my bathroom and paint it white and a soft dove gray.

    Reply
  30. Lovely Crafty Weekend #113

    […] Meanwhile let’s get this linky party back on track. Sorry we skipped last week! I’ll also be drawing the winner of the Get It Ready. Get It Clean. Get It Done. giveaway later. […]

    Reply

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