Friday, April 20 2012

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about my wood-planked bathroom.  I finally decided that now is as good of a time as any, even though it is not totally finished.  My main excitement, the planked wall, is epic though!  I love the look of the white wood contrasting with the dark round mirror.

Just  a few before views.  We started with tan walls, ugly lights and a mirror that matched the vanity oh so much…

Bathroom Before

Simply taking the mirror off the wall did wonders for me.  Then,  although I tried to justify purchasing a new vanity, it could not be done so I simply went to Target and bought new knobs for it changing the look from vintage to more modern.

Progress

And, my progress (I say this because it’s not completely done).  Still need a hand towel rack on the large blank area above the bird.  The bird picture has been hung though, and is no longer just sitting on the back of the toilet.

Things to Consider if planking a wall:

Planking a wall is not extremely hard unless you: a) have metal studs in your walls, and b) are planking a wall in a bathroom with a shower.

Why?  Well, I initially thought I could simply nail the boards to the wall and call it a day.  Not so when there is ‘nothing’ to nail into.  Our holes had to be pre-drilled through the metal studs, screwed in, then filled with spackle, sanded, and primed so they would take the paint evenly.  Before any of this took place, each board was sanded on five sides (I did not sand the back side) and primed on all six sides (I did prime the back side) with an oil-based primer to seal out moisture build-up.  *(Note: all this sanding can be skipped if you buy each board separately, but we bought a 4 x 8 particle pressed board and had each cut at Lowes, which was only $25 vs. $250!). We also have a fan in our bathroom, which will help with the moisture.  Finally, I painted each board separately, Sherwin Williams Pure White,  while on the wall.  Doing this allows for actual definition between the planks, which I like.  It was a tedious process, but we have gotten many positive comments on it already.

Below is a view while sitting on the toilet.  And, just in case our guests (or mainly the kids playing in the adjacent basement playroom) should forget to flush, there is a friendly reminder.  I snagged that perfect piece of wood, for free from the ReSource yard, and bought the Trolley Stop hooks from Anthropologie… love the coral with the light greeny gray wall color.   The wall color is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.  It goes  much better with the gray tiled shower than the previous tan did.

Who knows when I’ll actually get around to finding my hand towel rack.  I wanted one with a shelf, but the one I actually purchased, here,  and measured for the space, did not fit like I thought it should.  So, for now, the hand towels sit folded next to the sink.  But, since I don’t run a Bed and Breakfast, this is not really a huge issue and my mind has quickly tuned in to other upcoming projects; leaving this one as “done” for now.

And that, my friends, is the end result!  Every time I see it (which isn’t too often, as it is in the basement),  I am motivated to plank other areas of our house…hopefully areas without normal wooden studs!

Have a great weekend!

~Laura

Images:  Laura for monkeysonmyback