So I wanted to paint the half bathroom. I finally decided on SW Pale Oak for the walls and BM White Dove for all the trim.

 

This is how the painting project turned into a total remodel.

BEFORE

 

When I attempted to remove the framed mirror hanging on the wall above the vanity, I quickly realized the layers of paint around the frame had complicated a clean removal. Enlisting the help of my husband, he cut through the paint around the frame. It turned out that the mirror was glued to paper, which was glued to the sheetrock.

 

Then, we realized that the counter top (which we assume was once a light cream or white) had yellowed. Initially, I thought I could just paint the cabinet and then we could just buy a new countertop. But the cabinet and countertop were not a standard size. This meant we would have to cut the countertop. I did not like the fact that we could ruin the countertop with one wrong move while cutting it so we removed the old countertop and cabinet.

  

Once the old vanity was out of the way, I removed the paper from the wall, sanded the wall, and then primed it using a sheetrock primer.

 

  The previous owners had left spare tiles in the garage. My husband purchased a tile cutter for $20 and we laid six pieces of tile where the old cabinet had been removed. He then grouted and sealed the tile.

 

After the sheetrock primer dried, it was obvious that painting the wall would be a waste of time because the layer of paper sanding could not remove was bubbling up underneath the primer so we decided to take the wainscoting up the entire wall.  However, now we may just replace the entire piece of sheetrock because we may install an utility sink in the laundry room which is on the other side of the wall. My husband and father will be tackling that in a couple of weeks.

I think once the plumbing situation is resolved, things will move swiftly. My husband has already replaced the fan, vent cover, and added a LED kit to the canister light so it is at least a little brighter in the room. We will paint the ceiling and then begin the wainscoting, trim, and crown molding. Then we can paint the walls and install the new vanity, faucet, and other accessories.

This was supposed to be my little project. It has turned into a full remodel. I am pretty excited to see how it turns out. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.