Trimming
Busting this suckah out.
This bathroom is in dire need of a makeover and of course, in true Bower Power fashion, our deadline is quickly approaching and we are scrambling. not eggs. our hineys. what a gross word picture that is.
But seriously – we have been busting it out to meet that end-of-february deadline for our office bathroom makeover…and here’s a little of what we’ve been up to….
FIVE COATS.
yeah. my hand is officially “old lady”. which everyone knows is the technical term for a guitar chord a la Phoebe Buffay.
the chocolate brown trim only took five measley coats (which didn’t take any time at all – excuse me while I choke on my guffaw – hey that rhymed!)
We didn’t bother keeping it clean on the edges – since the flesh walls (not to be confused with a flesh coat) would be getting a new coat of paint too.
You can also see in the far left side that we removed the shower door. I think we may try to use that Pinterest technique that so many people mentioned to use oven cleaner/blue magic to remove the brassy gold color and make it chrome-y. If it works in time, then we’ll just use the shower curtain as an actual window treatment. Otherwise, we are gonna stick to the original plan of shower rod with a curtain.
After we did the trim, I cut in, removed the light, patched some holes and whipped out a few coats of paint on the flesh. More on that later.
The color is kinda this gray mushroomy color. Forgive the horrible nighttime lighting.
oh and yes, let’s all send some air kisses to my boyfriend for painting the ceiling. He did a spectacular job…and the ladder held him high enough for me to get a spectacular view of some of my spectacular boyfriends most spectacular body bits. best three minutes of my week 
So that’s it…what we have been up to. I’ll have a little more for ya later today hopefully
What did you guys do this weekend? Any guitar playing/trim painting? Cold showers? oh just me then…
p.s. Apartment Therapy’s Homies are taking nominations! Let me be frank…I make a very good Frank (cheese alert)…I want to be in the top ten this year…not for any other reason than to show that us homeschooled hermits that are quirky, eat too much bacon and take too many photos of their kid are fun too. even if we have stuffed our bra in the past. we are still kinda cool. sometimes. (click here to vote for Bower Power in the Best DIY Blog Category!)
p.p.s. I appreciate you overlooking my weirdness. and I love your smile. that is all.
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Just voted for you! Will keep my fingers crossed.
Claire
Oh Claire – it means so much to me that you would vote!
THANK YOU!
xo – kb
Old lady! Cracked.me.up. You know we watch too much Friends when my daughter turned to me when she saw Jennifer Coolidge in an Oscar skit tonight and said, “Hey, isn’t that the one they cut out?”
Voted! Good luck Katie B!
And I cracked up at the ‘old lady’ reference. I looove friends. One of my other favorite Regina Phalange quotes is ‘YEA! KNOCK THAT DOG OFF HER HEAD!’ from the Barbados episode where Monica’s hair looks like Diana Ross’. Too funny ; )
haha…too funny
And thanks so much for voting for our little blog!
xo – kb
Voted! Good luck
Thank you Ashley – I need all the luck in the world to make the top ten!
xo – kb
Gee thanks Ashley! I am blushing.
xo – kb
Well you hard work paid off – the bathroom looks great so far!!!!
Off to vote! I hope you get to the top 10!!
Had a friend who stuffed with peanut butter…. I’m sure you can guess what happened…
Thanks for voting Carla – it means the world to me!
xo – kb
How do you even stuff with PB?! Sounds sticky…and like dogs would want to lick your bra
xo – kb
p.s. Thanks so much for your vote!
Haha well she put it in plastic baggies. Oh my. 7th grade was a wild time
I love the wall colour! And I feel your pain about the trim. I’ve been painting blue trim…not fun!
-Diana
What a difference paint makes. Man, nice job.
P.S. I admitted in a recent blog post to putting oranges in my bikini top when I was ten and laying out on our front lawn in hopes that passing motorists would honk at me.
I was too naive to know that oranges are the *beginning* size.
I should have put in watermelons.
Whatever.
P.P.S. Just voted for you too – Bon Courage!
Ooh, it’s looking better already! We kicked off a bathroom makeover this week with a new vanity installation – and by new, I mean a $25 score off a garage sale around the corner from us!
Painting trim is something I’m dreading, not so much in the bathroom (only one small window – whoo!) but in the house as a whole… there are at least 3 levels of hideousness on those things, dark brown paint is peeling to reveal sickly pink paint, which is in turn peeling to show off the truly heinous light asparagus green. So much wrongness.
Wow! This looks like a million bucks! Love the grey/mushroom-y wall color and the trim looks so much better…totally worth the five coats.
You have my vote for the “homies”! (Love that name, btw. It just sounds so gangsta’)
And I’m SUPER curious to see if that Pinterest shower door technique works!
Yo Homie! Thank you soo much my sweet gangsta
xo – kb
Looks great! Can’t wait to no longer see that fleshy wall color (they grey looks awesome)!!
You absolutely have my vote, I think you have top 10 in the bag Mrs. Bower, you do such a great jobs with this blog.
This weekend we put up photos on our stairway (inspired by your and Sherry’s photo wall) and it turned out great. I just started buying random frames from garage sales and goodwill last summer, hit them all with plenty of ORB on Saturday and framed and mounted on Sunday. I would like to thank the academy for the productive weekend, its amazing what you can accomplish while watching 5+ hours of red carpet coverage.
I’m interested to see if this pinterest technique works, if it does I think I found my new project for next weekend. Thanks for taking one for the team!
Aww thanks Ashley – you are so sweet!
Your wall sounds amazing!
xo – kb
I voted for you! Good luck!
Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every vote
xo – kb
5 coats!?! Totally worth it though, it looks so good!! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Ugh…painting trim is all I seem to be doing these days, too! Mine doesn’t take 5 coats but I have a lot of it to paint. As in 9. 9 rooms need their trim painted. Our last owner had carpeting over our hardwoods and painted the trim after the carpet was installed so we have half white, half yellow trim with little bits of carpet stuck to them in the middle. I feel your trim pain. Having to complete a task that no one will notice unless you mention it but will notice if you don’t do it suuuucks. Power on, Bower.
Emily
Amen to that.
xo – kb
Wow- that’s coming together great! I know repainting everything is a ton of work, but at least you’re starting out with some fantastic bones. Those high ceilings! That great molding!
We finished up our little bath remodel this weekend and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. The before and afters are great considering how bad the before was! http://oneprojectatatime.blogspot.com/2012/02/downstairs-bath-reveal.html
Beautiful! Amazing! You should be thrilled – it’s so much much better! Great job Erin!
xo – kb
You have been voted for! Good luck
Thanks Stephanie! I need all the luck I can get (and yes, I typed out luck as lick the first time haha)
xo – kb
Katie,
When painting the trim, do you have to sand or prime first? We are getting ready to takle our master bedroom, and the trim is stained wood with no paint. I wasn’t really sure how to prepare the wood work for paint. Thanks for all you do!
Courtney
You definitely have to prime and sometimes you have to sand. It just all depends on your trim. Yours sounds like it might have a protective coat over the stain -so picking a primer that is oil based or sanding first will definitely help that paint to stick. Good luck!
xo – kb
I voted for you! Good Luck!
Aww thanks Lorraine. Consider me pink all over from excessive blushing
xo – kb
The bathroom is looking awesome! Can’t wait to see the end product!
PS: Just voted for YOU!
I can’t wait to see the end product either!
Oh and thanks so much for the vote – you are too sweet!
xo – kb
Just voted for you! You’re currently second but by just a few votes so come on peeps! Vote for Katie:-)
I knew I could count on you Stephanie
Thank you so much!!
xo – kb
Looks great so far. Just cast my vote for you
Elaine – thank you for your vote…I am so excited to be nominated it’s making me weirdly giddy
xo – kb
Voted! Love your blog.
Thank you so much Maura!
xo – kb
Just voted for you! good luck…love your reading your blog.
Aww thank you! I am so beyond flattered!
xo – kb
Oh, it is going to look so nice in there when you are done! Can’t wait to see more! Oh, and you definitely got my vote!
Thanks Whitney – you are a doll
xo – kb
Ha! Old Lady! “You nailed the old lady!”
I also just went through old lady session and am currently recovering. I had to paint super shiny oak trim throughout the bathroom. I had luck with one coat of BIN primer and then 2 coats of Valspar trim paint in semi-gloss white. That BIN made a hell of a difference for me, I don’t even want to know how many more layers I would have needed without it.
I love the ladder commentary. Just make sure you have a curtain hung somehow for that much needed cold shower!
Doing the same thing in my kitchen, except painting over (very badly damaged) finished wood. So, i got the joy of puttying and sanding for about a month and THEN starting this painting thang. That includes 6 doors and a ton of doors and windows.. Yeah 1/3 of the room took me 3 hours to do one coat! Takes forever! I think I’ll be 4 coats total (1 primer + 3 paint coats). Sighs! Then, I get to start on the next “section” (too much to do in one sitting at a time!) So, all this to say I totally feel your pain!
We should start a club Carrie! A I-need-a-hand-massage-because-I-hate-painting-forever-and-a-day club.
xo – kb
Congrats on your AT nom. Great blog!
The white trim is a DRAMATIC improvement and 5 coats is not a surprise. Good for you for getting ‘er done
No major projects this weekend – just a little shopping, some ceiling spackling, and a new doorknob.
And I think spring is coming?? Wahoo!!
http://goofymonkeys.blogspot.com/2012/02/spring-tease.html
spackling sounds like a project to me!
and I love your picture of your little spring flower – so cute!
xo – kb
I had a question and it’s probably a silly one but I’m not a DIY’er (is that a word?).
So we reaaaaally need to paint the trim and the doors in our kitchen and it is stressing me out just thinking about it. Do you just start painting over it or do you need primer first? I tried one coat on the side and it looks ridiculous. Is that why I need 5 coats?
Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but like I said, I have NO clue!!!
Thanks
I always recommend priming…or using a paint+primer in one. If it is super shiny or has flaking paint, you might even need to sand first…bleh.
And remember – thin coats are best (which is probably why it took me five)…and yes, the first coat always looks ridiculous so don’t worry
xo – kb
I voted for you! This is coming along so well… I wish I could redo our bathroom! It looks like it right out of the 70′s… the bathtub is pink! This is going to look great though!
happymacbeth.blogspot.com
Thanks for your vote…it means so much to me.
And I love colored fixtures…so a pink bathtub sounds decadent! Is that weird?
xo – kb
Voted for you and, it must be said, it’s BECAUSE of your “weirdness” that I look forward to your posts.
Keep it weird Katie Bower!
thank you in the most weird way possible
xo – kb
I voted for you and currently you are WINNING!!!
)
Shut up. And thank you so much!
I’m off to check it out and faint.
xo – kb
Katie, SO in light of your blog, I got the urge to redo our spare bathroom and take down the shower door to put a curtain. The door came off easily, but now what to do with the anchors in the tile and the holes….and then what are you doing to get the hard caulk off? I don’t want to scratch the tile with the scrapper! Helpless in Richmond…the home of your BFF.
I got some remover stuff but basically it just softens it a tiny tiny bit and I have to scrap the tar outta the silicone to get it off the slate. This stuff recommends a plastic or metal scraper – so maybe a plastic one will help you!
xo – kb
Long time reader, first time commenter!
First things first – I love love love your blog! Second things second (?) – I voted! Yay! Good luck!
Yay for first comments! And double yay for voting! Thank you so much – don’t be a stranger!
xo – kb
WOW that’s a lot of trim! And I voted for you
Thank you so much for the vote Holly!
xo – kb
Wow, the trim looks fantastic! I’ve been in the middle of painting all of our trim white since Oct. I should suck it up and do it but I absolutely loathe trim work. Keep us updated on your trim progress…maybe I’ll finally get motivated!
And I just voted for you! Good luck!!
Thanks for the vote! You guys are the best!
xo – kb
Color me ignorant, but what is this chrome method you speak of for brass shower frames??? I will vote for you if you tell me! LOL!
Basically you spray oven cleaner on it and sand off the gold and then use Blue Magic to polish it up. I think it might be too tough on shower surrounds but I have tomorrow to figure that out
xo – kb
I’m a geek – I’m super excited you replied to my comment. I LOVE YOUR BLOG and I’m pretty sure I have an internet crush on your family.
haha….I pretty much have a crush on you! Afterall – my readers are the best lookin on the planet!
xo – kb
Just voted! Your blog cracks me up and inspires me. Keep up what you are doing!
Oh girl – thank you! It means so much to me that you would vote!
xo – kb
Girl you know this rockin blog of yours is going to win!! Love the bathroom progress…….painting the trim always makes a room look like a million bucks doesn’t it!! I hope Jer gives you a few hand massages to get your “dinasour claw hands” feeling like normal again (ok that just sounded weird)
You just got my vote……I hope you win, you deserve it!!
Aww thanks for your vote…of course, this is just nominations but it makes me so happy just to be in the top ten
Makes me feel like a cool girl 
xp – kb
Feed the dogs-check
Cook dinner- check
Vote for Katie- CHECK!!!
Good Luck friend!!!
Thank Olivia for her vote – check!
You made my night!
xo – kb
You’ve got my vote! I love reading your blog!! Great job on the bathroom….can’t wait to see the final product.
Thank you so much Jen – it means so much to me!
xo – kb
Didn’t have to think twice. You’re obviously going to be one of the top ten homies, and I’ll be darned if you’re not #1. Hope you’re already stocking up on bacon for a grand celebration when you roll in with the most votes! Good luck (and SUPER awesome job on the bathroom so far)!
I would be so honored to make top ten! I have never done that before…so I am thrilled that they even have a category I fit into this year and that I can be considered!
xo – kb
Muuuch improvement on that trim. Honestly, that brown is only good when it is actual chocolate that I can eat.
Amen! Can you imagine if my trim actually was chocolate?!? It would be like Willy Wonkas lickable wallpaper!
xo kb
I love love love the Phoebe reference – I just ran like her…
I voted for you – and not because you suggested it – because you’re cool! And your blog is awesome.
I just finished painting some trim in one small room and, while a lot of work, well worth it. I will be moving on to other rooms that have doors. Did you remove your door to paint it? Remove the hardware? Or did you tape around the hardhare? Or do you just have precise painting abilities and can freehand? Whatever you did, it looks great!!
Love the Phoebe reference! Im confused on the voting thing, do you just click on the link or is there something you have to do on the website? I couldnt figure it out. But youre in the lead right now. YEA!
I have a bunch of trim I need to paint and have been dreading the project because of how many coats the trim I’ve already painted took. It’s funny, I’m always ready to paint a room, but painting trim… It seems like it shouldn’t be nearly as big a deal, but it so much more trouble! It looks amazing, though–well done. Just wanted to say you have my sympathies.
Hi Katie,
Signed up just to vote for you! I love your blog and look forward to reading everyday. Thanks so much for all the effort you put into creating such beautiful and funny posts for us to enjoy. Also thanks for sharing your photography, which has definitely inspired me. Good luck!!
Aww thanks Stephanie! I am thrilled to be included in such a prestigious group of bloggers!
xo – kb
You know what, I had already voted before coming here. I had never been to your blog before, but now I’m hooked! If not for the Homies, I might not have found my way here; but I love, love, love your blog! Did I mention I love it? Thanks for the excellent content and humor!
Aww thanks Gina – you totally made my night. like big time.
xo – kb
Just voted for you! I love your blog and signed up just so I could vote for you.
Thank you thank you thank you !!!
xo – kb