Who Was I Kidding: You Can't Do a Bathroom Makeover in a Weekend

The joy of older houses, you never know what you are going to find until you start tearing down things!  I would say we are 2/3 of the way done at this point.  After another weekend of war with the wallpaper remains, we got the wainscoting up and paint.

We removed the old oak vanity and refinished it.  This is one of my favorite things to do!  It is a great way to add a punch of color and reuse/recycle. 
Steps for a cottage blue vanity. 

Using a fine grit sandpaper, scratch off the finish on the cabinet.  You aren't trying to get down to wood, just rough up the surface.  Pick a few spots and sand those a second time, you will get a deeper saturation of color in those places.  Wipe down with a damp cloth to remove dust.

Mix one part flat white acrylic paint with 2 parts water. Lightly load with the paint water mixture a 1 1/2 inch chip brush.

Paint with the grain of the wood.  You will be able to still see the wood through the paint at this point, which is a good thing, you don't want a full coat, more of a white wash.  Allow to dry for one hour and apply a second coat.

Select your top paint color.  I used Sherwin Williams spa blue.
Mix one part paint with two parts floetrol.
Keeping with the grain apply one light coat with a clean dry chip brush.  Repeat until desired saturation is reached.  You may want to apply another white coat over the top, or just hit some areas for a more distressed look.  Allow to try for 2 hours.

Using a third clean dry chip brush (good thing these are cheap) apply a thin coat of polyacrylic matte top coat.

Allow to dry and repeat with a final coat.

 

More photos and tips to come this weekend!