No one has ever accused me of being afraid of color! In the nine years that we've lived in our current home, I've painted nearly every color you can think of on our walls. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, teal, gray... our house has seen it all. But there is one bold statement that I've always wanted to make that intimated even me. BLACK! Sure we have a skinny black chalkboard wall in our kitchen, but I'm talking a whole black room... all four walls. BOLD!
Well, guess what? I finally went for it and I love it SO MUCH! I can't wait to show you all of the details! Thanks to my sponsor, Lowe's for helping to make this project a reality!
You've probably heard me describe our style many times as Modern Graphic Family, and today I'm so excited to show you a recent weekend makeover that is a perfect example of we strike a balance between bold, stylish decor and life with kids. This "before" bathroom was perfectly fine, but it definitely didn't say "little boys live here."
Since this bathroom is attached to Cooper's bedroom {which the
boys will soon be sharing}, I've been wanting to give it a fresh new look that better reflects the kids. But I was a bit stumped because this bathroom also has a second door that opens into the upstairs hallway, and it's positioned such that you look directly in at the toilet when you reach the top of the second floor stairs.
As a result, I really wanted to create an updated look for this bathroom that the boys wouldn't outgrow too quickly, and one that would also blend in with the rest of the house. That sounds like a tall order, but it turns out it was actually pretty easy to achieve.
I came up with an idea to create a sophisticated superhero themed bathroom. I envisioned black, white, silver and gold, rather than the standard primary colors that often come to mind for kids' spaces. As the plan started to come together, I hit up my local
Lowe's in search of the perfect shade of black paint.
It's so nice to be able to look at several different brands of paint all in one store, and I wound up bringing home swatches from Sherwin Williams, Valspar, and Olympic. Sherwin Williams had the widest variety of black options, and while they may all look alike, in various lights they actually look quite different!
It can feel overwhelming trying to pick just the right color of paint. I always analyze the undertones and wonder how it will look once it's actually up on all of the walls. Thanks goodness for the Lowe's
Love Your Paint Guarantee, which takes the stress out of picking a paint color! I wound up choosing Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black, and it's a perfect, true black. But if it had turned out not to be quite right, I could have simply returned the unused portion of the can to
Lowe's within 30 days and they would have replaced it with a new color or refunded my money.
I originally planned to just paint the bathroom and add some new art, but I decided that if I was ever
going to update the mirror and light, now was the time. I knew that any framed mirror I picked would end up being a bit smaller than the existing mirror, so it was much easier to remove the mirror now, sand the adhesive off of the wall, and paint the entire area behind where the new mirror would hang.
Once we had a totally blank palette, I was ready to start painting. I gathered up all of the paint supplies that I picked up at
Lowe's, including a small 4-inch roller {perfect for the tight spaces in the small bathroom}, a disposable paint tray sized just right for the roller, an edging tool, and a paint can lid for pouring and storing.
I always have such a hard time pouring paint from the can into the roller tray without dripping everywhere. It's a job I always delegate to my husband because he has far superior pouring skills. I had never tried a Shur-Line paint can lid before, but it caught my eye when I was browsing the wide selection of painting supplies at Lowe's, and now it's my new favorite thing! You just snap it on to the top of the paint can and use the narrow spout to pour the paint. Then when you're done pouring, the spout folds down for storage. No more hammering a paint covered lid back in place and searching for a paint can key to open it again!
Before I got started, I did have a few concerns about whether painting the walls black would really be a big enough change from our existing gray bathroom walls. But as soon as I rolled those first strokes onto the wall, I could see that it was definitely going to be the dramatic difference I was hoping for!
This bathroom is quite small, with lots of very narrow sections of wall between door frames, above the tile, and below the counter. To make easy work of these compact spaces, I used the Shur-Line edging tool that allows you to get a nice crisp paint line around all of the edges. You'll notice that I did still use painter's tape as well. I suspected that it would be hard touch up the white trim paint over the black, so I wanted to be extra cautious.
I used Sherwin Williams Infinity paint from
Lowe's, which is supposed to give good one coat coverage. I had to touch up just a few thin spots here and there, but there was no need for a full second coat, which was perfect for the one-weekend timeline that we allocated to this makeover!
Once the paint was dry, we removed the tape and started putting the bathroom back together. A few hours later, I was amazed at the transformation!
All of the white tile and trim in the bathroom creates a great balance to the pure black walls. I just love the crispness of the contrast.
The boys love superheroes, so I created this super simple framed art to hang above the tub. It was a quick and easy DIY project, but I think that these streamlined gold and silver framed logos will stand the test of time. By making them a bit a more "sophisticated," I'm hopeful that the boys won't feel they've outgrown the look of this bathroom for a very long time.
On the tray on the back of the toilet, I added a framed photo of the boys in their Batman and Spiderman costumes from this past Halloween, because it really just doesn't get any cuter than that!
The counter top in this bathroom is quite narrow, so a standard-sized framed mirror was too wide. Fortunately, we were able to find a smaller-scale white frame mirror in the decorative mirror section at
Lowe's and it fits the space perfectly. We also swapped out the aged-bronze and amber glass light fixture for a more modern pewter and clear glass version from the
Lowe's lighting department. The new light has three bulbs instead of two, which provides just the right amount of added light in the room to counteract the darker walls.
We also swapped out the old faucet for a newer, more modern style that I found at
Lowe's as well. I much prefer the straighter lines of this faucet over our old style, and I hope to eventually change out the faucets in all of the other bathrooms to match this one.
Did you notice the glasses on the counter? When my husband was the age that our boys are now, Superman was his favorite and he had would insist that he was Clark Kent {while donning the signature glasses}. Since our boys love playing dress up, we thought they now needed their own pair of Clark Kent glasses!
Beckett's favorite superhero is Batman, and Cooper's is Spiderman... so I couldn't believe my luck when I found these metal letters with their favorites on their initials!
The boys LOVE their new superhero bathroom, and I love how it now coordinates with the second floor hallway. If you're going to look right into a bathroom every time you come up the stairs, it might as well look coordinated, right?!
The new black and white color scheme in the bathroom ties together perfectly with the black and white artwork in the hall...
And I just love the way it looks next to the black and white striped hall cabinet that we use as extra storage for bathroom towels and other items that don't fit in the small cabinet under the sink.
I'm so glad that I went for it with the black paint in this small bathroom! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lowe’s, but as always, all opinions are my own.
_at_Lowes.com%2C_Shop_SHUR-LINE_Edger_Pro_at_Lowes.com%2C_Shop_SHUR-LINE_6.75-in_Red_Plastic_Paint_Can_Lid_at_Lowes.com.jpg "Shop Shop Paint at Lowes.com, Shop WHIZZ 4-in Paint Roller at Lowes.com, Shop Project Source Paint Tray Liner (Common: 6.5-in x 9-in; Actual: 6.375-in x 8.875-in) at Lowes.com, Shop SHUR-LINE Edger Pro at Lowes.com, Shop SHUR-LINE 6.75-in Red Plastic Paint Can Lid at Lowes.com and more")
_at_Lowes.com.jpg "Shop Shop Project Source Paint Tray Liner (Common: 6.5-in x 9-in; Actual: 6.375-in x 8.875-in) at Lowes.com and more")
_at_Lowes.com.jpg "Shop Shop Paint at Lowes.com, Shop allen + roth Kenross 3-Light 8.66-in Brushed Nickel Cage Vanity Light Bar at Lowes.com, Shop Style Selections 21.5-in x 27.5-in White Beveled Rectangle Framed French Wall Mirror at Lowes.com, Shop Moen Align Chrome 2-Handle Widespread WaterSense Bathroom Faucet (Drain Included) at Lowes.com and more")
_at_Lowes.com.jpg "Shop Shop Moen Align Chrome 2-Handle Widespread WaterSense Bathroom Faucet (Drain Included) at Lowes.com and more")
_at_Lowes.com.jpg "Shop Shop Paint at Lowes.com, Shop allen + roth Kenross 3-Light 8.66-in Brushed Nickel Cage Vanity Light Bar at Lowes.com, Shop Style Selections 21.5-in x 27.5-in White Beveled Rectangle Framed French Wall Mirror at Lowes.com, Shop Moen Align Chrome 2-Handle Widespread WaterSense Bathroom Faucet (Drain Included) at Lowes.com and more")
