Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We’ve completed our bathroom paint and trim update, which we previewed last week and briefly showed in our recent house tour video. Here’s the room now:
The result is a stark contrast to where the space began. You might recall we removed the glass shower doors early on and left the room alone for a while before tackling the wallpaper. The transformation is dramatic now that the wallpaper is gone and fresh paint and trim have been added.
Photography in this bathroom is challenging because of the many doorways and tight corners, especially when trying to capture both ceiling and floor in one frame. Apologies for the cropped, vertical shots — they’re imperfect, but they should give you a clear sense of the updated room.
We decided on a blue ceiling to balance the blue hex floor tiles. The floor is a feature we love, so adding color up high felt like a natural way to create harmony and visual interest. Inspiration from other blue-accented bathrooms guided the approach, particularly the idea of using a simple architectural detail to create a transition between the walls and ceiling color.
The first step was to mark a horizontal border around the room where the blue would start. We placed the border about eight inches down from the ceiling so it wouldn’t be interrupted by trim and would still read as deliberate. Using a level, we drew a pencil line to guide the painter’s tape. We didn’t obsess over perfect tape lines since the trim would later hide any minor waviness.
Choosing the paint color took some trial and error. We tested several swatches from other projects, but grayer blue samples read too gray under the bathroom’s low lighting and beside the bold blue floor. A very bright blue sample felt promising but might have been overpowering once applied across the entire ceiling. Ultimately we selected a color called Spring Mint in an eggshell finish — a purer blue that’s a touch lighter and gentler than the brightest test swatch.
After two coats, the blue border and ceiling were in place. Removing the tape made us consider whether to leave the crisp painted edge as-is or add molding. Leaving it plain is a perfectly fine option if you’re short on time, money, or tools. We chose to add a simple trim detail because we enjoy the look and because pre-primed lattice strips are inexpensive and lightweight.
We used the same pre-primed lattice strips we’d used in a previous board-and-batten project. They’re thin, light, and economical at about 77 cents per foot from the home center. Sherry measured and cut the strips on the miter saw while I held the tape and helped position pieces in the room so we could visualize progress. Despite the room’s many nooks, cutting and taping everything took less than an hour, though it did mean lots of trips up and down the stairs.
To make reinstallation smooth, we labeled the back of each trim piece so every strip returned to its original spot. Because many walls are similar in size, labeling avoided a time-consuming trial-and-error reassembly.
We painted the pre-primed slats and the walls with a fresh coat of white (Simply White by Benjamin Moore) before installing the trim. Attaching the lattice is easiest with two people: one to hold pieces and the other to operate the nail gun. Using 1.25-inch brad nails, we secured each piece, checking alignment with a level as we went. The small space amplified the sound of the nail gun, so ear protection was a must.
After the trim was installed, I ran a bead of caulk along the bottom edge and filled tiny nail holes so the finish looked seamless. When the caulk dried, Sherry gave the trim one more coat of paint across the face and under the bottom edge to ensure crisp, clean lines that matched the freshly painted walls.
There are still a few Phase 1 tweaks left, such as updating the light fixture, but the room already feels revived and much more intentional following the removal of its loud wallpaper.
The white walls play a significant role in brightening the space. Comparing the room after wallpaper removal to the newly painted and trimmed version shows how effective simple paint and trim can be at changing the mood and light of a small bathroom.
We also rehung a couple of art pieces on the wall behind the toilet. These prints came from our prior house — one is a magazine page we once used in another bathroom and the other is a gifted print that previously hung in our sunroom. Initially we worried the two prints might be too similar to hang close together, but their slightly different blue tones help bridge the lighter ceiling and the deeper blue floor.
So far, this bathroom update has been budget-friendly. Here’s a brief accounting of costs:
- Removing the glass shower doors: $0
- Peeling the wallpaper: $0
- Lattice trim from the home center: $25
- Quart of blue ceiling paint (Spring Mint): $30
- Shower curtain, white paint for walls and trim, and art: $0 (already on hand)
- TOTAL: $55
If you don’t already own a shower curtain, paint, and some art, expect to spend closer to $100 to cover those items.
We have a few inexpensive finishing touches still on the list, but even now the bathroom is a much more pleasant space than the dark, wallpapered room we started with. What projects did you tackle this weekend? Any bathroom or trim updates in progress?
P.S. Last week we woke to unexpected snow, and Clara loved getting out into it.