Our formerly beige-on-beige master bathroom is now painted Rockport Gray—and we absolutely love the change. We first noticed this shade in a kitchen makeover and fell for it, so bringing it into our own bathroom felt like the perfect move. Below are photos and a quick walkthrough of how we tackled the small makeover.
Before painting, we removed an unused shelf-and-towel-bar to free up the only wall that isn’t tiled nearly to the ceiling. That allowed us to plan for art and keep the wall clean and simple. Removing the hardware wasn’t hard, but it did reveal a few issues in the drywall that needed fixing.
When we pulled the anchors out they started to rip the drywall, which wasn’t surprising since this bathroom is part of a seventies addition and uses drywall rather than plaster. To avoid making things worse, we tapped the remaining metal anchors flush with a hammer and covered them with spackle for a smooth, seamless surface. Here’s a tip we learned: use a sanding block rather than loose sandpaper. The block stays flat and follows the wall better, giving a much cleaner finish.
We used Dap Crackshot spackle for the repairs. Many stores now carry low-VOC spackling compounds, so we’re planning to try those next time. After sanding the patched areas, the wall was ready for paint. Priming after spackling is often a good idea, but in this case we skipped the primer and went straight to paint without any problems—modern paint formulas do a lot of heavy lifting.
We chose Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore in a semi-gloss finish. We bought a quart of Natura paint, Benjamin Moore’s no-VOC option, which is ideal for small interior spaces. Because the paint is semi-gloss, it tends to lay on pretty slick, and the first coat can look uneven. That’s why we applied two coats: the second coat evened everything out and delivered the crisp look we wanted.
With the paint on, the room immediately felt fresher and more intentional. I hadn’t yet repainted the cream trim to bright white before we painted the walls, but that’s on the to-do list. In photos the trim reads as white, but next to modern bright white switches and fixtures the slightly cream trim is more noticeable in person.
The new wall color plays nicely with the existing tile palette. The gray in the tiles and the darker tone of the walls complement each other, and even the small tree accent tiles look better against Rockport Gray. Someday we might swap in frosted gray glass subway tile as a dedicated accent, but for now the existing tile provides a nice, cohesive look.
Opening up that previously shelf-cluttered wall made the bathroom feel more spacious. Even though the wall color is darker, the absence of shelves and towel bars removes visual clutter and makes the space feel less cramped. The white stripe in our shower curtain ties together the tan and gray tones, and once the trim and a few fixtures are switched to bright white the space will feel even more polished.
For anyone daunted by painting a small bathroom: it doesn’t take as long as you might expect. Each coat took less than an hour for us—one person cuts in and the other rolls—and the process went quickly. We’re amazed by stories of people who paint entire bathrooms with just a brush; it’s impressive and definitely a one-tool cleanup, but rolling saves a lot of time.
Here’s our current bathroom to-do list:
- Paint the cream trim bright white <– it looks white in photos, but is noticeably cream in person
Paint the walls so they have some contrast- Sell the current toilet and replace it with a classic white model
- Replace the overhead “boob” light with a better fixture
- Hang bathroom-safe artwork on the newly cleared wall
- Add a privacy treatment for the window
- Consider replacing the border tile around the room in a later phase
- Replace the floor tile down the road to add visual interest and break up the expanse of tile
Overall, the Rockport Gray walls have given the bathroom a calmer, more considered look. A few finishing touches—bright white trim, updated fixtures, and a few well-chosen accents—will complete the transformation and make the space feel like ours.