A Gussied Toilet Tank

Let's talk about the toilet tank, shall we?  Since I have already welcomed you into our master bathroom a few too many times, I figured why not once more?  There was the DIY stereo, the bathroom stripes and now the toilet tank! 

Are you someone who tops the toilet tank?  I think that's a girl thing for sure.  You can be certain Boo did not have anything on his before I moved in.  

Anyway, we I decided it would be nice to use the tank as a display!  Enter: another DIY project. 

What you'll need:
1 candle
2 jars 
1 tray to display your items*

*I bought our tray at Pottery Barn, because I had a gift card there, and I decided the money was better spent on this tray than $25 off a $4,000 couch. Do you agree?  These trays (or similar ones) are available at Homegoods and the like.

Directions:
1. Similar to the candle to vases method, soak a glass jar in warm soapy water until the labels can be easily removed, wash and dry well
2. Fill glass jars with items you frequently use (in our case, cotton balls and q-tips)
3. Collect all items (candle and jars) on tray and place on toilet tank
4. Admire your prettified bathroom

Here's where we started:

And here's where we ended:

You can see our hurricane-turned-toilet paper holder in the bottom left of this photo - that's a Young House Love trick:

What do you think of our addition?  Do you like it?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Bathroom Stripes

After seeing many similar projects on the Internet (from bloggers such as Young House Love, and of course on Pinterest), I was inspired to paint stripes in our master bathroom.  Then my friend Katy painted stripes in her hallway which further inspired me.  Don't fall victim to thinking that painting a "small NYC bathroom" is an easy project.  Little did I know what each inch of our 65 square foot bathroom had in store for me...

I began by measuring our bathroom from ceiling to baseboard, which came out to 87".  Then, I decided I wanted 9 stripes in total, and I wanted to keep the top and bottom stripes white (as in I did not want to paint them).  This left me with some math: 87 / 9 = 9.66" stripes.  I used a pencil to mark each wall of the bathroom every 9.5" because let's be honest - measuring exactly 9.66" was really not going to happen.  This meant that my bottom stripe would be just a little bigger than all the others, and that was fine with me. 

I removed the towels and toilet paper.  I would have totally removed all of the hardware in the bathroom, but I worried I would not be able to get them back in place.  I decided to soldier on and just work around them.

Now came the fun part - I used a meter stick level to apply frog tape straight and level throughout the entire bathroom.  The most important thing to remember about applying the stripes is that you must apply the tape inside the 9.5" marks for the white stripes and outside the 9.5" marks for the darker stripes. The first wall wasn't terrible once I started to get the hang of holding the level straight and applying the tape at the same time.  I will spare you the ugly details of me holding the roll of tape in my mouth as I set up the next measurement - let's put it this way: this project is much easier with two people.  The taping took me about 3 1/2 hours.  Even in a bathroom of our size it takes time to get around the small areas such as the toilet and  the vanity.  

Here is a picture of the tape in place:

Once the tape is in place, it's best to stand back and see if anything looks uneven.  You should be able to tell with certainty if something is not right.  Luckily, with the exception of the area behind the toilet, I did not have to redo any of the stripes.  The toilet posed a particular challenge because it is nearly impossible to get behind the tank with a level and apply tape in a straight line.  But, I managed by working with small pieces of tape and checking every time I applied a new piece.  Also, it's good to remember that no one should be looking behind your toilet tank, so really the important part is just around the tank on either side.  When you are certain your tape is straight and you are pleased with the results, it's time to shop for paint!

After taking a few trips to Home Depot and looking at paint swatches for days, it was finally time to paint!

I began by taping a plastic drop cloth around the bathroom, being sure to adhere it well above the baseboards just in case there was a paint drip and around the toilet so that no paint would get on the tank.  I also tapped off any exposed hardware, switch plates or marble that might come into contact with paint.  

I used a small foam roller to get the majority of the walls painted.  I used a smaller brush when I needed to get into tiny crevices - which seemed like it was all the time in this bathroom.  Once you are satisfied with the paint coverage, immediately remove the tape from the wall.  If you let the paint dry before you move the take you risk also removing your paint.  And what a tragedy that would be after all this hard work! 

Here is a picture of our bathroom after the tape was removed and the stripes were finished.  The picture on the left it a shot of a corner of the bathroom, the picture on the right is the opposite corner by the shower:

Here is a detail shot for anyone interested:

I am thrilled with the results, but also feeling the pain of my hard work - I am so sore!  I hope bathroom painting also counts as cardio because I am exhausted...

Have you ever tried painting a room in your home?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf