Bathroom Refresh – Part Two; eradicating that awful smell

For the next three nights we slept with windows open despite sub-zero like temperatures. In the daytime, sunshine and warmth baked the walls of our so called bathroom refresh and the foul odour of off paint reached heady heights. Expert opinion and much google searching advised to wait patiently for several days and see if the smell would fade. It didn’t and who ever supplies those answers clearly hasn’t suffered an off paint smelling saga themselves; waiting for smells like that one to dissipate is not easy. Mr M’s helpful decorators told of a product on the market which might work. Mr M was not best pleased since a positive outcome was not necessarily guaranteed and now there was a cost to carry too. You will recall from last week we had set a budget of zero for this bathroom refresh which, as far as he was concerned, was a project too far at this busy time. And I was even less pleased there was no human resource at home to apply this wonder product. I had a quiet and short-lived sulk before I decided there was nothing else for it. We must bite the bullet, swallow the cost and I should get on and apply the stuff myself. “Actually” I said as I was presenting Mr M with my solution during a telephone call “if I’m to paint the walls, I may as well do the window frames and sill too; they look odd dark brown don’t they? And that MDF avocado sink surround and those ghastly green tiles really do look unpleasant against a white wall don’t you think?” I definitely heard an audible sigh…

I would add at this point this miracle solution has a pretty strong smell itself which is not for the faint hearted. Preferable still to off paint though. After I had applied one very gloopy coat The Spotty One and I went for a walk to clear our heads and I am sure I could smell the paint long after our home was out of sight. Thankfully the walls needed just one coat and I was equally thankful that the colour was ever so slightly different to my home-made mistake, otherwise it would be quite impossible to tell if every last bit of the wall was covered. And that I had to do to ensure no more smell. This product sort of seals the smell in so no tiny bit of wall can remain uncovered.

During the next few days family and visitors to our home were frogmarched into the bathroom with me hot on their tails asking “what can you smell?” which for the record requires further clarification when entering a bathroom, if you are to avoid raised eyebrows. Eventually both paint smells were gone and I set to prettifying.

I recycled an old and tatty bathroom cabinet this time with non-off paint from the garage and rustled up a pair of sweet curtains to hide the clutter made from some vintage French fabric which I bought from a lady on Instagram so long ago I cannot recall her account. And I added these adorable handles bought recently at an antiques market to tone quite nicely with the curtain fabric.

The ‘save the day’ paint can be used on tiles and MDF although it is not recommended for areas where water is used in abundance. Hence the shower cubicle staying as is. I did however use the paint on the tiles and wooden panel around the bath and on the tiles and MDF surrounding the sink. I used a small foam roller brush to apply which gave a subtle texture.

The under-sink cupboard was painted too and I made another pair of curtains to cover two gaping holes and thus hide essential cleaning stuff and unattractive toiletries. “You are aware of course there are holes in the curtains you have just made, aren’t you?” Mr M scoffed. “They’re vintage holes darling,” I replied patiently “and I shall visibly mend them at some stage too” I added.

I reused gorgeous hooks from our previous home for our existing towels and dug out this old painted mirror from behind a wardrobe since there had been nowhere to hang it before the bathroom refresh.

And you remember this up-cycle complete with stencil décor? Well it suits the new look bathroom rather well and stores my obsession for essential oils whilst displaying my latest ‘collection’ of miniature glass bottles quite beautifully too.

I recently foraged this lovely dead stuff and added a rag ribbon and dried gypsophila for a little simple rustic wreath on the back of the door to the bedroom.

And finally, on a wall above the bath, I’ve added this industrial look wire shelving I bought a while back from a local antiques shop. It was intended for Belle although it didn’t look at home there. So that doesn’t count as an overspend to a non-existent budget for a bathroom refresh does it?

All of the remaining pretties and the junk shop oil painting were foraged from the rest of the home. Mr M fashioned me an essential wooden bath rack complete with holes for perfumed tea lights and every bathroom needs a bowl of home-made pot pourri don’t you think…

Mr M says the total (over) spend in this bathroom is £91. He’s counting the paint, fabric, handles, wire shelving and the plant. I say it’s £46 since I am only counting paint and handles. Seems fair to me since everything else included in his total was purchased for elsewhere in the home originally, so surely isn’t a relevant cost to the bathroom at all is it? I knew I could count on you for support. Either way, not a bad result.

I will never be rid of the bath, sink and shower cubicle in all its avocado glory until we renovate. This I have come to terms with. That floor though… it is still awfully green and very large. Surely I could find an inexpensive solution and apply it quickly when he’s not looking; what do you think? Until next week…