Master Bathroom Refresh: How I Did It & How You Can Too

I had been wanting to update our master bathroom for quite some time, but truth be told, I really wanted to change everything.

Tile, shower, mirrors, walls, you name it.

But the reality was that we aren’t going to be in this house for that much longer. So I didn’t want to spend thousands updating the space knowing that we wouldn’t be the ones to enjoy it for the long term.

So I chose a few areas to update on a budget (aka with paint!) to give the space a much-needed facelift without emptying our wallets.

Then I made some plans. A little shiplap wallpaper to update the front-facing walls. Stenciling the tile floors (obviously!), and spray painting the hardware.

Sounded like a good place to start for me! So start I did…

MASTER BATHROOM REFRESH: HOW I DID IT & HOW YOU CAN TOO

THE FLOORS

Starting with the floors, I knew what I wanted to do. This wasn’t my first stenciling rodeo!

But this time, I wanted to do things a little differently.

I had my eye on this beautiful herringbone brick allover stencil pattern from Cutting Edge Stencils, and I knew that with our long and narrow bathroom, this patter would be beautiful!

But wait.

How would this look over tile? Would you be able to see all the grout lines and squares? That’s less than ideal, right?

EVENING OUT THE GROUT

So I started with a different step. I grabbed some Adhesive + Grout mix at Home Depot and started by filling in the grout lines as best as I could, leaving some texture as I went to allude to that faux brick look I was going for.

I let this dry for about 12-18 hours before I went over it with this tile grout sealer.

Then it was back to the waiting game! I waited a full day to make sure the grout and sealer set before I started the painting process!

STENCILING THE FLOORS

I began by sweeping the floors well and taping up. Then I started to apply my first coat of my white chalk paint base. This is my favorite!

I used a roller and simply poured paint on the floors as I went to cover the floor with a nice thick coat.

I let that dry about 24 hours, then I repeated for my second and third coats. Did I mention this process is a lot of watching paint dry? Well, it is!

But as I was waiting for my base coat to dry, I couldn’t decide exactly what color I wanted to go with for the brick. I wanted to stick with our gray/beige color theme in our home, but I also wanted some dimension.

That’s when I got inspired by Ashley @arrowsandbow to layer in some colors to create that brick look I wanted.

I started with my Loft Space gray paint by Behr, then I mixed together my Loft Space gray with my Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams to create a greige that looked like a nice, aged gray. Perfection.

I used this to distress each brick, if you will. Then I used a little white to lighten it up in areas.

I got my stenciling brushes and got to work (after taping up the room of course)! To check out exactly how I stencil my floors and all the products I like use, check out this blog post all about stenciling!

And check out this blog post for some detailed FAQs answered about stenciling along with the products I recommend!

Once you’re done stenciling, allow the paint to dry for 24 hours, then begin sealing your floors with a poly coat! I used this sealant for my bathroom floor. It’s the only one I really trust!

Depending on how much water you think will come into contact with your floor, you’ll want to apply quite a few coats of poly. I ended up coating my floor with 4 thick coats of poly to be safe.

After all, you don’t want your floors to chip or wear right away after all that work!

Allow each coat of poly to dry 12-24 hours before applying the next. I simply painted it on with a paintbrush to get a thick layer. Easy breezy!

Each coat only took me about 15 minutes!

Allow your floor to set for 24-48 hours after you apply your final coat of poly before setting any heavy furniture on it!

THE WALLS

We really haven’t done too much to the walls (yet!). I wallpapered the front-facing walls with shiplap wallpaper (peel and stick) to keep things simple. I love the pop it adds to the space, especially as you walk in!

And I think I want to paint the rest of the walls white at some point, but I’m taking things one step at a time. For now, they’re fine beige!

THE FIXTURES

Our house is full of oil-rubbed bronze except when it comes to the fixtures in our bathrooms. I don’t understand why everything didn’t match the rest of the house, but to each their own!

I was going to change that!

I found this oil-rubbed bronze spray paint and knew it could do the trick.

We removed all the fixtures, and I set them up in a cardboard box.

To get them done in one coat, secure the fixtures to cardboard so they stand up and you can get all angles with ease!

Simply coat them with the spray paint, and let them dry! I went back for a second coat to get into all the nooks and crannies and allowed it to dry for 8-12 hours.

I then sealed it with a clear coat spray to protect the finish!

Once that was dry, we put the fixtures back on and called it a day!

NOW, THE DECORATING

Honestly, I didn’t want or need to go overboard here! So I wanted to use a lot of what we already had. Our white and gray Anthropologie and Pottery Barn towels were just fine, but we just needed a few finishing touches to cozy up and finish up the space!

I found two cute bath rugs from Target that were perfect and a few little things to hang on the wall to create a gallery wall of sorts.

That was all it needed (again, for now, wink wink). I’m sure I’ll find more and add more as we go, but I always like to shop with intention! I never want to force myself to purchase something for a space. I like to wait for the perfect additions to show themselves!

TO WRAP IT UP

The floors and walls made a huge difference! Then it just came down to the details which will be ever-evolving. But if you’re searching for the perfect project to update your master bath – I encourage you to start somewhere!

It’ll get your creative juices flowing, and you’ll be amazing at the transformation you can make!

Let me know what you think in the comments!