Since I turned 40, I woke up and just had this urge to turn our new-build flat into a home, and finally paint those white walls, bring a bit of personality in. The thing is, it’s quite a daunting task. Especially as I haven’t actually done a room makeover that involves paint for over 5 years. To get back in the mode of decorating, I thought I’d start with a smaller project. And somewhere to test out pink paint, to see how it would actually look. Cue, the en-suite in my bedroom at my parents’ house! Although I have moved out, this is still my bathroom as we visit so often. Well it’s mine, my mums’ and the kids’ shared en-suite. It’s 20 years old and has gone through a few makeovers over the years. Lately it was a bit of a mish-mash of different past makeovers, as well as cluttered with everyone’s bits and bobs – have a look at these ‘before’ photos.

BEFORE:

I really, really wanted it to be a pink bathroom. Not sickly pink, but a more grown-up pink. I have been totally inspired by those floral coffee shops in London, in particular that Peggy Porschen one. I wanted this room to be like a girls luxury shower room, with everything pale or dusky pink – the walls, the towels, bath mat, loo roll, even all the toiletries – soap, shower gel, everything! So I did a little shopping trip in Uxbridge and got most of the things I needed, and then topped up with some decor from The Range in Slough.

MAKEOVER SHOPPING LIST (all paid for by myself and my mum. Not an ad)

Decorating equipment:
Matt Paint 2.5l (Delicate Blossom 403) – Wilko £10 (normally £12)
White Gloss Paint (already had)
White Satin Paint – Aldi £3.99
Harris Roller and tray – Wilko £1.79 (on offer)
Mini sponge roller (already had)
Basic Paintbrushes 5 pack – Wilko £1.75
Basic Masking tape – Wiko £1
Myrtle Geo Superfresco Easy Wallpaper (already had) – B&M £14.99
Solvite Ready to Roll Wallpaper paste (already had) – B&M £8.99

Decor and Furnishing:
Trailing Faux Flowers (x2)  – The Range £8.99 each
Hammer and small nails (already had)
Grey trays (x3) – The Range £1 each
DKNY Pink Hand Towel – TK Maxx £4
Pink Luxury Bath Towel – Primark £7
Pink Microfibre Bath Mat – Wilko £5 (normally £6)
Pink Toothbrush Holder – Wilko £3
Pink Body Pouffe – The Range £1

Bathroom products:
Pink Carex Soap – Wilko £1
Pink Radox Shower Gel – Wilko £1
Pink Alberto Balsam Shampoo and Conditioner – Wilko £1 each
Pink Renova Loo Roll (4-pack) – Tesco £2.50

Total Cost (not including the stuff I already had): £65
(If I had to buy the wallpaper + paste, then the total is £88)

I started at 9.30pm on a Friday night and worked for about 2 hours. I put masking tape along the ceiling and edges of the sink, around the towel rail and loo roll holder. I didn’t bother masking along the skirting board as I was painting that anyway. Then with a paint brush I started painting along the edges, followed by painting the main area with the roller. I was quite shocked at how pink it looked. The colour on the tin was more of a grey pink, but it actually came out REALLY pink! But I think it was because it was a small room so the walls were reflecting off each other.

The following morning I worked for 3 hours from 9am to 12pm, doing a second coat with the roller. I had intended to leave the black and white wallpaper, as I read in Style at Home magazine that black/grey teamed with pink makes it look more grown up. But it didn’t look right. Luckily I had left over wallpaper from a previous living room makeover that I did in November 2018. And it was perfect, a sweet pastel shade of greyish-blue with rose-gold geometrics lines – it would go with the pink so well and make the room just so on trend. Destiny!!

The wallpaper is called Myrtle Geo and it is Superfresco Easy Paste the Wall paper. I ALWAYS use ‘paste the wall’ – it is just so much easier to hang up. I peeled off the old paper, measured up what I needed. I cut up what I needed on the kitchen floor – you need to lay the paper flat to match the patterns up. Then I painted on the ready-made wallpaper paste with a large paint brush and put the wallpaper on, smoothing out air bubbles with a cloth. And when it was on, it looked AMAZING!!

Next I painted the skirting boards with glossy white paint, first masking along the floor and the wall so that it would be neat. I never scrimp on masking tape, a neat finish makes ALL the difference, trust me. Then I painted the door with the same paint, but the finish was terrible. It would definitely need a second coat on another day, once the paint was fully dry.

I returned to my parents’ house on the Wednesday, as I had a dental appointment in West Drayton (yep, another filling, eek!). While I was there, I had a wander around in Aldi and randomly found white satin deco paint for only £3.99. I thought, hey, why don’t I try this on the door? So that day, I got a sponge roller out of the garage and did a second coat on the door. It went on soooo smoothly and there was no smell. Odourless paint! I was so impressed.

The next day I went into The Range on the lookout for some floral decor and storage trays for the hanging shelves behind the door. And I found the perfect items. This shower room was going to look so girly 🙂 That weekend I nailed one set of trailing roses down from the ceiling along corner wall of the wallpaper. And the other one I nailed along the top and sides of the mirrors above the sink. This a corner so I had to bend the flower stems into shape, and they were very flexible.

Finally, I decluttered the wire shelf behind the door, put unsightly products in the underside cupboard. I gave it a good clean as there was quite a bit of rust. I placed the three grey trays symmetrically and they hold toothpaste, cotton wool and other small bits and bobs. I replaced the toothbrush holder with a pink ceramic one, and put the pink towels and bath mat out. Finally I changed all the products for pink – if this is going to be a pink bathroom, EVERYTHING is going to be pink! Soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, even the toilet roll! And what is extra special about the Renova loo roll is that the inside of the cardboard roll is NEON PINK! It looks so cool, haha.

So there you have it, my pink bathroom makeover! Well, shower room, en-suite, whatever you want to call it. I absolutely LOVE it! It’s the pink bathroom I never knew I always wanted. When I brush my teeth or have a shower in there, I feel so happy! And now I feel ready to tackle my own flat – though it can’t be as girly, my husband would not be pleased! But yeah, our homes need to reflect our personality so this was a good start to my decorating journey of 2019.

I hope you have liked reading this post and are feeling inspired to do a bit of decorating yourself. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you shop around on the high street.

Let me know what you think. Would you do something similar? Or what would be the style you’d like to introduce to your home?

Sabrina x