Extreme Makeover: Slanty Bathroom Edition

Since we moved into Grafton, I've been itching to paint our walls.  John thinks I'm a little crazy because the current wall colors aren't all that bad, and painting is really such a tedious pain.  There's just something about painting a room, though, that provides a better sense of ownership.  What's more exciting than a trip to Home Depot, standing under those blazing lights and inspecting every paint chip, as if choosing the right one will unlock all the secrets to your design destiny?  Then there's the reveal moment, so often used on HGTV, when you pry open the paint can and get your first look at the color.  Of course, resulting in squeals of delight while waving your hands about like you just won the Miss America crown.  You get all cozy with every nook and cranny of your room as you cut in, discovering every flaw on the trim and walls.  In the end, when both you and your walls are covered in paint, you can step back and revel in the glory of a freshly painted room, all lightheaded and giddy... or maybe that's just the paint fumes...

So, over the long MLK weekend, John and I waged battle against our mint-colored, slanty-ceiling upstairs bathroom.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some mint.  Mint and I go way back.  I have many a fond memory of attending St. Johns' Mint Festival every summer.  I could probably subsist off of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  When we leave restaurants and they offer those starlight mints, I have to restrain myself from dumping the entire bowl into my purse.  Best part of going to Olive Garden?  The Andes mints. 

 

However, mint had no place in our bathroom.  Not with the dark cherry cabinets and almost-black granite.  Plus, the angle of the ceiling paired with the pale walls resulted in light bouncing around and causing temporary blindness.  Not really the relaxing, spa-like atmosphere you try to achieve in a bathroom.  A late Friday night trip to Home Depot was in order (you can definitely tell the honeymoon is over when date night turns into Home Depot runs) and after sweating under those aforementioned blazing lights, we finally came to a mutual decision on two Behr colors: Simply Sage and Mission Hills.

After carefully taping off the ceiling using Frog Tape (which worked amazingly well and resulted in the cleanest lines we've ever achieved... definitely worth the slightly higher cost, in my opinion), we finished sageing up the ceiling.  Letting that dry overnight (and really, how much painting can one do on a Friday night?), we once again Frogged and then applied the Mission Hills to the walls. 

Frog Tape in action.  Adios mint!

Simply Sage... looking simply lovely.  Watch out for low-flying vent covers...

In case you're wondering how we came to choose these colors, we carefully examined our granite to look for inspiration.  Although it appears mostly black, there are many specks of green, gold, silver, brown, and taupe intermingled.  We wanted to accentuate the greens and pull out that color in a bolder way than the mint did, so we felt Simply Sage gave us that effect.

Our granite... it's hard to photograph.  :(

We couldn't resist the milk chocolately goodness that Mission Hills provides.  Plus, it's a near match to the tile inlays in the shower and doesn't compete or clash with the cabinets.  Together, I think they create a much more soothing atmosphere and provide some interest to a small space.

The colors together.  Please ignore the horrible little towel... and the make-shift shower curtain.
It's a work in progress. :)

It is a little darker now, but I think we're happy with our results.  If we could just figure out a more attractive solution for the shower curtain, we'd be all set.  Now it's just on to accessorizing and I think we'll have a pretty nice little bathroom for our guests.