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Master Bathroom Makeover: Painted Card Catalog Cabinets

ByLauren
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We are so close to being at the end of this bathroom makeover tunnel. I’m seeing the light and it is glorious! There are just 2 items left on my to-do list, and I can stick a fork in this room. Okay, that figure of speech doesn’t work at all in that context. But you get it.
One huge step for this space, which I had been putting off for too long was painting our builder grade cabinets. To be honest, I was scared. This wasn’t like a piece of furniture that I could take out to the garage and strip a bad paint job or give up on altogether if it didn’t go well. These were cabinets. There was no turning back if my DIY went awry.

But you know what I realized? I had nothing to be afraid of! It was all in my head. And if I royally messed it up, at least they weren’t our kitchen cabinets. (Hence why I considered this practice for that big space one day.)  Robert and I are the only ones who see these cabinets so no pressure.
Here’s how they looked before.

I’ll admit; they really weren’t bad at all. And they were at least on the more high end of the builder grade scale. But they had a reddish tint that drove me nuts. Red and I don’t get along usually.

I didn’t document every single step on this one since this was my trial run, but now that I’m the “expert” (definitely need quotations there), I’m sure you’ll be seeing one at some point. For now, you can check out this really thorough one about how to paint cabinets that Laura from The Turquoise Home posted. I didn’t follow her method completely, but it had some great tips.

I did learn a few things along the way that I know I’ll do differently next time though.

I chose some label drawer pulls that are the same ones I used on our faux planked coffee table in black.
I love how they can instantly give a piece that vintage flair; they help organize odds and ends; and best of all, they’re cheap for less than $1 each! Everyone’s happy…or at least I am.
Since our bathroom cabinets usually end up with grime on them from makeup or hair products or drips from face washing, I decided to laminate my labels with these Scotch laminating sheets that I picked up in the office supply section of Walmart.
Now they’ll be protected from all that messy business.
For our cabinet doors, I bought these hammered black ones that already have that aged, worn look I love.
For the paint, I chose Winter Gates by Benjamin Moore in semi-gloss.

I admit, I was nervous when I painted on the first coat of this color because I was worried it was too close to our wall color, Pediment by Sherwin Williams. But I like that it’s not dark so it brightens up the room.

Our bathroom feels so much bigger now!
That jewelry organizer I shared yesterday fits right in.
And the labels really help to organize our drawers. Although, we still have a two year-old who likes to do us the favor of rearranging it all for us. Ya know, just to keep things interesting. That little booger.
I still want a rug of some kind for the floor to break up all of the gray. It’s nice having this peaceful space to get ready, even if getting ready in the mornings can be chaotic.
I need another glimpse at the before shot of our bathroom from last year.
Definitely not as plain anymore, huh?
You’ll be seeing a little more next week with a full reveal and source list coming soon.
What do you think so far? Have you been brave enough to paint your cabinets before? Do you have any tips for tackling bigger cabinet spaces like a kitchen? Are you a card catalog pull junkie too?
If you liked this project, be sure to check out this one too: (Just click the image.)
Blessings,
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