Fixing DIY Mistakes

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I can't believe that we first finished this bathroom in January, 2022! Wow! Time sure flies by! We've had 3 years to live and use this master bathroom and we absolutely LOVE it! We built this bathroom from nothing. It was amazing how it all worked out! We always talk about how God worked it out perfectly, because we are not that good. You can check out how we built this master bathroom with the link below.

Master Bath Reveal

As much as we love it, there were a few things that needed some attention.

Let me just show you....

First problem... the center of the cabinet is sagging. We should have connected the cabinets together instead of putting the filler piece in the middle. Second, there isn't enough space on the vanity counter. Third, it just looks awful with the cabinets butted up to the ceiling.

There is another cabinet with issues...

This cabinet is in the toilet room. Again, it is butted up to the ceiling. The cabinet should have been centered, not with a filler piece on one side. Lastly, I don't care for the underneath of the cabinet showing. (I tried painting it and that didn't work at all.)

There is one more problem we need to address when it comes to the cabinets and trim. The torn drywall where the ceiling and walls meet.

You're probably wondering what in the world happened here. Well, after we finished the master bath, we began working on the guest room. The guest room and the master bath were all one room before and they share the same ceiling and roofing trusses. We didn't rip out the ceiling drywall, it was in perfect shape. When we installed the new wall in the guest room, it began to pull on the corner where the wall and ceiling meet in the master bathroom. The paint and tape were under pressure, so I took a box cutter and cut the tape all around the ceiling in the master bath.

I was so distraught, but there was nothing I could do. I knew one thing for sure, I was not going to re-tape and mud and sand and paint all of that again. No way! Don't worry we thought of a perfect solution!

Now we are ready to attack these issues. Step one... take down the cabinets.

Because the cabinets covered the side areas of the vanity, I never bothered to "finish" the back wall completely. Well, now I will, because we are completely removing the cabinets that sat on the counter. That will give me so much more room. 

In the toilet room, we just lowered the cabinet to allow enough room to build up the cabinets and add trim at the ceiling. 

When hanging or lowering a cabinet, it's so much easier to attach a board where you want the cabinet placed. It acts as another set of hands and holds it up.

That cabinet is in now place. Now, it's just a matter of adding filler pieces on the sides and adding crown.

Let's work on the vanity cabinets. First, we are attaching them to each other. This is the best way to secure them and keep them level.

Hubby predrills the holes and counter sinks them so that the screws sit flush.

Kinda forgot to take some photos of building up the cabinets to the ceiling.... Ugh! But it's super easy! We nail some blocks on top of the cabinet at the edge. That gives us something to attach the front board to. We usually use a 1x6 primed board. Then the 'crown trim' is a 1x3 nailed to the top and a 1x2 nailed to the ceiling.

I added trim to hide where the cabinet and front facing piece meet and along the wall.

Sooo, I really didn't want to mud and sand the back wall of my vanity... So much mess, and if I can get out of it, I will! We thought of a solution! Shiplap! You can see one piece in there. I had to do all the math to make them fit and not have a super skinny piece on the ends. It came out perfect!! Yay!!

It actually looks like it goes because we did the vertical shiplap all around our master bedroom.

Finished! I just love the way it all came out! Ohhh. I almost forgot! Remember this...

We decided to crown the whole bathroom! It came out lovely!

We even added it to the toilet room. We had to be consistent!

Let me tell you, it looks sooooo much better! While I was priming and painting all the things... I primed over some of the knots that had bled through the paint on the trim. I've learned that you have to prime raw wood with oil based primer then paint white or your knots will bleed through.

I also decided in this "fix" that I wanted to add a few more touches... like that marble topped toilet paper holder . I LOVE it so much, I had to get one of the other bathroom.

Since the first reveal, I decided it was time for some colorful rugs. (which I love!) The multicolored one is from Amazon and the solid one I found at Target. Then a new barstool, a new lighted mirror and organizing bins. I just love this space so much more!

Are we finished fixing all the DIY mistakes??? Well, no... There is one more and it a doozy! We need to address a problem with our shower. That's up next.

Blessings,

Lori