The Beauty Inside of a Bathroom

As the 40-grit sandpaper locks in place on the orbiting sander, I flip the switch, and the machine starts to rev and roar. I reach over, grab the cabinet door, and begin applying pressure to it. The original stain that was outdated and withered slowly but surely started to lift. With dust flying through the air, I stretch my face mask down over my mouth and nose. Cabinet after cabinet, I sand them all down and organize them by size. Once I finished, I wiped off all the dust particles and prepared the bathroom's cabinets for painting. I grab the Sherwin Williams Ultra-Pure White and stir the gallon tin. I then grab a foam roller, and just as I make my first stroke of paint on the cabinet, my mom walks out surprised and says, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

I didn't even know they were home yet. They have been out of town since Friday, staying at our house in Arizona. They left me home alone for the weekend, and I had a ton to get done. Getting our home in Lake Havasu is really what prompted me to get so interested in interior design and remodeling. To put it kindly, that house was a fixer-upper. It was like walking into your great grandma's house that has not been cleaned since John F. Kennedy was in office. We did many cosmetic fixes and had to purchase furniture for all the rooms.

Going to the furniture store was like a dreamland. The pearly gates glide open as I walk close to the entrance, and I am surrounded by so many different styles and ideas to build a beautiful room. Colors, textures, and patterns all stood out in their own way. We also sourced many of our décor pieces from thrift stores. Those stores put the phrase "One man's trash is another man's treasure," to a new level. These doors aren't as pearly as the furniture store's but open just the same.

Walking down the long-stuffed aisles, you see mountains of things with no theme or consistency. I think this is why I like it. Sometimes, all you find is a nearly broken picture frame that could be spray painted to a smooth bronze and upcycled, and other days you find a vintage brass sculpture of the Eiffel Tower that dates to 1912 in France. These simple tasks, like going and buying pieces to freshen up my space, were simple. I never ventured out into remodeling or even complete transformations. I knew what I needed to do the second I heard my parents were leaving town.

Every time I walk into my bathroom, I immediately feel disgusted. Not because it's dirty, but because of the fact that it has yet to be updated in years. Don't get me wrong, I love vintage or antique items, but the condition of this bathroom was not aging like fine wine but like spoiled milk instead. The wooden cabinets had such a dark and dated feel, and the space was so closed and uncomfortable. The knobs on each drawer were falling off and desperately needed replacing. When looking around, I noticed the architecture and shape of the room. It has beautiful natural light from a large window that faces the sunrise. Also, the cabinets were definitely old, but they had natural arches built into the wood, which, if refreshed, could give a nearly Victorian look. It might be a dated space, but the bones are pretty good.

This is the perfect weekend. My parents told me they planned to go to our lake house this weekend, and I told them I needed a weekend at home to get some stuff done. It's not that I am not allowed to do this change, but I like to have my space when doing these types of things. Since they are leaving Friday night, I will have almost 3 full days to get my project done. In the days leading up, I started ordering all the needed items. I found a beautiful set of brass handles that I can envision on the cabinets. I also required random pieces like a towel rack and a new toilet paper holder. I decided to paint the cabinets a beautiful bright white to liven up and bring light to the space. With such a narrow room, it's always good to have light elements to give an illusion of more space. After all my planning, I just now must wait for them to go. As Friday rolls around, I wait impatiently for them to leave. It felt like every minute was an hour. Finally, they packed up all their luggage and loaded the car. I was so excited to get started that I basically pushed them out the door. Since it was already getting late, I decided to remove all of the cabinets and drawers and bring them downstairs so I could start my project first thing in the morning.

The second I woke up, I got ready. I needed to make a quick trip to Home Depot. Upon arrival, I made it a mental game to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. I immediately go to the paint section and ask for Sherwin Williams: Ultra-Pure White Semi-Gloss Paint and Primer. I also picked up a couple some sandpaper, roller brushes, and detail brushes to get the grooves of the cabinets. I check out and rush home. Once I arrived back at my house, I went straight out to my backyard and began sanding. I count 14 cabinet doors and 10 drawers to paint. I decided to start with the drawers. One by one, I sanded down each of the drawers. With such an old age, the wood particles practically danced right off the faces of the cabinets. The dark color that created such a meek look on the cabinets began to lift. With each drawer sanded down, I began to clean up and prep each one for painting. I colored each one and set them all up safely to dry completely. After nearly 6 hours straight, I had finished the first part of my task. I wipe the sweat from my brow and decide to go inside for some dinner. Once inside, I realized that I had done enough for the day, and with my parents coming home late the next day, I decided to finish in the morning.

All throughout the next day, I worked on those cabinets. Some of them were 3 feet tall, so I had a lot of work to do. I rushed and rushed through it, but I almost felt as if I was working backward because every time, I finished one, another one was waiting to be sanded. As time lugged by, I noticed that my parents were probably nearing home. With barely half of my project done, I started to feel so much pressure. I began going as fast as possible and quickly was on to painting the cabinets. With just 3 cabinet doors left to spare, I hear inside as the front door creaks open. My parents walk in and immediately begin to see the fragments of wood and paint sprawled all throughout the house. As my mom walks outside to the patio where I set up my workspace and exclaimed aloud, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Trying to calm her confusion, I told her that I started explaining the project that I was working on and told her to give me time to finish and to trust me. Reluctantly, she agrees, and I immediately get back to work. As I take my last stroke of paint, I leave the cabinets to dry while I go inside to start setting up the bathroom.

I fasten all the hardware onto the drawers and start to put them into their matching slot. With each one finishing off the space more and more. As I impatiently wait for the cabinets to dry, I start attaching items like the towel holders and the shower curtain. All the curated pieces stand out and add so much to the space. I run downstairs and tap my ring finger on the cabinets to see if there is any transfer. To my surprise, they are finished drying. I carry them up one at a time and drill the hinges to connect the doors to their matching cabinets. As I get closer and closer to the final product that I saw in my head, I realize that I can accomplish anything on my own. With my final touches in place, I tell my parents to creep up the stairs to see my creation. As they arrive just outside the door, I tell them I will count down from five. "Here I go, Five…Four…Three…Two…One…

I swung the door open on one to reveal what I had done. The smiles on their faces said it all. As they flew into the room, they began pointing out every aspect of the room and thanking me for the improvement I could make. I felt so much gratitude.

I was so proud of myself, and from then on, I knew I could make anything if I put my mind to it. I couldn't have been happier and started thinking about future projects I should start.