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Yes, I painted my bathroom orange.
 

Even the Ceiling is Orange

I painted my bathroom orange.

We're not talking about peach or red-tinged red; this is full-forced, full-fledged, in your face orange - Lowes' "Tangerine", as a matter of fact, with the details done in "Persimmon" - an orange a few shades lighter. The tile, tub and counters are still white to counterbalance the intensity of the shade.

I love it - It's bright and sunny in the morning, practically pushing you into being awake; it's so deep and luscious late at night you feel as if you were bathing inside a blood orange. I went from all sterility, all white, all the time to a color that compells you to live.

The Pictures

These pictures were all taken before I did the final post-paint clean-up

The view from the bedroom.

The back corner of the bathroom. The windowsill is in the Persimmon; the towels are a light and bright Daffodil yellow. And if you look closely on the wall, you'll see where I rubber stamped a ladybug and a dragonfly in Persimmon.

My fabulous soaking tub -the best thing about my bathroom. I've since added a piece of rope art (framed in wood painted the Persimmon) over the bath.

Double Sinks and Art Glass; I've since taken the blue and green pieces out, and put all yellow, orange and gold pieces up there.

The panels in the door were just crying out for paint.


The shower area, between cleanings.

The Mechanics

I bought the paint (1 large can of Tangerine; 1 small of Persimmon) late one Friday evening in late spring/early summer, went home, and removed light and fixture covers, taped around the tile, mirror(s), sills and frames, and did all of that painting prep.

I woke up Saturday morning, laid down the tarps as best I could, and started painting at 8 AM. Wall One. Drippy Paint. Wall Two. I took a step back and knocked the paint tray into the bathtub, where it promptly slipped between the tarps. I immediately poured some dishwashing soap into the tub and turned on the water. It soaked there while I painted on.

Wall Three. I didn't want to bring my stool into the shower stall because I didn't think the concentrated weight on the stool legs would be good for the shower floor. I improvised with a roller and brush extender -- and got paint on the ceiling. Not just next to the wall, but a nice wide dash going backwards. I turned my colorful litany of curse words into cleverness. I decided to paint the ceiling.

Wall Four. The mirror wall. What a collossal pain in the ... The counter top is very slippery, and I was well decorated in paint by this point.I managed to survive the wall without slipping and killing myself, and worked on cleaning out the tub. Then I took a few hours off.

7 PM: I survey the bathroom, and decide that a second coat is a good idea. Since I'm being less anal about the ceiling, I get two walls done pretty expeditiously, although balancing, bone-tired, on my counter at 11:30 PM is not the greatest thing. I retire gratefully to my bed.

Sunday 9 AM: I catch my cat as she desperately tries to get in; the fact that she's been locked out of my bedroom for 24 hours is both greatly disturbing and a challenge.

I lay the tarps down again, and put the second coat on the two remaining walls before I turn to attack the ceiling. Paint, Paint, Paint. The paint attacks me. Yesterday's speckled girl is replaced with today's splattered girl. The roller is fast but messy - and I hadn't prepared adquately for painting a ceiling. Naturally, I ran out of paint halfway across the ceiling.

3PM:I shower, get dressed, wrap my brushes in saran wrap and shove them in the fridge before I head off to Lowes to buy paint. The PaintGuy asks me what color and I show him my fingernails, but apparently that's not good enough. I hand over the actual chip, acquire my paint and go home.

3:45 PM: I retrieve my brushes from the refrigerator, and return upstairs, where I change back into my painting clothes. By 7 PM, I've finished the ceiling and added a second coat. I pull up the tarps, and pull off the painter's tape and clean the surfaces of much of the accumulated paint spatters and grime.

I go to bed early that night.
Monday 7 PM:

I start on the detail work - I paint the windowsills and the inside of the windows Persimmon, and get out the rubber stamps (ladybug, 2 different dragonflies, a butterfly, a fly, a frog), and stamp randomly and sparingly along the walls.

While that dries, I take different solutions (vinegar and water, oxyclean and water; dishwashing soap and water, and softscrub and water) to the seemingly endless spatter marks left over. I scrub for hours. Next time, I tell myself, I'm hiring someone to paint my bathroom.

Tuesday 7PM: I come home from work to anouther round of touchups in the room - I fill in thin spots, make sure edging is clear, and generally make it look consistant.

I replace all the knick-knacks I put away, put out the brand new towels, and take these poctires. Then I scrub some more. Gack. I'm definitely hiring a professional to paint my bathroom next time.

* 09:00 PM
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