Master Bathroom Makeover – The Ceiling

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When I made over the bathroom the first time I added shiplap to the back wall and ceiling, you can read more about that in this post. I used wood glue and brad nails so the ceiling was messed up from the glue, I needed a new plan because I didn’t want shiplap this time around.

I found this pole wrap type material on Etsy and decided I’d use that! I shared in the post about my DIY Vanity that I added this material to the back wall, I had also planned on continueing it up to the ceiling.

I had Tyler help me with this because it’s not easy to hold this material up on my own and nail it into place because it’s bendy.

Then Mia helped me get the next piece up because Tyler was busy. I had to measure for the vent with this piece and cut that out. I cut it out using a paddle drill bit to make a hole big enough that my jigsaw would fit through and then I used the jigsaw to cut the rectangle out. I’m JUST using brad nails this time around, no glue.

Once we got the rest of the ceiling pieces up I added some PVC trim around the edges so it looked more clean and finished and I also just attached those with brad nails.

I added it on the back wall behind the vanity as well.

I got the ceiling caulked around the edges and the seams where the pole wrap met up with another piece and filled in the nail holes with putty. Then I used a 220 grit sandpaper to sand down the putty.

I figured spraying this area would be the easiest way to get it all painted, so I put plastic and tape up all around the room, being careful to cover all my other newly completed projects in this bathroom. I wasn’t worried about getting the plastic all the way up to the ceiling because I was using Alabaster by SW for the color, which is the same color as the walls.

I just put some old clothes on that I didn’t mind getting paint on, then covered my socks in shoe covers. I was looking for something to cover my hair with and realized the shoe covers were big enough to go over my head too! I used to have a paint suit with a hood but I must have thrown it away after spray painting my guest room because I couldn’t find it!

I used my Graco sprayer to get the ceiling sprayed with the door closed and plastic up. This is how it was looking after I did one coat.

You can see in the above picture that the sprayer didn’t get it as much as I hoped it would. It didn’t get in the grooves very well and I didn’t think a second coat would either. So I took down all the plastic.

Once I got the plastic down I could see that there were some drips so I went and fixed those with a brush before they had a chance to dry too much.

I also noticed some of the plastic was loose by my built in linen cabinet and some paint got on it. Luckily this non toxic stripper got it right off, plus the very top of it would get trim eventually.

Here’s what it looked like with all the plastic taken down.

This might seem a little out of order to you but I needed a break from the painting and I was excited to get the new pendant light up that I’ve had for about a year now! So Tyler got it hung up for me. It matches the one I installed in our water closet/toilet room right there to the right.

He also put the vent cover back on for me since he could reach better. I had planned on putting a coat of paint over the vent cover anyways to make it the same color as the ceiling to blend in more.

This light is so cool! I think it looks great in here!

Then I got back to the painting. I used a thick napped roller and made sure I got into the grooves with it and it worked out pretty well! You can also see that I added the vent cover back onto the other vent we have in here, that’s the AC vent. I planned on painting that too so it was the same color as the ceiling.

But the roller couldn’t get into the grooves at the edges where the trim was, you can see the difference in the photo below. And I missed a line of caulk where 2 panels joined together.

I had to take a tiny paint brush and get in all the grooves individually…it took FOREVER and my shoulders were sore after!

Then it was time to address the top of the built in. I had this 1×2 oak that I routed a decorative edge on, I planned to cut the edges at a 45 degree cut to wrap around the top of the linen cabinet. You can also see below I don’t have white trim around that area on the ceiling yet, I was waiting to get this wood piece up before adding that.

I measured it and cut it down to size and did a test fit, then I got it stained in this color, the same color I’ve used all throughout my bathroom.

Once it was dry it was time to hang it up, I just attached it with my brad nailer.

See the difference that trim made??

I added the rest of the trim, caulked it and painted it and not shown, I added some more grout above the bathtub wall tile to close the gap between the tile and the ceiling treatment and then the ceiling was done!

What do you think? Was it worth the trouble? The texture is very subtle but I love it! Plus it helps cover up the mistake of using glue the first time around! I’m not very good at repairing drywall and texturing it.

Next up, the master bathroom reveal + finishing touches and useful bathroom items.