Master Bathroom Improvement

I was so happy with how our framed bathroom mirrors turned out that I have been looking for more ways to improve the look of our bathrooms. I finally got tired of looking at the side of our ugly plastic tub in the master bathroom so we decided to update it with beadboard siding and trim. It was actually quite easy and relatively inexpensive to do. Zak used "pre-made" wainscoting boxes sold at Home Depot which cost a fair amount more than buying the beadboard and trim seperately, however, for as little space as we needed to cover it was worth the cost difference. Plus, we used these packages to do our two other small bathrooms in the house and knew the time saving was worth the extra money.

Here is the {ugly} before of our master bathroom tub:

And here is the {beautiful} after:

The first step was to build a frame out of 2"x3" wood {in retrospect we would have used 2"x4" so the beadboard had more surface to adhere to but fortunately it wasn't an issue for us}. Once your frame is put together you adhere the newly built frame to as many surfaces as you can {floor, wall, tub, etc..} with liquid nails.

Once the frame is secured in place, you attach the beadboarding and trim to the frame using liquid nails and a nail gun. Fill in cracks and nails with quick dry putty and sand down for a smooth finish. Now you are ready to paint! Since the "pre-made" boxes that we purchased are already white, we only had to do two coats of paint.

Let the paint dry then attach edging tiles along the top of the frame using liquid nails. Another option is to use cut marble tiles that overhang the edge but we picked the easier and less inexpensive option. We found white matte corner tiles on clearance at Lowe's for twenty-four cents each so that reinforced our decision. We had to take two of the tiles to Home Depot to be cut {free of charge}. To determine the cuts, start placing tiles in the center and work your way out. The two end tiles are the ones that should be cut exactly the same size. This looks better than just cutting one tile and it's definitely worth the trip back out to the store!

Lastly, you can use "Grout Caulk" to fill in the gaps of the tile. This is so much easier and a lot more affordable to do than regular grout which also requires sealer. Use regular silicone caulk to fill in all of the seams on the beadboard and trim so that water does not seep through and turn moldy. We still haven't applied any water-sealer to the siding yet but we'll do that soon because we know the side of the tub is going to get wet and this will prevent it from warping and mildewing.

Total spent on this project was about $45 give or take a few dollars. I love the new look of our tub and can't wait to see what other improvements we can do soon!

All linked up:

A Soft Place to Land...DIY Day with The Pleated Poppy

Just A Girl...Show and Share Day

The Shabby Nest...Frugal Friday

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~