you've been framed

I'm a bit behind on sharing some of the updates around our nest.  We tackled a few projects back to back, and I'm just now uploading the pictures and posting the results.  One of the rooms I was dying to attack was our guest bathroom.  It was just really blah and didn't have much going on.  We don't really have the budget or time to make any huge changes, so a fresh coat of paint and some small upgrades will have to do.

I've seen this all over the blogosphere, and I knew our builder basic bathroom could use the facelift that framing our giant blah mirror could provide.

It's just glued to the wall, and really seemed dated to me.  Nothing was particularly wrong with the setup, but I felt it was an area that we could have some fun with.

I picked up some moulding from Home Depot and had it cut close to the size I needed.  I just had to miter the corners, and thankfully the Man took over the sawing.  He's got a bit more upper arm strength than my wimpy self.. it took him about 1/8th of the time per cut than it was taking me.

After we cut everything, I had to figure out how to assemble it all.  It was a pretty trying process (which is why there are no pictures!)  I was a little frustrated and didn't have a good system in place.  After a series of staple gunning, wood gluing and general rigging, the frame was ready to be caulked and painted.

I did a first coat of white trim paint, but the finish wasn't as smooth as I wanted.  I sanded everything down, and then followed up with a few coats of gloss white spraypaint.

I love this stuff!  It coats so evenly and looks awesome!

I let it cure for a while (about 3 days) before attempting to hang the mirror.

I used one of my favorite tools -- command picture hooks-- to mount the frame onto the mirror.  They are so easy to use and don't damage any of the surfaces you stick them to. So far, they've been holding just fine and it's been about two months.

I think it made quite a change, and I really like how the white frame lightens up that corner of the tiny bathroom.

For a side by side comparison:

The frame makes a big difference.  A few other small changes, like the new outlet the Man installed, and a towel holder which was a $1 yard sale find. The hand towel I found on clearance at Target.. I love those little red clearance stickers. It makes me so happy!

We still have a few other changes to make, but for now--

this facelift makes me smile every time I pass our mini-bath.

Have you made any mini-updates lately?