Small Space Painting Tips and Progress in the Girls' Bathroom

When painting and organizing isn't pretty...yet. Plus, my favorite small space painting tips!

You know how some days it feels like everything you do actually creates more work than it solves? Well this week was one of those days, alllll week long.

But while it may seem (to me) like I'm spinning my wheels, I've gotten a lot of projects crossed off my list in this girls' bathroom for the $100 Room Challenge, and next week will look a lot more productive.

I had planned to try painting the faucets black to update them, and I even found a wonderful tutorial that seemed like the perfect solution.

But alas, I had to come to terms with the fact that this bathroom gets the most abuse of any in the house. I just don't think the finish will stand up to the daily torment of two teenage girls and all their cleaning, coiffing, and coloring products.

So I decided not to do anything to the faucets, and instead this week I focused on painting and organizing.

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Tips for Painting a Small Space

Bathrooms and other small spaces don't take a lot of paint, but they sure can use up all your patience! I have a whole post dedicated to painting a room the right way, so I won't reinvent the wheel here, but I thought I'd add a few tips to make it easier on yourself when you're painting an enclosed area.

In large rooms, I usually roll the walls first, and finish with the edging or cutting in. That way you feel accomplished and can finish with the detail work after you're feeling good about your progress.

But in small spaces I find it easier to do all the edging first. Leave a nice wide line of paint around every edge. This really helps to keep you from accidentally bumping up against the white ceiling or brand spankin' new stained cabinets with your roller.

In small spaces, it can be harder to control your roller, so this will give you an edge. (He he. Get it? An edge? Sorry.)

My other tip is about products. Having the right tools makes all the difference, both in the quality of the job, and in your sanity. Here are a few things I recommend, specifically for small space painting projects.

Small Space Painting Tools:

• Ventilation. Painting creates humidity in the air, which might not be noticeable in a wide open area, but you'll really feel it in a small space. Fortunately most bathrooms are equipped with a vent fan, so this is a great time to use it to help your paint dry faster and keep you more comfortable.
• Good edging brush. Small spaces tend to have less wall space, and more edges, like doorways, trim, cabinets, etc. Be sure you have a quality edging brush like this one to help you work your way around the room with minimum frustration.
• Short handled roller. In full size rooms, you need a long handle to help your roller reach the top of the wall. But in small spaces, that pole just gets in the way! I like this push-button adjustable handle that lets me go from short to long in an instant without adjusting my grip.
• Compact stepstool. There's no room for a big ladder in a tiny bathroom. This little stepstool is just tall enough to reach the ceiling line, without taking up too much space on the ground.

Organizing Cabinet Space

While I was working on the paint, my youngest daughter took out her online-school-covid-frustration on the contents of the cabinet.

I bought a 4 pack of plastic storage baskets (in case of spills or moisture) and let her unleash her creativity on the piles of stuff that had accumulated under there.

(Remember the racquetball racquet? Turns out she had used it on a slime project. That's OK, I can't remember the last time I played racquetball anyway.)

She had a great time corralling all the stuff into matching baskets, and even had some space leftover afterwards. I'm sure that'll get filled up in no time.

It's almost time for the fun part!

You've come so far! Don't forget to check back next week for the big reveal of this little room.

The good news is I've gotten a lot of my major projects done for this bathroom and it's really coming together. The bad news is I'm out of money. Yep, I've spent exactly $100 to this point, so everything to take me across the finish line has to be free. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work out, but I have faith in my dumpster diving abilities!

Week 1 ~ Week 2 ~ Week 3 (You're here) ~ Week 4 Reveal