Make your boring white walk-in wardrobe into something really special!
A Wardrobe Makeover on a Budget
I'm still amazed at how much paint can change the way a room looks and feels.
I wanted to smarten up my wardrobe along with my ensuite bathroom and make these separate rooms feel cohesive. To do this, it seemed logical to carry the color scheme that I had selected for the ensuite, through both rooms.
The Color Scheme
Although generally one of the fun bits of a project is choosing the colors, this can also be one of the hardest parts. I find it easier to work with what I already have.
To make the rooms feel connected, the wardrobe colors had to flow on from the adjoining ensuite.
I noticed recently that a lot of renovation shows were moving towards dark colored cupboards so that was my starting point.
As I was going for a semi-dramatic effect, this was an easy color choice.
At the beginning of this project, I had decided to go with a white floor.
Painting the Moveable Shelving
I started with the cubed shelf unit. To make this easier to paint, I moved it out of the wardrobe into my living area.
I had the option to go with the 'Renovation Range' of cabinet paint, or go with standard paint. In an attempt to keep costs down, I decided to go with a standard 3-in-1 paint. The 3-in-1 paint is a primer, undercoat and sealer. It preps smooth surfaces ready for the top coat of paint. This is generally white to off-white in color but it can also be tinted.
I followed this with a high gloss interior enamel paint for the top coat. Even though the paint was an enamel, it was water based to keep the clean-up afterwards easy. The enamel paint is slightly tougher than standard interior wash and wear paint.
Cube shelving in its original state
Painting a 3-in-one undercoat
First coat of top coat color
This cube shelving had been lying on its long side on the floor for a number of years. It had soft sided storage cubes in it and was used for my boys toys. They had long outgrown it.
I turned the unit up on it's short side and had been using it for storage for myself with plastic baskets in my robe.
You can see from the first photo above that one side had been scratched up by years of use. I gave it a light sand then painted one coat of 3-in-one, and two coats of the top coat.
I left this for several days as I painted the skirting boards and shelving in the wardrobe.
Painting the Fixed Shelving
The wardrobe shelving was treated to the same paint as the cube shelving unit - one coat of 3-in-one and 2 top coats of interior enamel high gloss paint.
I found it easiest to take the shelves out of the cupboard and paint them separately on a drop cloth. I then worked my way through the rest of the shelving.
TIP: It helps to work from the highest point down to the ground.
Which Equipment Did I Find Best?
I thought it would be okay to use the roller and trays that I already had used previously for painting interior walls. I discovered later on that this was not for the best for this surface type.
When I went to paint the wall tiles and cabinets in the bathroom, I followed the directions for that particular paint (renovation paint). It specified using a 100 mm paint roller with a 4 mm nap. This is quite a small size. It gives a smoother finish.
Because I used a larger brush nap, the end result of the paint on the shelving is, let's say, textured. I don't mind it, but if I had to do it again, I'd definitely use the smaller brush and nap.
Make sure you pick up smaller paint trays and plastic paint tray covers at the same time. I did this a much nicer way of painting. If feels a bit more controlled.
Make sure you also have a narrow paint brush on hand. These are great for getting into the corners that rollers can't, and handy for doing any touch-ups that are needed.
How Many Coats of Paint?
I didn't realize how much stuff my wardrobe actually stored until I had to move it all out to paint it. I waited about 3 or 4 days before I began to shift my things back in. Immediately, the surface scratched!!
I gave the surfaces a light sanding, then another top coat of color. Once this was dry I covered all surfaces with Clear Coat Gloss. I then waited a few days before very gently moved my belongings back in. This time, nothing scratched but it's quite noticeable that the surfaces are not as slippery as they were originally.
The Skirting Boards
The skirting boards around the base of the wardrobe were given 2 coats of dark enamel paint.
The Wardrobe Shelving
In the end, the shelving and chrome hanging rails all had 1 coat each of 3-in-one primer, 3 coats of enamel wash and wear, and 1 coat of Clear Gloss top coat.
Floor Tiles
There are 2 different floor tile sizes and colors across these two rooms. The wardrobe had large beige tiles that are the same as the bedroom floor, as well as the rest of the house. The bathroom has smaller dark mottled green tiles. I don't know how else to describe them.
Although it doesn't look it in the paint sample image, the white is the same color that was already on the walls of both the wardrobe and the ensuite. I decided to take a leap of faith and to carry the white tile paint from the ensuite bathroom through to the floor of the walk-in wardrobe.
Although this did start off as white tile paint, once I had finished painting the floor tiles I was disappointed with how these showed up every speck of dirt and hair in the bathroom. It looks like there's something to be said for dark motley green tiles after all!
As much as I really liked the clean, crisp look of the white floor this was impractical for me. I'd be cleaning and vacuuming them twice a day - which is not part of my dream bathroom.
After painting the floor white, I later repainted it a sage green color. The actual name of the color is Spanish Olive.
Floor Tiles
There are 2 different floor tile sizes and colors across these two rooms. The wardrobe had large beige tiles that are the same as the bedroom floor, as well as the rest of the house. The bathroom has smaller dark mottled green tiles. I don't know how else to describe them.
Although it doesn't look it in the paint sample image, the white is the same color that was already on the walls of both the wardrobe and the ensuite. I decided to take a leap of faith and to carry the white tile paint from the ensuite bathroom through to the floor of the walk-in wardrobe.
Although this did start off as white tile paint, once I had finished painting the floor tiles I was disappointed with how these showed up every speck of dirt and hair in the bathroom. It looks like there's something to be said for dark motley green tiles after all!
As much as I really liked the clean, crisp look of the white floor this was impractical for me. I'd be cleaning and vacuuming them twice a day - which is not part of my dream bathroom.
After painting the floor white, I later repainted it a sage green color. The actual name of the color is Spanish Olive.
Preparing and Painting the Floor
The walk-through wardrobe was fairly standard with white walls and trim, white melamine shelving, and chrome hanging rails.
You can see the two different floor tiles of my ensuite and wardrobe in the image.
I didn't use standard paint primer, or top coat paint on the floor. As this makeover was done in conjunction with the ensuite bathroom tiles, I used the same Renovation Paint Primer that I used for the ensuite floor.
This is paint that has a different adhesive quality and is designed specifically for painting tiles.
The floor tiles before painting
First coat on the floor tiles
You can see the different size floor tiles between the ensuite bathroom and the rest of the unit.
The Wardrobe Floors
The floor had one coat of Renovation Range Primer, 3 coats of top coat and 1 coat of Renovation Range Clear Gloss. After living with the white floor for only a few days, I realized I needed to make it darker.
Note: The Primer paint from the Renovation Range has a very strong smell. Unfortunately, it needs 8 hours to dry before you can do the next step of floor tile paint. Once you paint over the primer, the smell disappears but be prepared for it.
How Much Did it Cost?
The paint used for the tiles on the floor was a special renovation paint. This is specifically designed for painting floor tiles and costs a little more than your standard paint.
It's hard to put an exact figure on the cost of painting the floor as I was able to use the same paint for the ensuite bathroom floor. I also have a lot of primer left over after painting the floor surfaces of both of these rooms, plus the wall tiles in the shower, and the vanity unit in the bathroom.
The 3-in1 primer & undercoat paint, and the Interior Enamel paint used on the shelving and skirting boards came to around $100.
The Clear Gloss top coat is also part of the main bathroom renovation. The whole ensuite bathroom and wardrobe makeover including silicone, came to around $500 all up. You can read more about the ensuite makeover here.
The End Result?
Overall, I'm really pleased with the result. Painting something a very different color from its original color is always dramatic, but I think the wardrobe now looks modern and a little more luxe.
It certainly makes these two rooms feel like they belong together now. Both look stylish and updated.
Photo taken looking into the WIR from the ensuite
Photo taken looking into the WIR from the bedroom
