ASK
PRISCILLA
Glamorous bathroom makeovers,
updating a toddler’s room

By PRISCILLA KOHUTEK

Q. We want to paint the bathroom with something that will give the walls a shiny, lacquered look. Will high-gloss enamel work? If not, what product should we use to get the best results?

A. Go for a high-gloss latex paint for the walls. Check out various brands to see which one will give you the shiniest finish — results vary from brand to brand. Also, some colors will look shinier than others, depending upon their density and clarity. If your choice doesn’t have the sheen you’re after, give the walls a topcoat of high-gloss, waterborne urethane.

Faux artist Karen Reines doesn’t recommend using oil-based enamel paint on the walls. She warns of the difficulty in managing enamel with a roller and the messy cleanup involved. Since enamel isn’t water soluble, cleanup requires turpentine, which has a powerful odor and is flammable.

Q. The shower in our master bathroom is a horror! We aren’t talking about just mildew and mold; the tile is damaged and outdated. We want something that’s current but not so trendy that it, too, will become passé. Help!

A. Check out reverse-painted glass tiles. They come in amazing colors, shapes and textures. A favorite is a watery, aqua-colored square tile with a glossy finish that is luminous and shimmery — makes you feel like you’re swimming under water in the most beautiful sea you can imagine. It’s a clean, uncluttered treatment that will wear well over the years.

Another beauty is a reverse-painted metallic glass tile. It has a showy, uptown look that reminds me of retro Hollywood styling, a la the 1930s. But the effect varies with different textures and colors. Glass tiles have a depth of color and translucency that is lacking in ceramic and porcelain tile — a 3- D quality that draws the eye into the tile. And it’s very easy to maintain with a regular nonabrasive household glass cleanser. It’s truly a material you should consider for your redo. When making your selection, keep in mind the space you are tiling. Rule of thumb: Large spaces can take large tiles, and small spaces call for small tiles. The size of the tile should be in proportion to the size of the space.

PS: Be sure to plan for a recessed shampoo box when you retile your shower. Decide on the size and location and talk it over with the experts at the tile store. They will tell you how to get the job done. Large showers require more than one shampoo box, especially if there are multiple showerheads. You won’t want to run from one end of the shower to the other to grab the soap or shampoo bottle, so have the boxes conveniently located to keep products within easy reach.

TIP: If the ceiling in your bathroom or shower enclosure is too low, consider laying subway tiles or the newer long, narrow tiles vertically instead of in the traditional horizontal pattern.

Q. Our little toddler has outgrown the babyish décor of her room. What can we do to make it more suitable for her? We don’t want to redecorate every year, so we need something that will keep her happy for a while.

A. Let your little girl have a hand in decorating her room. Here’s how: Give her a wall-to-wall blackboard that she can draw on to her heart’s content. Her “artwork” will provide all the color and novelty of her personality through the various stages of those early years. You will derive as much pleasure from her decorating skills as she does. You can see her “art” develop as her interests change. When she gets tired of drawing her own images, she can shift to stick-ons and appliqués that she can embellish with her own touches.

This is a fairly easy and affordable redecorating project that keeps working for you and her. The walls should be divided into two parts: The top can be painted or wallpapered or upholstered, whatever — it’s up to you. The bottom part of the wall should be painted with at least two coats of black or green board paint.

Separate the two areas with a chair rail, which is simply a molding of your choice. To allow for growth, the height of the chair rail should be slightly higher than your little girl can reach right now. You can either put the chair rail all the way around the room or create a focal point by using the blackboard treatment on only one or two walls. Or, since the furniture naturally takes up a good amount of wall space, you may want the chair rail to mark off a designated area for the blackboard, but the placement should make sense. That means if you aren’t using the whole wall, the chair rail should be positioned between two doors, or a door and a window — use whatever architecture is available to create boundaries for the blackboard.

I’ve seen the blackboard treatment applied from floor to ceiling, and I think it’s a very bad idea. First of all, common sense tells us that a little person can reach only so high. That leaves at least the top half of the room painted black. Who ever heard of such a thing for a child’s room? It also creates a safety hazard. The little artist will probably drag up a chair to stand on, or if she’s a climber, she can scale a bookcase or who-knows-what to reach a blank space where she can draw something wonderful. That’s the thing with kids; you have to think several jumps ahead of their immediate capabilities.

Here’s another thing: By keeping the blackboard within a controlled designated space, you can raise the bar as needed. That means as your little girl grows taller, the chair rail can go up accordingly, and the wall can be repainted as needed. You’ll have a special place to write notes to her, and she’ll have a personal notepad for reminders.

Until next time, happy decorating.

Priscilla Kohutek, internationally published home decorating columnist and author, draws from her own experience and the advice of experts to answer your questions. Send your queries to Ask Priscilla® via e-mail at Priscilla@askpriscilla.com, or mail them to SAN ANTONIO WOMAN, 8603 Botts Lane, San Antonio, TX 78217.