Resourcefulness ushers new beauty

Arends remodels bathroom with a $250 budget

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER that covered the floor and the jetted

Lori Arends wanted to gut the bathroom of her 1970s home in Sauk Centre, but thanks to some Pinterest tutorials, she refinished the room instead.

“That good ol’ Pinterest just sucks you in,” Arends said.

Arends said her original bathroom was dark and dingy. She stumbled across tutorials to paint the taupe tile tub surround. added simple touches to her finished bathroom to keep the look fresh and clean.

“I wanted to do it without spending a lot of money,” she said.

Arends budgeted $250 and started by painting the ceiling and walls in the bathroom as she researched the best methods for painting tile. She opted to use a process that includes exterior porch cement.

It took her a month to complete the transformation, working on it every weekend and anytime she had two or three hours to spare.

Lori

The first step was to sand and clean the tile.

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Arends from page 24

Arends began by cleaning the grout with a wire brush. Then, she used a hand sander to sand the shine off the tile. Once the finish was removed, Arends vacuumed the tiles, wiped them down with dish soap and water, and then used a stripper agent to remove all the grime. She did the vacuuming and washing process twice, waiting three or four hours between cleanings to be sure the tile was completely dry.

Next, Arends primed all the tiles, letting them dry at least 24 hours. Then, she painted the tiles with porch cement paint from Benjamin

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Arends

from page 25

Moore. She painted the tub surround a bright white and the floor a deep blue. Then came the part Arends was most excited about and most nervous about – adding the stencil.

“I wanted something with clean lines,” she said. “When I look at it, I see kind of a vintage look to the bathroom. That’s what I wanted, something kind of clean and crisp.”

Arends began in the corners and carefully worked her way to the door, adding white porch cement paint to the floor with a small brush roller. She took her time, making sure each of the sten- cils she put down had completely dried before she removed the overlay. She purchased eight stencils so she could do eight sections of tile at a time. She had to cut some of the stencils near the end to be sure they would fit into some of the spots of cut tile.

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BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER

A living wall is a great way to cozy up an outdoor living space or provide a focal point against a blank fence, shed or garage wall. The walls can be used indoors to create a living focal point that purifies the air.

While there is no limit when it comes to the size of a living wall, there are a few things to consider as you add this bit of lush green growth to an area.

– For the outdoors, consider the weight of the soil and full-grown plants when choosing an area for a living wall project. Walls can hang from a shed,