Nicest couple I’ve worked with in a while called us to do their master bedroom and bath. When we do a bedroom-and-bath together, it’s usually because folks have decided the two rooms should feel like one connected space when you walk through them. That was the idea here. Soft, calm, quiet.
We picked a warm off-white that would work in both rooms, and a slightly deeper cream for the trim so there was just a little bit of visual separation. The bathroom is where we did most of the careful work because bathrooms are where paint has to earn its keep. Steam, humidity, splashes near the sink — we used a moisture-resistant enamel and did an extra coat around the tub surround and the vanity.
Two things came up mid-job that I think are worth mentioning, because they show what “we stay until the job is done” actually means. First, there was an electrical outlet on the wall behind the vanity that was sitting a little crooked from an old install. Not a paint problem, but every time I looked at it I could tell it was going to bug the homeowner in six months. So we straightened it, boxed it in properly. Half an hour of extra work.
Second thing was this pocket door between the bedroom and the bath. Apparently it had been sticky for eighteen years. Every time you slid it, it caught about two-thirds of the way. The rollers up top had come out of alignment a long time ago and no one had ever gotten in there to fix them. While we had the paint tools out I asked the husband if he’d mind if I took a look. Pulled the top piece of trim, popped the door out of track, cleaned the rollers, put it back. It’s been closing perfectly since.
The wife was so kind about all of it. She said she was going to tell her friends. That’s word of mouth right there, and it means more to us than anything you can pay for. If you’re ever wondering whether it’s worth mentioning the little annoying thing that’s not really a paint problem — yes, mention it. We might be able to fix it while we’re already in the room.
