You guys! I'm calling the bathroom complete. I can't wait to share it with you- it was a labor of love and learning. If you've ever tried to find inspiration for a 5x8 basic bathroom that doesn't include big expenses like new faucets, new flooring, tilework, etc, you know it sort of doesn't exist. But I'm a big fan of the phase 1 makeover and since the kids' bathroom is the one overnight guests use, I was motivated to give it a facelift on a budget. Read about our budget-friendly basic bathroom makeover-- why we made the choices we did, and ideas to improve your own bathroom.

Remember when I shared that I bought final sale pine mirrors that looked like oak on the website but looked orange in real life? For a hot second, I considered just losing my $300+ dollars (I even bought these replacements). But then I came to my senses and decided there had to be a way to make pine look more like oak (I'd even settle for making the pine look less yellow). Although they weren't what I expected, they were a great size and real wood. And you can sand and stain pine, right? So that's what I set out to do. In order to keep them light and a little more modern looking, I knew I couldn't throw a coat of dark stain on them. I had to do this right. I'll cut to the chase. I'm really happy with the result! Here's what I did.

original finish

First I researched my butt off to get an idea of what types of stains look good over pine. I learned so much. I learned about wood bleach which can help tone down the yellow hue of pine. I learned about using a steel wool pad and a vinegar solution to help with the unsightly knots that are often prominent in pine. I learned about whitewash pickling stain. All of these things are useful but I couldn't try them all. I decided to test out some of the stain combos I saw online on a 'strip' of pinewood and go from there. But first, here are two things you can do to make sure your stain goes on nice and smoothly! 

first, sand the wood and get rid of any remaining dust. I saw the difference clearly between sanding and not sanding since I forgot to sand for tests 1 and 2. Cant you tell?!

second, make sure to use a wood conditioner. It really helps and pine needs all the help it can get. Okay, here are the combos I tested and the products I used*:

Sanding block
Wood conditioner
Early American Stain
Golden Oak Stain
Whitewash Pickling Stain
Weathered Oak Stain
Sander

*Most of my supplies were from Home Depot except the whitewash stain- got that from Amazon!

Here are are the stains I tried on the pine "test" piece:
1. weathered oak
2. golden oak, and then the next day, whitewash pickling stain that I wiped off after a minute.
3. weathered oak + early American wiped off right away.
4. weathered oak + early American allowed to sit for a couple of minutes before wiping off.
5. weathered oak (heavy-handed) + early American allowed to sit for 5 minutes before wiping off.
6. golden oak allowed to sit for 2 minutes.
7. golden oak lightly applied + whitewash pickling allowed to sit for just a minute before wiping off.

and then on a whim:
8. early American + the whitewash pickling stain. (not pictured but trust me when I say it looked disgusting).

It might seem like overkill to test all of these but unless you have experience staining, I'd suggest you do the same! How the final piece will look can vary based on how much stain you use, the wood prep, how long you allow the stain to sit on the wood, etc. So it's best to figure out your plan on a piece of test wood. But understand each piece of wood is different and so your results will be slightly different from your test. Also, I know they all look very similar here but in person, the differences are more noticeable. And really this 'test' is only comprised of a few variations I knew I'd like.

My favorite was #5 and #7. I couldn't decide so I asked Joe, who voted for #7. I was so afraid of using the whitewash for some reason but I figured the worse that could happen is that I wouldn't like it. And guess what? I already didn't like the mirrors so did I really have anything to lose? DIY takes courage y'all!

Ok so before staining the mirrors, I sanded off their waxed pine finish. I used an older version of this sander. The wood sanded really nicely- smooth and uniform. It was time to stain!


1. First I applied the pre-stain wood conditioner and let it dry for a half-hour.

2. Next, I applied golden oak lightly, meaning I dipped my cloth (I used an old t-shirt) into the stain and wiped it over the wood, rubbing it in as I went so as not to let it "puddle" anywhere. I let it dry for a few minutes. I was working outside in the sun so it didn't take too long for it to be dry to the touch.



I found that the corners were the trickiest. If the whitewash stain collects or puddles at all, it's hard to get it off. If that happens, you can sand it off and start over but I really didn't want to have to do that. I suggest taking your time and wiping seams/corners right away to avoid the puddling.

And as with any DIY project, make sure to start in the most inconspicuous place you can! That way you can get the hang of it in an area that's not very obvious. For this project, that was the very top where no one can see. Starting there gave me a chance to get in a groove.


The mirrors are not perfect but are SUCH an improvement from where we started! I hope these tips for staining pine to look more like oak were helpful! And side note, if you're looking for pretty wood mirrors, these wood-look mirrors are awesome! I was so tempted to keep them!

*affiliate links included. Thanks for supporting Pretty Real Blog. ♥

Here's the back story on the title of this post. A couple of weeks after I began using Olay Retinol24, my dental hygienist declared "What fountain of youth are you drinking from?!" Followed by calling my skin "flawless." I grabbed her, hugged her, and gave her some cash. Ok, not really. But I was 100% naked faced and was so honored to receive that compliment! When I shared this story on Instagram, I got a couple of messages to the effect of 'you've always had great skin.' Ok, maybe, but I also always see the same hygienist and that's the first time she's ever complimented my skin. So maybe it is the Retinol benefits. Speaking of Retinol benefits, here's a little about them and a little about this new product from Olay: