How to Paint a Bathroom With an Outhouse Theme

Take everything out of the bathroom that is removable, such as shower curtains, rugs and toiletries left out on the counter. Remove switch plates and towel racks, if possible. Cover all places you want to protect with drop cloths or painter’s tape.

Prime the walls and let the primer dry. Paint the walls a base coat of a light to medium brown and allow the base coat to dry.

Trace the shape of a crescent moon on the upper center of the bathroom door with a pencil. Paint the inside of the moon shape sky blue if you want to pretend you can see daylight through it, or dark blue if you want to pretend it is night outside the outhouse.

Make horizontal lines on the bathroom wall with a yardstick and a black acrylic paint marker to outline your boards. The lines don’t have to be perfect. It will add to the rustic appearance if they’re slightly thicker or thinner in some areas, or if they look doubled or splintered, but they should be relatively straight. Use a level to ensure they are straight, and space them 6 inches apart.

Make vertical lines on the door, 6 inches apart, except where the crescent moon is situated. Trace around the crescent moon with the paint pen.

Mix one part dark brown paint with four parts glaze. Pour it in a roller pan.

Roll the glaze on the wall horizontally with a 6-inch roller, starting at the top faux board. Comb lines horizontally through the glaze across the first faux board with a graining comb tool.

Drag a grain rocker immediately across the combed faux board, while the glaze is still very wet. The grain rocker creates curved lines and knots. The more you rock it, the more knotty markings you get.

Move down to the next board and repeat the process on all walls. Make each board look different. Comb some with a different-size grain comb, or flip the grain rocker over for a different pattern. Skip the grain rocker on some boards, or rock it at different paces as you drag it across. Each board should look unique.

Apply the wood grain technique to the door vertically to match the direction of the faux boards. Allow the glaze to dry thoroughly. Remove tape, clean up and decorate your outhouse.