My partner and I live in a 200 year old house in Kent, England. Because of its age the bathroom is an add-on that is downstairs, right at the back of the house. It has three outside walls.

Most bathrooms get condensation to some degree, and mildew can also be a regular problem, but it was particularly bad in our bathroom. Even bathroom paint - waterproof, mildew and mould resistant - couldn't withstand the condensation and its after effects.

So we did something we hoped would solve the problem. Admittedly we weren't even sure it would work... but it did.

We bought a plain white exterior paint, which by its very nature is waterproof. Has to be, since it's supposed to be used outside to protect your house. We also bought some tester pots, and mixed them in with the white paint to get the shade we wanted for the bathroom.

We now have wonderful sky blue walls (and this shade actually isn't available in standard bathroom paint), which are textured and 'gritty', and they look fantastic. Furthermore, we no longer get any problems with mould or mildew. We still get condensation of course, but it doesn't pose any problem.

So the next time you decorate your bathroom, try this technique to get a far wider range of colours to choose from... and to get perfectly painted walls that will last.

Learn more about this author, Allison Whitehead.
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