I'm really really proud of how far this bathroom pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was just going to give it a very basic update: paint the vanity and the walls. But that felt like I was settling. I don't know how to explain how empowering it is to manifest something you've dreamed up in your head. I also learned how to patch drywall, hang a light fixture and hang peel & stick wallpaper. I didn't compromise and I went for the bold choices I was craving.
Now this bathroom is the colorful, fun room of my dreams. It's helped me become confident in my own vision and design as I work on the rest of the house. Here's the story:
We toured this house twice before we made an offer. The interior of this house was definitely not the most appealing we'd toured and I remember thinking the saddest room of the house was this kid's bathroom. The vanity was hammered. The room was a strange shape, had no personality and was plain ugly.
BEFORE (listing picture)
BEFORE
The angled foot print of the bathroom is not ideal- it's great to have a double vanity so two kids can wash hands/brush teeth at the same time, except you definitely can't open or close the door when you're standing in front of the first sink.
Also, the vanity is HUGE with plenty of storage so I thought it was funny there was a bunch of protruding wall storage pieces and absolutely no visual interest.
BEFORE
BEFORE
And true to its early 90's origins, it had Hollywood dressing room strip lights complete with lightbulbs of different colors and one burned out which really classed up the space.
To start, I cleaned up the vanity, took off the protruding wall storage above the vanity and toilet. I found an affordable new light fixture on Amazon and removed the strip lights.
I decided to do board and batten and a nice lady at Lowes helped me color match my paint to the peel and stick wallpaper. I designed the board and batten, painted it all and David helped me put it up. After doing all the finish work and painting, I hung the wall paper. Then we framed out the mirror, which was a game changer in terms of making the bathroom look custom. I painted the vanity and put on new hardware. I hung a hand towel hook we already had and found cute wooden hooks for bath towels.
Originally I got a new shower rod and white curtain but we decided to remove it until we have kids showering in there. As of now, we're at bath ages and the curtain is just a hindrance.
Progress shot with the curtain - turns out hanging the curtain higher than the surround makes the bathroom seem high end and larger.
AFTER
Light fixture | Glass Knobs | Peel & Stick Wall Paper (discontinued)
The "Feast Your Eyes" art above the towels is a custom piece from a crazy affordable Etsy shop. And I fell in love with these birch color frames from IKEA. I painted the small canvas above the toilet and I reframed art David had in his childhood bathroom by the sink.
Even though I left the previous tile- both floor and bath surround, I still feel like this room is a totally different space. David commented it's one of the nicest and most fun in the house now and Scotty told Russell that it's her pretty bathroom, not his (ha).
Here's the numbers breakdown because I am always interested in what people's makeovers cost. Though I'm also one of those annoying people who had some of the stuff (like all the MDF that made the board and batten) already so I'm just listing what I actually spent to complete the project.
Light fixture: $46.97
Paint: $34 + $19
Wallpaper: $360
2 frames: $26
Etsy Print: $3.95 + $12.79
Canvas/acrylic paint: $15
Towel Pegs: $16.99
Hardware: $15.60 + $16.04
Long white shower curtain: $26
TOTAL: $592.34
The big expense was the wallpaper and it made the space. Overall, it was worth it: a lot less expensive than a gut job replacing the flooring, surround and vanity and I think it brings us just as much joy!
