Our bathroom is finally done!! Well, for now. When we bought our house back in December there was wallpaper in some of the rooms. The bathroom, kitchen, and 1 bedroom. I COULD NOT WAIT to take all of it down. However, I decided to do one room at a time, so to not get overwhelmed. So we started with the bathroom, because it was small and a room we use every day. Honestly, the “before” bathroom wasn’t horrible. The fixtures were just fine, I just wanted that wallpaper GONE. I am not a fan of any kind of wallpaper, and am sad to see it making a comeback. Maybe eventually I’ll change my mind about that.
Anyway, with the help of my parents who were visiting, we removed the wallpaper and began painting. Actually, removing the wallpaper wasn’t that tough of a job – we found out how tough it can be when we removed it from the kitchen (more on that in a later post). For the paint color, I picked Sherwin Williams’ Sea Salt. I actually used a Clark + Kensington paint + primer, from our local Ace Hardware store, but they matched the Sherwin Williams’ color. I chose the color because it was neutral, calming with just enough color to stand out. It turned out to be more green once it was on the walls, than I originally thought. Isn’t it funny (and frustrating) how paint colors never look exactly the same on the walls as on the swatch? I’m so grateful for the small sample cans you can buy; it’s so hard to decide on a color from a 3” paper swatch. We primed, painted, waited a few days, and then painted a 2nd coat. Confession: I made the mistake of using semi-gloss paint, which is waaaay too shiny. First-time homeowner/painter lesson learned! Confession #2: My dad did most the painting because he is MUCH more meticulous and patient than I am (although I did do the 2nd coat!)
Before/In Progress shot of the bathroom, just as we were starting to remove the wall paper.
Before/In Progress shot of the vanity area, just as we had started to remove the wall paper; oh that light fixture!
The completed bathroom!
We went with a light fixture from Lowe’s, and let me tell you, it is BRIGHT. I think it’s partly because of the way the fixture is built, and partly because I think we bought the brightest bulbs possible. Although, it is nice to have a lot of light, since unfortunately there is no window in our bathroom. The old light made the room quite dim.
I picked up the shower curtain plus liner at a garage sale for $7, brand new in the package. We have shower doors, so I don’t need the liner, but a new shower curtain for $7? I’ll take it! The rings are the plain plastic rings that you can find at the Dollar Store; my mom had extra and was kind enough to give them a new home. I spray painted them with Rust-oleumUniversal Metallic spray paint in Oil-Rubbed Bronze and bought the rod at Wal-Mart.
So I had been looking at shelves for above the toilet for a while; like - the rest of the bathroom had been done for 3 months and I was still searching - a while. I found some DIY tutorials on Pinterest for barn wood industrial floating shelves, which I LOVED, and we had barn wood in our barn, but I found I didn’t have the time, patience, or skill to make them myself. I ended up buying these at Lowe’s and they’re great! I’m really happy with the color and they were super easy to install; the hardest part for us was finding a stud to attach them to! Now I know the decorating experts say to decorate in 3’s or odd numbers, so I broke a rule here; I know, I know there’s only two, but honestly, I thought 3 would be too much and look cluttered. I think I made the right decision by breaking this rule; I think 2 is just enough.
Shelf details
I had all of the contents on the shelves before I had the shelves. Most things are from Hobby Lobby (surprise), and a few things I had already in my possession. The small jars that hold cotton balls and Q-tips are spray painted Ball jars; I used Krlyon Make it Stone! textured spray paint in White Onyx for the jars and old faithful, Rust-oleum Universal Metallic spray paint in Oil-Rubbed Bronze, for the lids. The candle holder was a gift from my parents years ago, and I lifted it from somewhere else in the house and gave it a new home. The “Love” sign, plant, bird, basket and glass jar are all from Hobby Lobby. The soaps in the jar are ones I’ve collected over the years. The sign above the shelves was a house warming gift from my sister. She gave it to me before I had started on the bathroom without knowing the color I would be using and it matches perfectly. I tell ya, that girl just gets me!
Shelf details
Shelf details
Shelf details
The prints on the opposite wall were a Pinterest project. I found a bathroom redo that was the inspiration for my bathroom, and I just loved the prints. I made them myself and bought cheap white frames at Wal-Mart to put them in. They’re fun little daily reminders and are great morning motivators.
The best photo I could get with lack of natural light and those BRIGHT vanity lights!
One other thing that’s not new but such a perk – the storage built-in! So much fits in there. We have a ton of toiletries and bathroom supplies and this can fit them all and hide them away from the outside world. I’m thinking of new knobs, but these will do for now.
Storage built-ins
We eventually will completely redo the bathroom to make it much larger (did I mention it’s a small bathroom?!), with new floors, finishes, etc., but this was a nice cosmetic update that was easy and fairly inexpensive. One wallpaper room down, 2 to go!
Peace & Love,
