Bathroom reno with only paint and accessories

This is a project I am very proud of!  I haven't been this excited to share something since our guest room.  Our downstairs bathroom has been an eyesore since the day we moved in.  The floor tile is plain and sort of almond, the sink is actually an almond pedestal sink that was plopped onto a cheap vanity (and it's only connected by the plumbing, so please don't try to stand on it!) and the medicine cabinet/light combo is straight outta the 90s. 

(Specifically, 1993)

I didn't want to gut this bathroom because we just don't have the funds.  Here it is when we first looked at the place:

My apologies for the terrible photo, that color is not accurate.  However, the bathroom was dusty green, and the accents were a dusty mauve.  Very dusty in here.  Now, this is a much better photo of the way it looked about 2 weeks after we moved in:

I have to admit, it wasn't much better.  Aside from replacing the running toilet with a new Kohler, and removing the window treatment (but not the hardware!  haha) there wasn't much difference.  I lived with it looking just like this for over 2 years.  I went around and around with what to do.  I thought, I'll just replace the vanity and medicine cabinet, no biggie!  But it was a biggie.

I like white bathroom vanities, but I didn't want a white vanity, since the floor tile was a shade of almond and sort of dirty looking.  I didn't want to replace the floor tile right now, it was just too big of a project.  I thought about just replacing the cabinet/light combo, but then I realized the electrical is not centered on the sink, so that would be an extra expense to have our electrician come move it.  Also, it's just not smart to remove storage in a house that has so little.  So, I decided to just WORK WITH IT ALL.  I replaced NOTHING but the toilet and accessories.  When I made that decision, I actually got excited to see what I could do!

I decided to go dark to give the room some character.  When I first started brushing SW Urbane Bronze on the walls, I knew it was meant to be.  The window in this bathroom is very large, and we get great light in here all day long.  I put up samples all over, then quickly ran to Home Depot to get a whole gallon.  (That seashell, tho!) 

The dark paint made everything look better almost instantly!  Well, it was better in person, not in this terrible phone pic. 

Then, I had to figure out what to do with the vanity.  It is standard laminate, and I wanted to pick a paint color that made the awful almond sink look less yellow.  Why, why do I always buy houses with almond baths?  The obvious choice was some shade of yellow, but I got a wild idea that maybe a pinkish hue would look awesome in here. 

It was tempting, but I went with SW Alchemy because it matched the horseradish shade we had going on in the family room downstairs.  I used a sample container of paint from Sherwin Williams, it costs $8 or less, and does just fine since it's satin.  I didn't even prime, just sanded well and painted.  I chose this lazy way out because we just don't use this cabinet much, for a main bathroom I'd definitely prime with BIN.   

Not bad!  The next thing that I had to worry about was the medicine cabinet.  I thought about painting it a creamy tone to sort of go with the tile and ugly sink, but the more I thought about it, the more I just wanted it to disappear.  I did a quick and dirty photoshop of the options:

Then I decided to do something I've never done before.  I sanded it and painted it with the same flat paint that I used on the walls.

Here it is now!

Operation make 1993 cabinet disappear, check. 

The old frosted bulbs were replaced with nice clear ones, and it made such a difference in the look of this dated fixture.  Shining up the mirrored backplate helped, too.   

 
Remember that I said I can't get rid of storage?  Well, behold the contents of my medicine cabinet:

I'd love to see guest's faces when they are looking for some Advil, and find paint samples, hand soap, and light bulbs instead.  I also think I may have a lightbulb problem!  And that brings me to the big question of trim.  I originally loved the natural wood tone of the baseboard, and planned to leave it.  But then, what would I do with the orangey, shiny wood trim around the door?  It all had to be painted.  I painted it all with the same flat paint, and was luckily able to use a magazine to slide under the trim for much of the room.  It wasn't too hard, and it was no big deal if I got it on the walls!

Ok, painting the trim behind the toilet without getting it all over the floor was not fun.  Turns out I'm not that flexible.  I did NOT prime or sand the trim because it was a very flat finish, and accepted the paint great. 

I did get a sample of the paint in satin and painted a second coat of that on the trim, but didn't end up liking it.  I loved having everything the same sheen, so a third coat of flat went over the top.  I also painted the entire inside of the door with the flat paint! 

So, there is a rundown of the decisions I made to make the existing stuff acceptable.  And, here is the finished product!

When I was done with this room, I was SO proud that I worked with what we had. 

I think the vanity color really does help to make the sink look a little more white, and the faucet really isn't too bad, it's very clean and shiny...so that's great.  Do I still hate this sink?  Hell yes!  It's time will come...

I bought these cheap cabinet knobs at Menards, they match the look of the faucet perfectly!

This photo is a very true representation of the colors in here. 

I told Shaun I actually think painting the trim the same as the walls makes the room look more high-end.  I am 100% thrilled with my decision!

The door in particular is incredible.  I really hate shiny doors, and this makes the bathroom feel like a cocoon. 

The accessories are from Target and World Market.  I bought the artwork as soon as I decided to redo this bathroom.  I actually used the background of the floral pieces as inspiration for the wall color!

I found the incredible ledge/shelf at World Market.  I wanted wood accents to bring some warmth to the darkness, and the modern shape was just perfect to hold a few hand towels and candles, doo dads, etc.  The art, ceramic flower, dreamcatcher and silver hooks are all from Target. 

The woven towels are from World Market, the solid ones are from Target.  I love that I can remove the rug and woven towels to go with different colors whenever I want. 

It's hard to photograph, but the hooks are on either side of the medicine cabinet, at the same height.  I originally wanted a unique towel ring/bar, but I just couldn't find anything I liked in chrome.   

This beautiful Chindi rug is from World Market.  They are all different, so check out what they have at your store!  It's still on my to-do list to try and clean the grout on the floor, but the rug helps hide it for now. 

The view into the main living area. 

As you can see, I still need to decide on whether to paint the outside of the door white to match the trim, or Urbane Bronze.  I did sand and prime the entire door and trim around it, because it was a very, very shiny finish and would get a lot of handling.  I used my trusty BIN primer.  I still need to do a second coat of satin white on the trim around the outside of the door.

It wasn't too hard to keep the dark on the inside, I used the door stop trim as the separation point.  A steady hand and a great brush were all that was needed.  The line will look even more straight once I get that second coat of white on there....maybe in two years I'll get around to it! 

Here are a bunch of random shots.  I originally planned to make a window treatment, but I prefer the plain look of the frosted window now that it's all done.  I also had a hell of a time removing that previous hardware, half the wall practically came off, so I'm leaving it alone.   

This cat has been hanging around the house in random places for years, this seems to be the perfect home for him!  Plus, it's fun to be watched while you pee. 

I like the idea of adding more greenery somehow.  I think a hanging or wall planter would be awesome in here!

And, a few before and afters for you...let's call this one BEFORE before and after!

With the same toilet, only different paint and accessories.

And a comparison with the lights on.

Friends who came over during this process told me to 'just get a new vanity, mirror and light,' and I did try to find things I liked.  Of course with my taste, a modern wood vanity would've been around 1k, the mirror and light I wanted would've been over $500, and I would've had to pay an electrician $200 or more to move the wiring.  Instead, I did everything in here for just about $250.  Here's a breakdown:

 

Paint including samples and gallon: 45

New light bulbs: 8

Wall shelf: 40

Target feather art, floral art and flower: 65

Target dreamcatcher and feather hooks: 26

Solid hand towels: 24

World Market rug: 14

World Market woven towels: 17

New light switch and plate:  2

Cabinet knobs: 6

Hand soap and lotion: 4

 

Thanks so much for reading!  I know this style isn't for everyone, but I welcome any and all comments!

 

Our family room

I kept putting off this post because I wanted to get more done on this space, but it's clear this is the way it's going to be for quite awhile.  So, here is our lower level family room!

Whoa nelly, this has come a loooooong way.  Here is the listing photo:

And here is what it looked like when we took possession:

You guys may remember previous posts about all the work we did removing the paneling, the drop ceiling, the stanky carpet, and installing the awesome can lights where there was no lighting.  If not, here's a quick rundown of how it progressed:

This was the biggest renovation we've dealt with since our Russet Street kitchen.  I'm so glad the bones of the room are done, because it was so stressful!  Shaun removed all the paneling, the ceiling, the carpet, and trim around the windows and floor.  We hired out the drywall/plywood, the electric, and a family friend installed brand new carpet over the floor tile.  We were so grateful we didn't have to rip it up.  The new carpet is from Home Depot and it is so soft and beautiful!

Shaun really did a great job with the board and batten, we used 3/4" thick MDF boards because I wanted a chunkier look, but also wanted to keep costs down.  The baseboard is 1x4, the battens are 1x2, and the top board under the ledge is 1x3.  The top ledges are all pine.  Our amazing drywall guy installed quarter inch luann plywood to the lower walls for us to cover the glue and muck left from the paneling.  Let me tell you, it was a real treat to prime and paint all this crap!  In this next pic, you see that I have a slight dilemma over how to hide our TV cords.  I'm not giving it much thought until we get a bigger television, though.  Obviously, this one is way too small for this room!  (That is Shaun's 'obviously,' not mine.)

When I decorated this room, I felt I needed to branch out from using the same curtains and décor that I already had.  None of the curtains I had would've worked with the warm grays on the walls and floor.  I also just wanted something different that still complemented the rest of our style throughout the house.  I saw these curtains online at West Elm and fell in love, we all know I'm obsessed with all things aqua and teal!  What sealed the deal was that a similar shade of gray to our wall color (SW Popular Gray) was also on the curtain panels. 

I chose to mount the rods (these Allen and Roth ones from Lowes) on the ceiling like I did in our basement family room in Minnesota.  I did this because the ledge on the wall with one window pictured above is 6 inches deep and the curtains would not hang straight if I used the bracket on the wall.  I could've gotten a bit more height mounting on the wall, but I think the ceiling mount is cool and different, and I was able to make sure the curtains hung nicely in front of the deep ledge. 

There in the corner, you can see my vintage buggy where I take the baby's monthly photos.  It is the perfect spot, I can roll it in front of that window and take the photos without any major prep.  I love easy.  Here's the most recent one, he's about that age where he doesn't stay where I put him.  He's also cutting his first tooth, and eating absolutely everything...yay for baby-led weaning!

Our monster sectional fits nicely down here, this is honestly Shaun's favorite spot in the house. 

I found some clearance pillows and a throw in the 'Horseradish' color, and a teal hounds tooth throw at West Elm to complement the curtains and pillows I already had. 

It's always a little cold down here because our HVAC system isn't set up great, so throws are very necessary!  I also think it just adds so much to have some pops of color on the couch.

The shelves on either side of the couch are from CB2 and we love how they tie in the wood from the vintage dresser on the opposite wall.  Our original plan to do built ins on this wall didn't pan out when we started crunching the numbers and realized we didn't have enough width to make it work.  This is a nice compromise.  They were super easy to assemble and attach, and the shelves were just $200 each. 

The view from the far wall shows the huge Pottery Barn Studio wall easel (no longer available) my sweet brother bought for us last Christmas.   

It was a serious pain to install, and the frames (which are also Pottery Barn, btw) don't really fit well in the brackets and sit a little crooked all the time.  Even still, it's a cool piece and the wall above the piano was the perfect spot to showcase my favorite images. 

You can see here how the frames just sort of toss about in the breeze on the down rods.  Maybe that is why it's no longer being made!

This area under the stairs and the nook/ledge with all the random crap on it is still a mystery to me.  I envisioned having some kind of shelving on the wall and then a larger bench with storage where the trunk currently sits.  We can't really fit a true mudroom near the door to the garage, but a bench with some hooks will hopefully work nicely. 

That door to the garage still needs to be painted, along with the trim around it.  I'm throwing around painting the doors down here a gray instead of white.  Still unsure about that!  For fun, here is the before shot of the door to the garage I shared a few months ago. 

Ew!  Let me cleanse your eyeballs with this cute pic of Zachary.  He might look happy, but he really really hates being on his belly and can't figure out crawling yet.  He also is deeply offended whenever I put him down and try to do something other than lovingly stare at him.

This parquet area is where the area rugs I don't know where to put are living.  They don't really match anything, but it's fine for now. 

And a wide view.

I can't wait to get some photos and art on the walls, the rest of the trim, doors, and stairs painted, and my nooks and crannies finished.  Until then, the before and after is making us very happy!

I'll share the playroom soon, it needs a little bit of clean up before I can show it off.  I hope this room was worth the really long wait, sorry it took so long!