A Simple Bathroom Makeover (Paint is the Bomb!)

Well hello there! Sorry for the radio silence this week -- I've been so sick. Just when I think I'm getting better it comes back with a vengeance. It's just a cough and cold but truly the worst I've ever had. I opened my ninth tissue box this morning. NINTH in three days people. Goodness. I'm crying uncle at this point. :)

I forced myself to get these photos taken though because I'm so happy with the small changes I made to our son's bathroom. I've been pulling things together for this new look for a year or so, and just needed to paint the room. I forgot what a pain it is to paint a bathroom! I took all the fixtures down (except for the light), filled holes and had a ton of cutting in to do. A bathroom has a lot more cutting in in general with the tub and toilet and counters. 

It took two coats of paint to cover the old yellow too, so what I thought would take me an afternoon took nearly a week. Isn't that always the way? 

Anyway, I'm really happy with it, that's for sure. Last time I shared this bath with you it was in all of it's bright yellow gloriousness: 

I actually started painting it white a couple years ago, thinking I wanted to go that direction. I soon realized I didn't so I stopped. But that wall with the "E" was white while the rest was yellow. This is why I've wanted to knock this off my list -- I told you earlier this year that I am tired of unfinished projects and I'm tackling them one by one. 

There are all new accessories in this space that I've gathered for awhile now, but the biggest change is the paint color: 

Because I do want to give this room a bigger update next year, I didn't want to spend much now. I used the leftover Whitestone paint from our bedroom and it such a pretty gray color. It goes a little more blue in here, which I love with the navy accents.

I had the frames and just created some simple art in Word for this wall. It looked like this before: 

And now with the art -- I figured I'd frame these since I'm reminding him of both daily. :) 

The floors are just vinyl but they look SO MUCH better with the gray walls. I put the beadboard up years ago and always had his towels hanging in the front part of the room: 

The towels worked great out there when he was a baby and was being bathed in the little tub, and then later it was still fine because I was always there as he took a bath. Now that he takes showers (sniff) the towels needed to be closer to the tub. 

Now the nautical art hangs where the towels used to: 

I shared how I made this cute art here. I still love it!: 

His towels hung on a DIY rack before: 

And now they hang on the cutest little whale hook from Kirklands. I got it online a year or so ago but it looks like they may still have it in stores?:

So cute! The towels were all from HomeGoods -- the striped we've had and I picked up the navy a couple weeks ago. 

You may notice there used to be a door there -- years ago I went through the house and took down a ton of doors that were taking up precious space. I haven't covered up the trim because this whole wall will probably come down next year. 

I did a little switch with the lighting in here that made a big difference too -- I think I'll do a separate post about that because I was so impressed with it. But another change that I think made a big difference was switching out the glass covers on the light fixture. They were large and had a cloudy look that felt outdated to me. So 2004. ;)

One of my only expenses for this room was getting new glass covers -- this is such an easy way to update a fixture! The covers were $7 each and made a huge difference in here:

They have a shape that leans nautical and the size and bright white looks so much better. You should be able to do the same with a similar bathroom light -- there's a little round brace inside that you turn. It holds the glass in the fixture. Funny how I didn't care for that light before and now it's pretty perfect in this room!

The back room with the shower got new paint as well, but this paint was a slightly different color. I ran out of the Whitestone (not realizing I'd have to do two coats) and when I went looking through the paint stash I found that the Pebble Beach color I used in the laundry room was nearly identical. I like grays, what can I say. :) They are the perfect neutral!

I took down the letters over the toilet (I painted "bubbles" on them that I later realized looked like paw prints):

And added two of the IKEA shelves that used to hang over our basement kitchenette. I took those down when I added the wood wall down there and they work great in here. I sprayed the shelves white to brighten them up: 

The accessories are mostly items I've picked up at Goodwill and have had forever for this space. I added some driftwood to a Ball jar and an IKEA lantern as well. 

The yellow paint was cute at first but I grew tired of it quickly -- I learned pretty fast that yellow is not the best wall color for a bathroom with no natural light. I think a softer yellow would be lovely, but this one truly GLOWED: 

Don't the floors look better with the gray color? SO much better: 

My only (recent) cost for this makeover was the new glass for the lights and a new shower liner that you can't see. I mentioned I've picked up items for this space over the years, but even with the new shower curtain, hooks and the recent purchases, this redo still came in well under $100. 

I never cease to be amazed at how paint can transform a space. It took this bathroom from baby:

To a space suitable for a growing boy: 

He's nine now (sniff!) so I wanted to keep it fun but make it a little more sophisticated. I considered painting the cabinets and adding more beadboard, but with a plan in place to update this room, I didn't want to spend anymore than I needed. The accessories will still work when those changes are made down the line.

I think the difference is pretty substantial when the biggest change was paint! I am really thrilled with this room and it will definitely hold me over till we make the bigger changes. It feels so fresh now! Absolutely love it!

If I didn't cover the source for something you're interested in, let me know! Now I'm off to the couch again with my box of Kleenex. :)