Thanks to Wikibuy for providing the wall hooks used in this post!
Guys! My bathroom refresh is complete and I am just over the moon with how it turned out. And the best part is, it was done in just a few days with a pretty small budget.
The Before
Here is the before- this is from the real estate listing!
That green tile floor and shower haunts my dreams.
You can’t see it, but there was also a huge floral border at the ceiling.
After we moved in, we painted the walls and ceiling and put down a faux marble vinyl tile floor. It was basically a reset of the space, but it was super bland. And very dark. This room gets zero natural light.
Also we attempted to cover up the awful green tile in the shower with a huge shower curtain.
While there are elements of the bathroom I like (the new floors, the shower curtain) I’ve never liked this bathroom- it’s just so super boring. I had never really invested much into designing it because I felt “stuck” with two huge elements in the room- the shower tile, and the vanity and granite top. You can read more about it here.
Bathroom refresh- After!
Inspiration struck when I found this artwork on Etsy, (thanks to Chris Loves Julia!) and the rest of the room fell into place. It perfectly represented the colorful coastal look I love, with the classic style I’ve really been gravitating toward lately.
Ya’ll, I can’t even tell you the relief and happiness that came just from painting the color on the wall! Color never fails to make me happy.
You’ll definitely notice that I used some touches of black throughout. That’s because I decided to embrace the vanity and granite, and I wanted to make them make sense with the space. Plus, I wanted to ground the aqua just a bit.
I added some other art that I picked up thrifting awhile back and really love.
Bathroom refresh-lighting
One of the most significant changes was the lighting! The ceiling fixture before was just a lampshade we had rigged up. This time, I opted for a curvy brass rimmed number that helps balance out all of the hard lines in this room and mimics the lines of the vanity. It just gives me all the heart eyes!
And then…we spray painted the vanity lights brass and changed out the light covers. An easy and inexpensive upgrade that made them look like a million bucks!
Also, remember how dark the room was before? I changed all the bulbs out to daylight bulbs and it made the biggest difference! Seriously, the room looks completely different now with those bulbs in place- I highly recommend them for rooms like this one that get zero natural light.
Bathroom refresh-hardware
One of my absolute favorite parts of this bathroom refresh is the hardware. We had no hardware before- no toilet paper holder, no hand towel holder, and our towel hooks had fallen off the door.
All of this hardware is super heavy and absolutely beautiful. It just kicks the room up a notch. I just love how the brass looks against the aqua and against the dark gray doors.
And…can you even believe those are the same faucets? They are spray painted, just like the vanity lights! We’ve done this in the past and they held up about 3-4 years before we had to touch them up. If we get that long out of these I’ll be happy. I hated the finish before before so it’s more than worth it for me.
The shower still needs to be painted. Since this is our only full bath, and the epoxy paint needs to cure for a few days before using, we’re going to paint right before we go on vacation at the end of the month.
So…what do you think about our bathroom refresh? I can’t believe how just a few easy upgrades were able to make me love a space that I was so unhappy with before.
Update: The shower is painted! Check it out here.
Sources
*Affiliate links
Wall hooks (be sure to use this link https://wikibuy.com/s/nordstrom.com/coupon to check for a coupon code on Wikibuy when you buy your hardware- you might save some money!)
Gold spray paint used on vanity lights and faucets
You can save this project for later by pinning, below!
I LOVE this! I cannot believe it is the same place! What a terrific reno. Great job, Beth!
Thank you so much! It was a fun room to do 🙂
You have done such an awesome job. Love the colour and the new light and the brass hooks… Wow Such a different space now!
Thanks so much Jane! It’s amazing where one point of inspiration in a space can take you 🙂
Will you paint the dark drawers under the sinks? Perhaps dark grey instead of that brown? I love the aqua colour on the walls, and the gold, your mirrors and pictures. Best of luck with the next part of decorating your bathroom. Your tips are great to have. Thank you for sharing such an awesome task.
Hi, thank you so much for stopping by! I have thought about painting the dresser for sure. My only hold up is that I am constantly cleaning toothpaste and other grooming products from all of the curves and nooks and crannies in the dresser, and sometimes I even have to scrape it out of the smaller little crevices with a toothpick. I am kind of worried about how a painted finish would hold up to all of that scrubbing and scraping, even with good prep work. So even though I really don’t like the wood finish, I’m not sure it would be worth it. But I totally see your point- I’m not a fan of the wood finish either! And it’s not even great quality wood- it could totally be painted. Stay tuned! 🙂