April 30, 2013

A Bold Half-bath Update

This post about my half-bath update, was originally published on my old blog, Designing Dawn, in September of 2013. It's been a few years since then, but it's still one of my favorite projects, so I'm reposting here as well. Enjoy! :)

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Yes, it’s about time! I’ve been putting off finishing up this bathroom since way back when, when I got the majority of it done and then petered out. But last weekend I forced myself to crank it out already, and I’m so glad! (Ok, full disclosure, there are still a few tiny details to wrap up. Like touching up a few edges that need a second go round with the caulk gun, but I consider that done enough to share, so here you go!) designingdawn_halfbath-3

This is like the tiniest bathroom in the history of bathrooms, so bear with me, as it’s difficult to photograph. Here is what the room looked like when we moved in, complete with gold Hollywood lights, hunter and burgundy wallpaper, and a full wall mirror. What you can’t see in this shot is the nasty stained carpet we immediately ripped out. Nice. halfbaththen

And here’s a shot from after the first overhaul. Which I was happy with (I mean… it wasn’t screaming 1994 anymore), but never thrilled with.

This is the only bathroom on our main floor, and the one that all our guests use. It is also right by the front door, so literally everyone who comes over passes this little room. Because of this, it was one of the first overhauls we tackled right after moving in, but I knew even then that it was a temporary fix. And here’s why: There are no windows in this bathroom, no natural light of any kind, so it was pretty dark. And as much as I loved the deep blue, I wanted something brighter, something with more interest, and something that makes a real statement and shows our personality – since, like I said, everyone sees this room. Then one day I went a tad crazy and decided to go for it. You can read all about that incident here. It’s safe to say that I don’t regret it at all. I am 100% in love with the new look. It makes me smile. I can’t get enough of the bright colors, and that bright glossy white molding. Plus I got to keep some of the blue I always did love. designingdawn_halfbath-4

The wall paper panels are from Blik and are probably my favorite thing ever. The clock is from Hobby Lobby, the baskets and all towels are from Target a long time ago, the cute tiny (fake) plants are from Home Goods, and the paintings are a couple of oil studies I did years ago (frames from Hobby Lobby). My other favorite thing is that the little ledges all around the room let me add some fun decor in, but don’t take up any room at all. Since really, there is none to spare in here. I also love the fact that I did the whole thing by myself!! I get anxiety about stupid things like making a big Lowe’s purchase alone, and using power tools isn’t exactly within my comfort zone either, so I usually like to push those jobs off onto the hub. But this time it was all me, and I’m quite proud of the accomplishment, and of how it turned out. designingdawn_halfbath-2