Guest Bathroom Progress

I don't think I've shared one "after" pic of our guest bathroom since moving in months ago!  It was actually one of the very first rooms I tackled since I knew I would only being making small & inexpensive updates to it.  Add to the fact that it would be the most used room in the house guest-wise and the quick updates were a no-brainer.   

Here's what the room looked like upon move in:

As you can tell, pretty much every last detail was basic builder grade. The main things I knew I HAD to do was paint the room + vanity, add hardware to the vanity, remove that behind-the-toilet storage piece, replace the shower curtain, update the mirror, change out the lighting fixture, and replace the faucet. It seems like a lot writing it out, but really it was done super fast and on the cheap.  

I just put off sharing it because there are no windows and I don't have a tripod to get a decent shot. I have become that person who uses her iPhone for all pictures and I'm really not too mad at myself for that--haha! Laziness prevails!

Here's the room as of today:

The pictures aren't the best, but you can at least get a feel for how it looks now.  I chose a basic black high gloss paint from Lowe's and handles from Home Depot for the vanity & used Benjamin Moore bathroom paint in Newburg Green. I can't recall if the faucet came from Lowe's or Home Depot but I know it was about $100 or so. You can't see the light but it is this one from Amazon, I think.  

We picked up the shower curtains [yes, curtains--I like how a fuller curtain looks] from Target and the mirror is one we have had forever.   

Most recently I finally hung up two prints I bought from Urban Outfitters months ago and just used some simple Target Threshold binder clips to hang them on the walls.  I think I want to frame the print above the toilet but it's an odd size so I've kinda stalled on that. 

The gold towel ring is also from Urban Outfitters. If you don't shop at Urban for home decor you're missing out. Their selection is always fresh and gets updated what seems like weekly.  It's one of the first places I search when I'm on the hunt!

And in true Joi fashion, I worked a little animal print into the room with a rug from Rugs USA. 

I still would like to replace the vanity, toilet, & vinyl flooring but I'm in absolutely no hurry to do so. I'd also like a better mirror, something like this, but again the one we have now is doing just fine.  

We just keep moving right along in this little house of ours and I'm digging it! 

xoxo

Master Bathroom Progress

When we bought our home this is what the master bathroom looked like. 

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is most definitely carpet. In a bathroom.  Yes, I shuddered enough already for the both of us. 

Besides painting to update the space [Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore], we decided that because we were replacing all of the flooring in the rest of the home that later on down the line we would tile this room.  I decided to live with the carpet for awhile and save up some pennies to replace it.

Well, that didn't go quite as planned.  Of course!

I got an idea to *just* replace the vanity for a taller one with more storage.  The old vanity was actually two vanities pieced together with faux drawers and it was terrible set-up for storage that needed to be functional for pulling things out daily.  It simply wasn't practical.

After looking all around the internet I decided on this Allen & Roth one from Lowe's.

It was an easy buy because it was under $1000 for the vanity + countertop.  It had three drawers plus cabinet shelving for storage so I was sold! Other ones that I had priced had countertops that were more than $1000! Not in our budget.

My plan was no fail, or so I thought.  We would take out the old vanity and replace it with the new vanity until it was time to tile the floors.  Easy enough, right?

Hahahaha...

Well, once we started to rip out the vanity we discovered pretty significant water damage on the wall.  Then we also noticed some mold on the floor and decided to replace the toilet.  Thanks to David, my step-dad, and father-in-law, the mold issue was rectified and the wall was repaired with new drywall.

I guess you can see where this is headed...

One night while we were at Home Depot and I saw some 12x24 marble tiles that I loved.  We bought them up, took them home, found a tile guy through a reference, got a bid, and had the tile laid in about a week!

It was not the way I expected things to go but I guess that's the joy of homeownership!

Ultimately we are so happy we found the mold issue from a previous leak and are pumped to have that nasty carpet out of our way.  We really loved the way it turned out even though the room's not quite finished.  I still need to find a light and hang the new mirrors I scored at HomeGoods [not pictured just yet!].

Oh, and I mentioned on Instagram that David and his dad installed a TV in the room and it's pretty much the greatest thing ever. I mean, I feel like a celebrity or something.  Dream come true, people.

We had the tile laid in a subway pattern and used a pale gray grout.  Never again will I use white grout! Lesson learned in our first home, that's for sure!

Sorry for the streaky mirror! 

So that's where the master bathroom stands as of today.  When we get around to decorating it and making the finishing touches I'll be back to share those details with you all.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm having lots of fun decorating our new home!

xoxo

Just Another Bathroom Update

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, this little update is not going to be news.  Sorry 'bout that.

If you've been a long time blog reader you know that our little bathroom has gone through numerous changes.  I was actually laughing at some of them last night.  Who let me make some of those crazy decisions? Oh yeah, me.

As of late, our bathroom looked like this:

And might I add that it looked like that for quite a long time.  That is quite the feat for me.  When we first moved in we quickly retiled the floor {with my step dad's help/direction}, changed the vanity, and then eventually retiled the shower surround {with my FIL's help and direction}.   Of course the 2013 Joi would have done things differently {aesthetically} but I'm still satisfied with the updates.

Considering this {below} is what we started out with, I think we've done quite well for our modest budget.

Um, do you see the lizard skin looking floor? Yikes.

As of today, I changed out the shower curtain, {I think it's like the 10th one or so--oops!}, switched out the rug, and swapped the word art, too.

I thought I was done with a lot of color but I just keep gravitating back toward it.  I guess I'm a forever color girl.  Don't fight a good thing I guess.

xoxo

Another Coat Of Paint?

So, those of you that know me or have been reading my blog know that I love to paint....or, so it seems. Since we've lived here I've painted the bathroom 5 times. I know, you don't have to tell me, that's a lot of paint!

My family jokes that the walls are going to start cracking and that we are losing square footage. It may be true, but up until this last time, the color just never felt right. You know what I'm talking about, right? I never got that feeling where I walked in and said, "Yup, this makes me 100% happy!"

While I paint a lot, I also go through lots of shower curtains. Whoops! I know I shouldn't indulge myself but I feel like shower curtains are a fun accessory and from time to time need to be changed. Most recently I picked up a great *and* inexpensive little ditty from Home Goods. It's black and geometric and had the same sort of vibe of that fabulous little Tory Burch logo.

For $15 bucks I had to have it and once I put it up in the bathroom that taupe wall color just was not doing it for me. That same night I was catching up on Sara's blog and came across this photo of her entryway:

Stunning, right? I agree that it's gorgeous and that peacock blue shade had me at hello. A light bulb went off and I was instantly sold! I played with some similar Sherwin Colors in their Color Visualizer with our bathroom pictures and ultimately decided on Peacock Blue.

We went to the store that night, picked up some paint and came back home to start the first coat. I was scared at first because the coat was so thin, and then after the second coat I was just as scared. So on Sunday we went to Home Depot and I had the paint color matched to Behr's primer and paint in one and the third coat made everything pull together. I know a lot of people poo-poo Behr but I've used this paint twice now {in the kitchen, too} with dark colors and it has worked like a charm.

And here's a little sidenote, I can't take a decent picture of this room for the life of me! I try and try but it's just so long and narrow that I can't capture its true sense.

And now, after seeing these pictures, I'm really feeling a new darker wood vanity with a gorgeous counter top. Oh brother....

I'm sure you all have bets on how long this color will last...haha! Who's to say?


xoxo

Somebody Stop Me

In the span of one week I've purchased two shower curtains. I know, I know. But!, both were on sale, so it makes it a little better.

I haven't managed to snap any pics, but as soon as I do, I'll let you see the goods.

However, however, I cannot seem to get Ms. Kate Spade's guest bathroom out of my head.

Yes, I've seen it before and yes, I've always liked it. But, here's the thing, I recently saw it again and I felt like I wanted it, ok needed it, in my house.

That is not good. What in the world would I do with green walls in a year? Folks, talk me off the edge here. I think paint color #6 in our bathroom would be just a smidge ludicrous considering we've only been here a little over 5 years.

Don't ya think?

Are you with me?

After all, I think I'm just in love with those dang stripes on that shower curtain...

xoxo

New Bathroom Hardware

Out with the old and in with the new! Our old bathroom vanity pulls weren't doing it for me anymore. They were not bad, in fact I picked them out a couple of years ago when we began to slowly renovate that room.

However, I found some new sleeker pulls that I like much better at Expo Design Center! If you're a fan, you may remember John and Sherry posting about this store awhile back on TYH.

I had no idea a store like this was so close to home! I have my fab craigslist dresser to thank because on the way to pick it up we passed the Expo center!

It's the little things, I tell ya!

5th Time's A Charm

Finally, I've found a paint color that makes me happy. It's been a long journey and a lot of money and time, but it happened!

Anytime I get a break from school I get the itch to re-do something in our home. I guess you could say I get antsy. Our bathroom has been a little thorn in my side because I've never felt 100% satisfied with it. It's an awkward shape and I've tried numerous colors {4 before this one to be exact!} and none have done it for me. My family and friends think I'm nuts for painting it this many times and they might be right! But, as long as I am able and we have the moolah I don't see what's wrong with changing my mind. Bless David's little heart because he just goes with the flow. He is a total saint to put up with my ever-changing mind!

Here's the room as we first laid eyes on it. Notice the yucky lizard-like flooring and orangey wood trim, cabinetry, and doors! My step-dad was a jem and painted this whole room a crisp white til I decided on my color choice.

Eventually I saw a bathroom on the internet painted turquoise with sort of a beachy feel and thought it'd work for me too. So we gave it an honest shot.

I love turqouise, don't get me wrong, but it was just too bright for me and for the flow of the rest of the house. So I thought that a deep chocolately brown would do the trick.

The brown appeased me for awhile, but I couldn't get past the fact that it reminded me of poo everytime I looked at it, so yeah, it had to go too! Finally I decided to go with a color that many find boring, a natural taupey-beigey-gray, Diverse Beige from SW to be exact. However, after we painted the first coat, and I slept on it, I knew the color just wasn't right. It was too milky and had a fleshy undertone that I wasn't digging. Sorry for the mess, I snapped the photo pretty much right after we applied the paint.

Knowing I would not be satisfied with the Diverse Beige, I decided to peruse the internet and I looked at tons of inspiration pics thanks to my girls over at Decor Pad. I then decided today, to go with yet another color, Benjamin Moore's Grant Beige. I am happy to report that I'm 99% sure I am in love with this color choice! I'd go all the way to 100%, but I don't want to jinx it! : )

Bathroom Metamorphis

Our bathroom has slowly undergone renovations since we moved here three years ago. We pretty much had a blank slate to work with and we {Dave, myself, Tom[my step-dad], and Dan [David's dad] } have done our fair share. It was a site for sore eyes when we first moved in--all white, one sink, and brown lizard-esque laminate flooring. Please remember, my camera's not the best--but take my word on the flooring! It was worse than you see here.

We slowly have made small updates here and there. We first painted it a turquoise which I thought I wanted, then later decided to re-paint. Typical of me as you all know by now!

We switched out the old vanity for a crisp and clean white one and changed to a double sink to allow for more elbow room in the a.m. when me and the Mr. are both trying to get ready.

We eventually tiled the bathroom surround with white subway tile when it was discovered that we had a leak behind the wall!

Then one night I had the urge to paint and started at 10 p.m. and finished at 3 a.m. This would be the end result, and Dave slept through the whole thing! Although, he was a dear and helped slap on the second coat in the much later a.m.!

Eventually I found two mirrors that I liked and Dan helped us hang them up and he re-wired for two new light fixtures, too! Thank God for someone who knows everything about anything!

And the newest update is my shower curtain that I found in the clearance section at Bed, Bath and Beyond for only $15! I really like it's big graphic pattern and it reminds me of something you could find at Crate and Barrel for much more!

As it stands the bathroom is complete--that is until I get the urge to re-paint again...

I've changed my mind....I think

Well, our bathroom mirrors are ready to be hung but I can't decide on lights. I thought I wanted the Restoration Hardware sconces that I posted down below, but now I'm not so sure. The double sconce dimensions look too small and the triple sconce dimensions look a tad too big. I've had reservations about their prices, which I think also led me to look around some more before shelling out the big bucks. I came across some lights that I like just as much and for way cheaper than Restoration Hardware. I just need to make my mind up! Wanna help? Here's what I've narrowed it down to...I have my front-runner, I want to know yours!:

Bellacor Cari Two-Light

Bellacor Maxwell Three-Light

Bellacor Ashley Three-Light

And, to jog your memory...here is the mirror that we have two of!

Each light fixture will go above each mirror.