When we bought the place, the main bathroom was probably my least favorite room. Located right in the middle of the house, it has no windows, which made the same greige color that looked great in the living room feel dark and depressing. It’s amazing how much lighting effects paint!
The bathroom was so dark, the camera had a hard time focusing when I tried to take a “Before” shot. We decided to tackle this room first.
Main Bathroom Pros:
- It has on-suite privileges. There’s an entrance to this bathroom from both the hallway and the master bedroom.
- It’s spacious. There’s plenty of room to move around when bathing the Littles.
- It has neutral, tile-look vinyl flooring with beige an grey tones that hide dirt incredibly well.
- The toilet, shower, and sink are white and in new condition.
Main Bathroom Cons:
- No windows. Did I mention this bathroom is very dark?
- The white porcelain knobs on the vanity looked plastic.
- 10 walls. Yes, ten. That’s a lot of corners to tape. 😉
- No closet = limited storage space.
My biggest challenge for this room was to brighten it up, but with four young children, I didn’t think going all white would be very practical. I compromised and decided to install a faux board and batten to the walls behind the mirror and toilet. This would allow me add a good dose of white, some architectural interest and a bit of farmhouse flair very inexpensively.
I replaced the white porcelain knobs with Stanley satin nickel knobs and drawer pulls and painted the rest of the walls a blue-grey with a green undertone called “Capable” by Para paints.
I found this floating shelf at Walmart and decorated it with some Dollar Store items and a few hand-me-down gifts from my Mom and late Oma. Raise your hand if you love the Dollar Store! Okay, you can put it down now. Who doesn’t love the Dollar Store?!
From L to R: A sea sponge on an ironstone soap dish from my Mom, my late Oma’s old wooden sewing box, a small canning jar filled with Q-tips, a Dollar Store jar filled with cotton balls and a wooden nail brush, a Dollar Store jar filled with soap bars, a shaving brush, and another Dollar Store jar filled with Epsom Salts.
On the opposite wall of the shelf, I hung a $10 piece of art work I found at Giant Tiger. It’s painted with the exact same shades of the walls, counter top, and flooring! I still think this wall looks a little bare. What do you think it needs? A candle holder on either side?
Behind the toilet, Brad installed two satin nickel Stanley hooks, one for each of our towels. I hung up a seagrass basket I happened to have on hand to hold some extra toilet paper rolls. I still plan on adding a silver tray to the back of the toilet to hold a candle and some air freshener. A white, waffle weave shower curtain keeps things nice and bright!
I still want to make a mason jar soap dispenser, add a banana leaf or wicker hamper, and am contemplating spray painting the mirror, but for the most part, this room is done!
Our towels are stored in the vanity, too, but I’m on the look-out for an attractive basket that I can set on the floor. I’m a big believer in “less is more,” so we only have the minimum number of towels required for our family of six!
What a marvelous transformation – from ordinary to lovely. Have you considered a towel rack of the sort hotels use (mounted high on the wall)?
Love the color, and it’s amazing what new hardware did for that vanity. Is the mirror silvery or gold? If it matches the knobs, I’d leave it as is.
I think what you’ve done looks great – I wouldn’t add anything small on either side of the picture – you could end up with too many little things dotted around the room. I would hang a painting the same size next to it – even another of the same painting so you’d have a diptych.