Room Tour: Bathroom Redo!

 (metal letters purchased years ago from Urban Outfitters)

We have an upstairs hall bathroom that services 4 kids.  We inherited the bathroom when we bought the house and haven't done much to it.  The previous owners replaced the builder grade vanity with something a little nicer (though not my taste) and then installed a concrete counter.  They upgraded the toilet and added crown molding.  All in all, it's a fine bathroom...just not what I would have chosen if I had the choice.

When it came to freshening up this bathroom, I decided to go colorful and inexpensive.  I mean, come on - it is for 4 kids ages 4-10.  I was not going to pour money into the venture.  When I want to freshen, I always turn 1) what I've already got by way of decor in my house and 2) Target.

For my shower curtain and bathmat I turned to Target.  I picked up this chevron curtain and LOVE the punch of color it gives this otherwise average bathroom.  I also picked up lots of new towels in both white and yellow and a new garbage can.  We were making progress!

The framed art over the toilet is made by moi and it was VERY simple.  I took a bunch of fabric scraps from my stash and pieced them together, glued them to a board and framed them.  30 minutes tops.  The blue round iron piece was something we had in the garage from decorating long ago; I freshened it up with some turquoise spray paint.  The iron tin holding toilet paper sits on the toilet tank; I picked it up at a favorite Utah haunt called Taipan Trading.

I picked up these little faux plants at Taipan Trading years ago.  They sit on the windowsill in the bathroom.  The rhino toy belongs to my 4 year old boy.  I guess he likes it there :)

More of those awesome chevron print towels from Target.  Wooden giraffes purchased from a random import shop in NYC Union Square a few years ago.

I have no idea where this lovely soap dispenser came from but isn't it nice?

I realize that there is A LOT more I could do to this bathroom but for right now I am satisfied.  It looks nice for the kids, it is a happy colorful place and it is clean.  That fits the bill for a kids bathroom in my book!

DIY: Customizing Boring Builders Grade Cabinets

My master bathroom cabinets have bugged me for years. They are just regular old builders grade, nothing special - oak, no hardware, no style.

And since my husband is not in favor of my overhauling the bathroom completely (darn it, he's no fun!) I had to get creative.

What could I do for 1) very little money and 2) very handyman little talent.

Ahaaa! Done!

See those feet (those weren't there before)?

First, this greyish stain I found that I put everywhere.

Second, I added these bun feet ($5.95 each at Lowes) to both sides of the cabinets. I think that they totally make it...and it was simple!

I had to sand down the feet first - each side of the bathroom cabinet was a different size. So I got to know my handy rotary sander :) It was actually fun.

Next I stained the feet. This required two different kinds of stain; one to match the existing color of the builder grade cabinets and the second greyish stain to match what I had done to the cabinetry.

THEN I installed them and adhered them to my existing cabinets with Gorilla Wood Glue.

And voila! A more custom feel to formally builders grade cabinets.

All that's left is to add handles to the drawer and cabinets...but I've gotta get my drill to work first (it was on the fritz today...).

Here are a few other shots of my bathroom now:

Curtains are burlap. Palm we have had forever. Window hanging on the wall is an antique from a barn somewhere here in Northern CA. And the blue glass lanterns are from a variety of places.

And this is our shower door/shower window. I felt it was lacking a little "privacy" so I took a very old copy of "Atlas Shrugged" and laminated a bunch of random pages then adhered them to the door/glass panel. I love the patina...and its fun to read a classic while you're in the shower.

Wooden Tub

I'm not a bath person (I love my showers) but this tub had me swooning when I saw it. It is DIVINE, isn't it?

Factory Window as Shower Enclosure. Discuss :)

Maybe my favorite shower idea...ever?! A repurposed factory window given new life as a shower enclosure. Clean, urban, loads of character to spare. Sign me up! LOVE this idea.

Photo credit Remains Lighting

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Favorite Bathroom Ever

Yes, its going to surprise you. But THIS is my favorite bathroom ever. I just found it and fell in love...hard.

The painted floor treatment, the words on the walls, the shower curtain, the newspaper on the ceiling (notice how they are shaped as clouds?), COLOR. This is totally me. Its like the perfect SARA bathroom. My husband wouldn't go for it as a shared space...but if I had my own bathroom in the house, this would be it :)


Those floors!!!! Oh, I love this bathroom... What do you think? Does it move you?

Temperature Sensitive Tiles

This is one of the coolest, craziest products for the bathroom I've seen yet. Temperature sensitive tiles.

I. Want. These.

Again, elevating the everyday and sometimes mundane to otherworldly and brilliant.

Bathroom Grafitti!

I found this the other day and thought it was beyond awesome. Paint your bathroom walls in chalkboard paint, leave some chalk in the bathroom for guests (really, a powder room would be the best place to do this project) and let everyone leave their "thoughts" behind.

I can see a room like this becoming more and more colorful over time. And hey, if someone leaves something a little TOO colorful behind, you can always erase it :)