[ home ] :: half bath before and after

We bought out house in February 2012 and immediately began renovations...and never quite finished some of them. On Friday, I posted an update on The Hubs' work on our staircase. But what I was I doing at the time?

(re-) Painting the half bath vanity and doing some final touch ups, that's what!

Before: The downstairs bath had new(ish) tile and a new toilet, but an old outdated oak builder's vanity and a stained composite marble top. It was also very, very red with had a textured ceiling. I wasn't a fan, but it had a good layout.

 

After: The Hubs and I began by removing the texture from the ceiling (it required a lot of scraping and a lot of sanding) and painting the walls "Realist Beige" by Sherwin Williams. It's a nice neutral color and I wasn't sure what colors I wanted in my decor yet. The wood on the vanity was splitting in some places, so I filled the damaged areas with wood filler, sanded it smooth, and painted it "Gotham Gray" by Valspar (Lowe's). Why Gotham Gray? Batman. (and it was a free paint sample)

Here's a close-up of it that shows the true color:

Oh...and I ripped the ugly builder's mirror off the wall and replaced it with one from Pottery Barn - it was the most expensive part of this re-do! The Hubs came home one day and I had written "This looks like sh*t!" on it with a Sharpie and was literally ripping the drywall out with it. I did the same thing to the vanity top, too. Whoops... We also got a new faucet, new bathroom hardware, new doorknobs, and a new indoor/outdoor rug from Pottery Barn to tie it all together. New everything.

I used Instagram on a few pictures because my iPhone hates the contrast between the vanity and wall.

The Hubs left the potty seat up.

Hand towel: West Elm ($10)
Vase: Goodwill ($1.91)
Indian bronze dish: Hand-me-down

Misc knick-knacks!
Ikat bowl: West Elm ($6)
Candle holders (similar): CB2

The shelves need more styling, but I made and installed them last week. It was super easy, so I'll be posting a "how-to" guide soon. My total project came in under $20! I want to make sure I have knick-knacks up on them that we love looking at and remind us of people we love - after all, we're in there every day! Besides our engagement photos, we have a picture of Emma (dog) from our wedding, a few books (one my mom loves and one my dad recommended), a whelk shell from my grandmother, and the candle holders were a birthday gift from my mom when I moved into my first apartment. And I freaking love that butterfly plate - I got it for $5 from C.Wonder.

On the opposite wall I have some pictures of birds. I freaking love birds.

Bird pictures: Pottery Barn (free-ish). They double-shipped my order.

That's it for now! I told The Hubs this morning that this is the first room in the house that we have "finished" and he just rolled his eyes at me. Yeah...I'll probably change something in it soon.

- Maggie White