Progress has been made in the guest bathroom, folks. Which is good news since we’re less than 30 hours away from the arrival of Sherry’s mom and stepdad. Our first score was finding a shower curtain. Despite being burned by pattern in our last shower curtain attempt, we bought this guy at Target on Friday for about $20.
It definitely still looks kinda rough in there (still have to paint the walls and hang art, but we don’t think we’ll get to that before the inlaws arrive, uh, tomorrow). But getting back to the shower curtain, we think the pattern works much better because it’s bigger when it comes to the scale. The large medallions don’t compete with the tiny square tile on the walls and floor like the smaller scale yellow pattern in the last one we grabbed. The dark brown also introduced some nice contrast since the yellow tiles and off-white walls were sort of washing out the rest of the space. And because our old guest room bedding – which we plan to reuse – includes brown & white, while the walls in there are blue, this curtains sort of ties things together.
Then once we had the curtain finalized (and picked up a cheap white fabric liner to keep this guy from getting drenched, also from Target), we turned our attention to the bathmat – or the lack thereof. We originally brought home a brown one that matched the curtain but it was waaaay too dark. And walking into a bathroom to see a big brown spot on the floor wasn’t the most, um, clean looking choice.
So we went back to Target and picked up three other options for a little bath mat fashion show (Sherry may or may not have clapped and chanted “fashion show, fashion show” as we made our purchase). First we tried this square one that almost blended right into the floor completely.
No dice. It just looked kinda dirty and blah.
Our next choice was the polar opposite. We decided to try a more colorful rectangular mat to pick up those blue tones in the curtain (and the adjoining deep teal guest bedroom).
We didn’t really mind this one. It matched the curtain nicely and certainly would help us achieve our goal of bringing more color into the house.
But when we saw the third option we knew it was “the one.” It just felt crisp and tailored without being matchy-matchy. The stripes are a fun counterpart to the circles in the curtain (the white and brown tones in each one keeps them related in a fun mixed & matched way).
What can we say? I guess even though we’re embracing more color, we’re still suckers for crisp white stuff from time to time. Especially with there’s a white toilet, sink, and mirror in there (so it automatically ties right in). I guess when it comes to bathrooms, nothing beats clean white linens for us (99.9% of hotels that we’ve stayed at always have plush white towels and bathrobes, so we want our guests to feel like Casa Petersik is just as spa-like and inviting). Long story short, we had a bath mat fashion show winner. So we hoisted it up and sang For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow, removed the tag, and returned the others.
We also accomplished a few hardware updates yesterday. The most needed of which was a new toilet seat, since the old one boasted several chips in the lid and tears in the soft seat (and we’re not really fans of the soft toilet seat thing anyways). Here’s the least offensive shot of the old toilet seat that shows off some of those chips on the lid. We refrained from sharing the open lidded shots since we know some of you eat breakfast slash drink coffee while reading. You’re welcome.
Replacing a toilet seat isn’t rocket science, nor is it a very glamorous job. But I did my best to enjoy the process, and even flashed a thumbs up at the wife as she snapped this pic.
The whole switcheroo brought back memories of when I used a toilet seat for a 9th grade science project where I had to illustrate the anatomy of a mollusk (i.e. clams). In case you were wondering, toilet seats take well to dry erase markers. Yes, I really am that dorky. Go Team Mollusk.
We also replaced the old rusted shower head. It functioned just fine (the water pressure was great and there were thankfully no leaks to deal with) but it just didn’t look very nice.
So we sprung for the cheapest multi-setting shower head at Target (it was $14) in an effort to fancy things up a smidge.
And after using some serious elbow grease to get the old one off, the new one went on within 60 seconds. So shiny, right? I can even see myself in it.
Speaking of being in it, I actually took the shower for a test run shortly after this installation. I figured if anything weird or gross was going to happen in the first use of this shower, I wanted it to happen to me and not my mother-in-law. Fortunately things were all good. In fact, the water pressure is better in there than our bedroom. Lucky guests.
Last but not least was a quick zero-cost change. After removing the mirror on inside of the bathroom door (awkward!), we realize we were missing towel hooks… ’til we discovered them on the other side of the door while painting this weekend. Seriously, in the two months that we’ve lived here we never once closed the door to the guest bathroom to discover those towel hooks hiding back there until a few days ago. So I just unscrewed them from the back and reattached them to the inside of the door where they’ll actually be seen and used (and Sherry spackled and painted the leftover holes on the lesser seen back side of the door).
We’ve still got a few other things (like towels, and maybe some art) to make the room look more complete and guest-ready, but at least it’s completely functional now. Stay tuned for pics of the whole room after Sherry gets her kicks by adding a few accessories. And we still have to share our progress in the guest room. Which we’re most likely working away on as you read this post.
In the meantime, have you guys made any recent bathroom upgrades? Or do you have any tips to share about how you get a guest bathroom ready for guests (besides buying some shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste – which is already on our to-do list along with fluffy towels and a few washcloths)? This is our first time having to furnish a devoted guest bathroom that we don’t regularly use ourselves, so we’re definitely feeling kind of JV about the whole thing.
Laura says
I like the second one but I’m generally a fan of blue. The one you guys picked would have been better for us though – I was cleaning our bathroom with bleach one day and moved out all the fabric except the mat (which I forgot because I was standing on it) so our beige mat now has a white splotch on one edge. Small, but noticable. Sigh.
brandt @ New House on the Blog says
A hint for those who might not want to spring for a new shower head (though, at $14.00 per head, it’s quite a good investment). If you got one of those fancy schmancy expensive ones that’s rusted and not as good as it once was, go get yourself some CLR (stands for Calcium, Lime, Rust), pour it in a deep enough bowl, and dunk the shower head in there for about 2 min (I think that’s what the directions say). Should be good as new.
Granted, you’ve got to watch out for leaks and seals on the neck, and use caution and your best judgement, but it was a lifesaver for us moving into different apartments while in college.
But seriously, if the shower head is a cheap one, just go buy yourself a new shower head. They’re cheap, and John’s price of $14.00 was about what we’ve paid.
threadbndr says
By the way, I totally love the vintage ‘scrabble board’ tile in your guest bath. It’s cute – hope you keep it, since you say it’s in good shape.
Libby says
I love that I did just giggled while reading a post about a guest bathroom. You two are the cutest, you must have so much fun together. Love the guest bath choices. Very nice.
Sarah says
It’s so funny you mentioned soft toilet seats-just yesterday, my landlord replaced our broken plastic seat with a soft seat! I can’t stand it! I’m almost thinking of just going to buy a new plastic one on my own. Just one of the joys of renting…
Ever - The red house by the lake says
There are (at least here in Sweden) some cheap ones at IKEA – one really cheap (like 6$) and one a bit more expensive (like 25$) if I remember correctly. If you dont’t plan to spend a long time in your apartment, maybe it could be a good option?
Claudia says
okay now I need that curtain. my bathroom is in need of some teal-age and that looks awesome! off to tarjay!
Nancy says
You guys are doing everything that I would do for my guests. I just make sure that everything is thoroughly clean (shower, toilet, sink, floor) and I put some nice smelling candles out or plug in a scented plug-in.
Sara says
We just did a complete redo in our bathroom. Thanks for all the inspiration! I snagged paint in the mis-tint section for $4!! It was close enough to the color I thought I wanted that I just went with it! Turns out I like it better! It’s a grey khaki with olive tones. It’s awesome. We did adhesive tiles to the floor. They were cheaper than anything else, went in so easily, and had a 25 year warranty. New shower curtain, and I’m currently in the middle of making towel hooks and framing out the mirror. I walk past it and stop and just check it out and think about how awesome it is and how now the rest of my house needs a redo!
Lisa says
Absolutly love your blog and when i stopped by this morning I think I let out an audible gasp and just had to comment. I literally thought my bathroom somehow got on your blog! We have the excact same tile in the main bath of our 1950’s ranch. Not only that by are walls are currently white (still debating what to do there!) and we have the exact same shower curtain and the white towels with the brown trim hanging neaby. Now I realize the shower curtian is pretyy common since it is from Tarjay and all but I just couldn’t belive it. Bathroom twins! Can’t wait to see what you do next as I just may have to be a copycat! Love you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo. Love it! I’m now chanting “Bathroom Twins!” instead of “Fashion Show!”
xo,
s
Relevant Notes says
Oooooh I love the shower curtain pattern! It’s all coming together really well!
Jennifer says
My husband and I stayed at a friends and have never felt so welcome. She had a basket of essentials- razors, a comb, tylenol, floss, extra toothbrushes, mini travel deodorants, q-tips, even contact solution! She just went through the travel section and picked up all the mini bottles of things and it was so inviting.
can’t wait to see the bedroom. I’m in love with the color you guys chose.
zinna says
I love guest soaps. And not those weird shell shaped ones that end up looking like fuzzy dead sea creatures. I’m talking about these
http://www.danielleandcompany.com/index.php/shop/danielle-on-the-go/travel-size-bar-soap.html
The last time I was in the factory store, Danielle was having a huge sale on her travel soaps ($1/each) and I bought a ton. So, whenever we have guests, I always put out the towels (rolled nicely) and put a couple of bars on top to say, this is for you. They’re the perfect size and the scents are wonderful.
Natalie says
Love that shower curtain! I love the way it brings in the blue from the guest room!
Also, just a warning, I had those shower rings, and mine rusted relatively fast. Don’t know if it’s a big deal for you, but it’s only a pain when you need to take the rings off the shower bar (it gets a little grody!).
Lindsay says
Besides the shampoo/conditioner stuff, a drinking glass is nice, as is making the location of extra toilet paper and a plunger obvious (because nobody wants to have to ask you for that).
And I don’t think this is relevant for you (at least not this specific example), but since I live in LA and have a yard, I also have an automatic sprinkler system. We set it to run at 4:30 am and had never noticed it being loud from the master bedroom. But, when we checked out the guest bedroom by sleeping in there one night, we found that one sprinkler head is JUST on the opposite side of the wall from the head of the bed and apparently the insulation is not good there – SOOO LOUD. So if someone’s coming over, I have to remember to change the time the sprinklers run! (super random, I know, but I’m sure they wouldn’t enjoy being woken up that early). :)
debbie c says
Loving that shower curtain!! and the white rug-winner! When will we see the bedroom all “gussied” up?
YoungHouseLove says
Well the inlaws arrive tomorrow, so we’re hoping it’ll be done by then and we’ll have pics to share! We have some progress pics in the hopper for this afternoon if we get a moment to put that post together (so many comment questions and last minute shopping trips to attend to- so little time, haha).
xo,
s
Sarah B says
I can’t remember the exact layout but would love to see a shot of the bathroom from the bedroom so we can get a sneak peek of how the gorgeous blue walls look with the shower curtain!
Janette @ The 2 Seasons says
We are revamping the four baths in our new townhouse before we move in. The master bath tile actually had raised crabs on it, randomly place around the floor and shower. Very yucky. We switched to honed carrarra marble for a very classy/classic look.
annabelvita says
Love the tiles. I would have voted for the teal but the one you went with is super fancy and spa like!
My most recent bathroom update was a new bathmat from anthropologie (super sweet present from the bf), which inspired me to pretty up the shelves with a basket to corral ugly things and a few vintage glasses for cotton buds etc.
As for things for guests, my boyfriend’s mum used to puts out a little wooden box full of different painkillers and other things I might be embarrassed to ask for. So sweet! And flowers.
I’ve always collected miniatures from hotels so I like to put out a shower cap and stuff. Maybe ear plugs for the baby?
annabelvita says
not earplugs FOR the baby, rather earplugs because of the baby. Although if your parents are anything like my boyfriends, they’ll be eager to get clara at whatever time she wakes up so you guys can snooze!
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully Clara sleeps 12 straight hours these days, so we hope there aren’t any unexpected wake-up calls from her (or I fully expect to find my mom running down the hall to get to her first- haha).
xo,
s
megs & bacon says
I’m so interested in how you guys have the exact same 50s tile as we do, yet the yellow just changes everything. We have two tones of PINK. The only thing we can do is mix beige with it to try to tone it down. The colors just make it worse.
A sledgehammer helps, though. :)
Bob says
Please be careful putting capital-A Art in the bathroom. The humidity changes and potential for sprayed water would be a big risk to the Art. Some wall decor you don’t really care about is fine, but please, please be careful with Art.
Jess says
Do you guys have a Kohls nearby? They sell the softest spa-like towels by Laura Ashley. I bought a couple of these before Christmas and my husband and my sister who stayed over both have said that these were the softest towels they had ever used. They wash well too! Just sayin… I know you’re in the market for towels and they are super affordable!
http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/bedandbath/brandsforbath/lauraashleylifestyle/PRD~c2585/Laura+Ashley+Lifestyles+Microcotton+Bath+Towels.jsp
YoungHouseLove says
We do have a Kohls nearby! We’ll have to see if we can fit in a trip with T minus 28 hours until their arrival!
xo,
s
Jess says
I thought I was the only person that still says T minus! LOL! You may not be able to squeeze in a trip, but just in case, I forgot to mention that the towels come in more colors in the store. They are always out of stock of most colors online. I hope you have a great time with your family – I’m sure your mom has been going through some major Clara withdawals.
YoungHouseLove says
She is! Whenever Clara coos while we’re talking on the phone she drops whatever we’re chatting about and says “I hear the baby- hi Clara, it’s Nona!”
She’s counting down the seconds til their arrival I’m sure. Not to see me or John- just Clara. Haha.
xo,
s
Jess says
Your mom sounds exactly like my mother and mother in law. The sun rises and sets in our children and me and my husband are ancient history! That’s not a bad thing though… We’re blessed to have such wonderful parents! (Sorry to hijack the thread – this makes my 3rd comment!) :)
Nikki says
I’m surprised I never hear you mention Kohl’s! They send out super frequest coupons and once or twice a year I even managed to get 30% an entire purchase coupon…it makes things really affordable! Love all the progress on the house! Keep up the great work and enjoy your weekend with family!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re just not really near things that we go to often, but we’ll definitely have to check them out!
xo,
s
Brandi says
We just finished a complete remodel of our master bath, but I’m sure you don’t need any tips there! I find it best to just get things really clean in the guest bath. We also have a little vintage looking soap pump from target in there that I refill (they still have it too, fyi!)
Charisa says
Everything that you guys do is fantastic! I’m sure your guests will feel right at home! My only tip would be is to not overdo it with the decorations. Make sure your guests have room to put things, especially in the bathroom if it’s a tight space.
My mom, bless her heart, has a beautiful guest bathroom that me, my husband, and two kids use when we visit. It’s perfectly decorated but the space isn’t functional for the guests needs. Less rolled fancy towels and decorative soaps equals more space for make-up bags, dopp kits, and toothbrushes!
Megan says
Your progress on the bathroom is looking great! I have almost the same yellow tile in my bathroom with avocado green marble-y countertops and I’m having a hard time making the best of it before I can completely re-do the bathroom. Do you have any paint colors you’d recommend for the walls? White? Grey? Tan? You can see a picture at http://www.fashionest.net/?page_id=141#.
Please help!!
YoungHouseLove says
Why not post a link or pic over on our Facebook page and ask people to weigh in? You’ll hopefully get lots of great ideas!
xo,
s
aimee says
omg. hilarious–i WAS actually eating breakfast and having coffee while my little one naps so I LOL’d at your comments about the open toilet seat. anyway, just wanted to pop in to say I LOVE your new shower curtain and even with the tiniest details you guys always manage to keep it fresh and fun. thanks for being the BEST “home magazine” ever!!! (like what jordan said above)
Kelley says
I was pretty sold on the blue bath mat, but you’re totally right! Once I scrolled down to the white with the brown stripes, the winner was clear!
Sarah @ The Strength of Faith says
It looks great! We’re in the process of updating all three of our bathrooms, but it’s for the purposes of selling, so it’s all kind of boring …
Reenie says
Love the shwower curtain ~ and great choice on the rug too! :)
McKenzie says
We are bathroom twins! We have the same tile in our guest bathroom – except we have a matching yellow tub, toilet and sink to go with it!
Love the curtain rod and rug combo!
MP says
My Mom is the best hostess and I’ve picked up these “stock your guest bathroom” tips from her.
– Put out little dixie cups (or real glasses) for your guests’ late night water needs
– Put out all those little hotel freebies you’ve scored over the years – kind of fun for your guests!
– Put out towels (different colors for each guest if you’re super fancy) on their beds. Then, no confusion that the towels are clean and for them to use
– Give the ladies an extra hair towel
– Put Q-tips out!
– Have an extra hair dryer for them
Janelle says
I really liked your first pass at a shower curtain — I didn’t think it competed with the tile at all. But I LOVE this curtain. I don’t think it matches the bathroom well, but if you’re planning on ripping all the tile off the walls eventually, I suppose that doesn’t matter. I think you should have gone with the second bathmat, though. The last one DEFINITELY competes with the curtain, and it’s hard to look at the two of them together.
Connie says
I love it all! Just remember to wash new towels and maybe run them through the drier a couple times… new towels are the best, but I can do without all those fuzzies!
A basket of travel sized items that might be difficult for someone to pack or that they may have forgotten is always a good idea. Hairspray, lotion, floss, etc. And I think the idea of a hairdrier is a good one… I’m always stealing my sister’s when I go home…
But I think you guys seem to have this totally under control!
Ever - The red house by the lake says
Fresh flowers!
There is nothing that add luxury to a bathroom like one single flower in a small vase next to the soap. It doesn’t have to be extraordinaty or anything, just one will do.
Pick up a bunch of flowers at the supermarket, snap one of and place in a small vase (or jar) in the bathroom and the rest in the guestroom. It will definitely make your guests feel welcome!
Courtney says
I just replaced this same shower curtain with a long white one a la YHL! I’m torn though because the white curtain makes our vanity counter and toilet look a lot LESS white. What’s up with that? Any suggestions for making things flow a little better?
YoungHouseLove says
Just bring in a variety of white tones in other places to make it look layered and intentional (white & off white frames, towels, accessories, etc). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
alg says
Hi, guys. Just found the site through Jen Lancaster’s blog. Lovin’ it!!!
I grew up in a DIY family, but somehow managed to fall in love with/marry a “Can’t we hire somebody to do that?” type. (I know, weird, right?)
In the early parts of our relationship, I dragged him into a few of my DIY projects … not so much a good idea. Let’s just say we have right brain/left brain issues! Still, I have fantasies of us someday rehabbing our own dream house. Stranger things have happened.
In the meantime, I’m having so much fun watching your journey. Thanks for sharing — maybe eventually I can return the favor!
PS — I like the bath mat. The blue was too matchy. I’m sure once you get all the bells & whistles in there it’ll be obvious that you made the right choice. And LOVELOVELOVE the color in the guest room!!!
Amy says
I’m a sucker for blue and brown AND crisp white! Really looks good in there.
Btw, while searching for a cover for my Nook I came across an etsy shop that makes covers out of Sue the Napkin :)
YoungHouseLove says
Amazing! Off to check it out…
xo,
s
Amy says
Rogue Theory was the shop’s name so you can save some time, I should have said that before, duh!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks!
xo,
s
braelin says
Hi there,
Love it— we have a brown shower curtain with a similar design too. Question for you about art in the bathrooms… I’m always worried about molding and/or fogging or the art being otherwise damaged or problematic. Note: one of our b-rooms does not have a fan…
Could you address how you are sure to protect your art and/or choose bathroom/humidity friendly b-room art?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re fans of bathroom art, but we’d never put anything too expensive or precious in there just in case. For example, photo prints that can be reprinted or inexpensive thrift store finds can be great in a bathroom. Who knows what we’ll end up hanging in there- but we’ll share those deets when we get there for sure!
xo,
s
Christine says
Wow! I love the Bathroom upgrades! You make it look so easy! :)
Katie says
I also love boldly-colored shower curtains, but I find they usually make the inside of the shower feel like a cave. Is there a light inside your shower stall?
In the guest bath: reed diffuser, extra hand soap + tissue box, and spare rolls of TP!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, thankfully there’s a light in there. Amazing!
xo,
s
Cara says
Fresh flowers are always an extra special touch in a guest suite.
Also, one of the “miracle products” I’ve discovered this year is No.2 by Poo-Pourri. Have you heard of it?? You spray it on the toilet water before – ah hem – going number two and it works better than air spray. Plus it has a nice fresh scent (not chemically) and the packaging on the little spray bottle is cute. Your guests will chuckle at the name but appreciate the function! You can find it at most stores that carry nice soaps, lotions, and personal care products.
Asher says
i really like the shower curtain! i don’t know if anybody else has mentioned this, but is there a light source in your guest shower? i’m wondering if the dark shower curtain turns blocks too much light? not trying to be a debbie downer, b/c i do like the curtain, just curious. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, there’s a shower light. Love it! Otherwise it would be a cave in there- even with no shower curtain at all (thanks to such a small opening).
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love what you have done with the bathroom. Love that shower curtain too.
We recently updated the bathroom in the apartment in our house, because my Mom lives in it. The bathroom had one of those lower older vanities, so we switched it out for a brand new one. And of course we had to paint those white walls finally. Don’t mind her decor, she is a little country and she loves it. Got make Mom happy right! ;)
http://thedecorscene.blogspot.com/2011/02/apartment-bathroom-mini-remodel.html
Laura says
My Hubs and I have been married for 39 years…had NEVER done ceramic tile floor before (lots of other redo’s…but never that)…over the past few months, we have stripped wallpaper in our 2nd bathroom, pulled up the linoleum flooring, textured the walls and he laid down the new tile floor (btw – it exceeded all my ‘envisions’ of what I wanted – way to go hubs) — but –he tiled himself into the bathtub (seriously – he knew better than that) – then he got so frustrated with that, he threw a pice of tile out the bathroom window (I had the screen off as I had been scraping and painting it)…I heard him call me (didn’t know men could have such a high screeched voice)…I stood at the doorway laughing so much I had to cross my legs…he looked at me so sheepishly, then asked, ‘could you possibly go outside on the front side of the house and retrieve that tile I threw out the window…I don’t think it broke’ (and thank goodness it didn’t because we were down to the last few). After all these years together, we still find such laughter and fun together…though we do have a few more grey hairs now that the bathroom redo is over…the walls and trim are beautifully painted by moi..and I have decorated it in shades of Turquoise – ultimately looking inviting and relaxing with my seashore theme using my years of collecting sea shells when living in the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley near South Padre Island. Love it! Now to reglaze the sink/countertop and tub…but that…is another story. :P
ps…I peek in at your site every day to see what you guys have been up to…really enjoy that peek into your diy life! :)
Natalie says
I am finishing up a bathroom remodel for my brother. Unfortunately, we had some water damage behind the walls that we had to deal with, so we ended up taking down all the drywall and installing green board, or moisture-resistant drywall. I am posting pictures of the finished space this weekend. Check out the progress here:
http://foreverthehostess.blogspot.com/2011/02/bathroom-renovation-lighting-update.html
http://foreverthehostess.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-have-progress.html
Mandi says
I’m sure I can’t add anything to the list anyone else hasn’t/won’t but I’ve always wanted a super well appointed guest bath, with all kinds of little spa-esque treats in it I don’t even buy for myself LOL! Would love some kind of master list like that (maybe specifying what you did and did not go with?) as an idea for a future post. I am a pretty confident homemaker/home fixer-upper but I feel nervous about my hostessing sometimes.
Karen S. says
A pretty scented candle (AVEDA anyone?) always makes a nice addition—and usually not as offensive as a typcial plug-in air freshener (for those of us who prefer more natural options, that is!)
Rach says
Burger probably doesn’t shed as much as my dogs do, but I always keep a lint roller in the guest bath where people will see it. I like the smaller ones with a plastic cover, because they fit in the little basket with the sewing kit and extra toothbrushes, and I can modge-podge decorative paper onto the cover to make it cute. Wrapping paper works well because it’s flexible enough to work into any grooves. You know, just in case anyone is incredibly Type A about pretty bath accessories like I am :-)
karen says
I can’t wait for Target to come to Canada! 2013!!
Heather @ REOlisticRenovation says
Cute new shower curtain! Love the colors and I like the blue rug the most only it is hard to say from pictures you guys can see more in person I’m sure. :)
Jordan G says
I like to add a glass jar of Q-tips… It’s weird, I know. I’m always looking for Q-tips when we are visiting people, so I decided I needed to have it in case my guests were weird like me!