The guest bath = so much cuter. That sweet little space reminds me that even small seemingly “stuck” spaces can shine with a few easy upgrades, like fresh paint, a new window treatment, some art, and a few mixed and matched accessories. Sometimes it’s fun to embrace an old feature like vintage yellow tile (complete with a floor that looks like a scrabble board) instead of hammer-drilling it out of there. So stick a fork in this baby… for around $50, she’s a whole lot easier on the eyes.
The room has this casual Anthropologie-ish vibe now, which isn’t usually something I’m very good at pulling off – so all the credit goes to the items that were already there (like the original white sink and that sweet 60’s tile). And it definitely didn’t hurt to add some art and a few accessories to fill the voids. Here’s a before shot taken from the same doorway about a week after we moved into our house:
Thank goodness the I-can-see-my-full-body-while-I’m-on-the-toilet mirror is gone, eh?
It’s a tiny room, so please excuse my lack of diverse and all-encompassing shots. The print hanging over the toilet is just a page I tore out of the September issue of Real Simple last year (I keep a flat tupperware box under the bed in the guest room full of “someday art” – so I sifted through it and thought the colors – and the water/fishing thing – was cute for a bathroom). The frame is from Target and came with the mat for $22.
I like how the softer white frame and art works with the deeper mirror and light fixture. Instead of competing and feeling busy, the art falls back and the charcoal mirror over the sink (which I painted Silhouette by Benjamin Moore) says “look I’m the focal point.” Both of the P hand towels are from West Elm (from two different readers at book signings, which was such a fun surprise). And that lemon tea towel is also from someone at a signing. So glad we found a spot for them :)
Dag guest bathroom, why you gotta be so sweet? Here’s where I’ll insert John’s terrible third grade joke about how you have to have two monogrammed P towels in a bathroom because that’s where the pee pee goes. Please forgive him.
And for those requesting a shot of the shower opening, it’s a crazy-tight room, so this is the best I could muster. But you can see the art that hangs across from the mirror a little better. That’s just an old fabric remnant (from U-Fab last year) that I slapped in a frame.
I like that it relates to the brighter yellow tiles in the floor as well as the pops of yellow in the guest room. And here’s a shot of the bottom of the shower, so you can see how that tile lip keeps the curtain from encroaching on the sink. And because it’s polyester (just like a typical fabric shower curtain liner) we just wash it to keep it clean. So far, so good (it’s been in use for 6 months).
This is the view from the guest room, which is nice and tied in, thanks to everything from the blue window shade and the turkish towel on the door (don’t they look cute next to the polka dot curtains?).
It’s so funny how an old yellow bathroom that used to feel like “the weird room” in our house suddenly fits right in.
Here’s what we did in there to snap it into shape:
painted the walls, trim, and ceiling(we did that here)frosted the window for privacy(we did that here)made a window treatment with a bold fabric remnant(we did that here)painted the frame of the mirror so it stands out morehung some art over the toilet and across from the mirrorwent accessory happy
How you like me now, list? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
And here’s our budget breakdown:
- fresh white paint for the walls, ceiling, and trim (all Decorators White by Benjamin Moore): $25 (for a quart)
- paint for the mirror (Silhouette by Benjamin Moore): $0 (already owned)
- art for above the toilet: $22 (frame: Target, art: a free page torn from Real Simple)
- coral fabric art that you see in the mirror: $0 (yellow coral fabric remnant + frame we already had)
- fabric remnant for the window treatment: $4 (from U-Fab by Iman)
- frosting film for the window: $0 (already owned from other projects like this)
- hand towels, plant, bath towel, and soap: $0 (all already owned)
- TOTAL SPENT: $51 (it would probably be around $70 total if you didn’t already have mirror paint, hand towels, & frosting film)
And that’s why I love accessorizing. The end.
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Daphne says
This looks sweet! I especially love that you framed a page from a magazine–the illustrations in magazines are underrated if you ask me. As an illustrator myself, I’m glad to see that you recognize quality artwork even when it’s in a humble magazine :)
Helen says
I love it! I dunno why you weren’t into the yellow wall tiles, they’re nice. I hope you never take them out. Crazy what a little accessorizing can do for a room. The sink? It’s adorable. I want this.
JanetS. says
I love what you have done. At first I wondered how the blue window treatment fit into the plan but then when you took the photo from the guest room it all made beautiful sense.
Funny thought – when I saw the mosaic tile on the bathroom floor I was reminded of the corn on the cob where there are yellow kernels and white kernels and some beige kernels, all randomly arranged on the same cob. So, if anyone asks your bathroom tile color the right answer might be “corn on the cob.” :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! That’s an awesome observation. I like it!
-John
diana maria says
this is darling!
Harmony_G says
Love the pops of grey in there. wonderful!
Kaesey says
Good job! I like the sweet and charming little bathroom. We have a big ol’ K in ours, and I keep swapping out art trying to find just the right thing.
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
Just thought of a bathroom question for ya so I thought this recent post would be appropriate!
We have toilet brush cleaner holders that stand on the side of each toilet. They’re totally yucky and I don’t like them visually. While typing this, I just thought about keeping the brush with cleaning supplies and only getting it out for cleaning (assuming it was contained). Do you use those brush stands and keep them nicer looking than mine or do you have some other approach?
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s a good idea! you could even keep the end in a plastic bag with an elastic and store it somewhere out of the way like in a closet to keep it “quarantined” – we just use those stands though (we have one in the whole house that we use for all the bathrooms, just by carrying it from room to room and it’s tucked on the hidden side of the toilet in the hall bath :)
xo
s
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
Thanks Sherry! I think I’m definitely going to have to throw mine out soon and just start fresh with one or find a way to keep it with the cleaning supplies.
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
sorry for all the comments! just thought I’d show you this stand that I saw on West Elm while we’re on the topic – much nicer looking than my metal ones but it may be heavy to carry around.
http://www.westelm.com/products/mrk-ceramic-toilet-brush-holder-d434/?cm_src=AutoRel2
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s pretty!
xo
s
Krista says
I love all the subtle changes y’all did to freshen that room up!! This bathroom could have been in our 1960s house. We had yellow and green tile, just like that, and I wish I had seen this last year before we refinished it! Now the yellow tiles are a pretty grey, and the green tiles that ran along the top are a darker grey with color flecks. I miss the shine of the tile (the new finish is matte), and now I see that the yellow really could have been quite charming with the right accessories (however, the green needed to go!).
Laura Crenshaw says
My bathroom has tile JUST like this! It has been a nightmare to me! There was floral wall paper, floral light fixtures, the works! I LOVE the light over the mirror! Where did you get it?! Thanks for the inspiration!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Laura! That’s an outdoor light from either Home Depot or Lowe’s (forget which one). It was really cheap!
xo
s
Hannah says
I know you’re out of this house now (congrats!) but do you by chance have the measurements of this room?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I think maybe 7′ wide and 5′ deep (including the shower stall)?
xo
s