@evelynandtheodore

$30 Mini Bathrooom Refresh


Our bathroom has been virtually the same for two years now, and it hasn't quite been what I wanted since about a week after I finished it the last time (does that really surprise you? Especially considering in the old reveal post, I describe it as "nautical-meets-farmhouse"... what in the world was I thinking???).
A lot has changed in our house since July 2016, and the bathroom no longer matched anything. The color is a lot brighter than anywhere else I've painted in the house & it never quite flowed with the other rooms as a result. The room just felt small, crowded, & way overly cluttered...it just hasn't been functioning the way it needs to, aesthetically or physically. So I did what anyone does these days...I took to Instagram & documented the whole process.


In an effort to make the bathroom feel less cluttered & mesh with the rest of the house, I took down the three thick floating shelves above the toilet & replaced them with one thin shelf that matches several others in the house. I have these Target Threshold shelves in our living room, dining room, and Carl's room, and it only felt right to carry them into this room. These shelves have been discontinued by Target as of 2016, but Home Depot has a few similar brackets here & here (you'd just have to find your favorite wood to go with them).



I kept the wall color the same, but did need to get a color match paint sample from Home Depot, as the remainder of the original can had not been sealed properly, and was a crusty hard rock in the bottom of the can...oops.
The gentleman at Home Depot was able to get us the match (Behr Blue Basin in a satin finish), and the sample size only cost me under $4! I didn't need much, just enough to cover any patches I'd have from filling previous holes*, and I still have plenty of the sample left for any future small scale needs.
*I almost always use joint compound to fill holes. More information is in the Instagram highlight video here.


I carried the artwork Aaron picked out at Salvation Army ($4.99 last year) from the left hand side of the room to hang over the new shelf. The color of the art matches the walls almost perfectly (he must have a "thing" for this color, because he also picked the paint), and is low profile enough to keep that side of the room feeling open. I only kept the essentials and two water planted pothos babies (of course in thrifted glasses, $0.99/each) for the shelf to keep the space functional but also decorative.


The two glass & wood containers were Salvation Army finds a few months ago ($1.99/each), and they store our cotton balls & Q-tips perfectly within reach while adding a bit of warmth to the space.
The quilted milk glass cigarette box was an Etsy find a few years back ($15), and is the perfect size to store our nail clippers, tweezers, and a few other face-care essentials.
The small blue box was a clearance Target grab about 6 years ago (I think it was around $2 at the time), and keeps some small jewelry pieces within easy reach, in case I need a last minute pair of earrings.


On the other side of the mirror, I filled in some holes & strung up these new baskets using fishing line. These were actually the bulk of my budget for this project, ringing in at $12 for the larger & $8 for the smaller. These really pull the room together with the rest of the house by helping to tone down the blue & bring warm tones into the room.

The hanging test tubes were a quick DIY project using materials I had on hand (test tubes from Target Dollar Spot office supplies, leather strapping from a time I thought I'd make some jewelry that never was done). I plan on popping some eucalyptus or lavender in them from time to time.






I kept the shark jaw in place, but definitely need to replace the floss that's been holding it up for two years with some fishing line 😆 But hey, you use what you have at the time, am I right? It's worked for this long, haha.

I also brought up a glass pitcher ($2.99 at Goodwill maybe a year ago) and filled it with some fresh Aldi's tulips ($5) to try to bring in a little bit of life into the space (and to pretend that spring is coming...because it really doesn't feel like it is anytime soon). I'm also just now noticing that I never fully cleaned off the counters before taking all of these photos... oh well, this is real life, after all!


I do plan on figuring out a way to update the horrible 1980s Hollywood light fixture (even if it's just a layer of silver paint) so that it matches the towel bars & toilet paper roll, but that will come later this year. If we weren't renting, I would be looking into a different fixture, but since our landlord has approved paint, we'll paint. I did replace the dying globe lights with some Dollar Tree LED bulbs last year when I replaced all of our bulbs in the house, and that has definitely helped brighten up the room for cheap; doing my makeup now is almost like natural light!


I also would like to paint the lower half of the room a bright white instead of the off-white it is now. I think that painting the vanity & wooden portions of the hardware to match will help open up the room even more (not to mention make it feel a little more modern), and since the cabinet we brought needs a new coat of paint anyways, I might as well do it all at once!


So all in all, after shopping our home for a majority of the pieces, I spent less than $30 to give this room a much needed refresh! It's still far from perfect, but for the price, I can handle it.

Breakdown:
Paint sample: $4
Baskets: $20
Tulips: $5
Total: $29

Now off to clean up those counters & wipe down the mirror...because there is just far too much happening in there right now.


Side note: a few months ago, I installed this frosted static cling to the window to add privacy but keep a good amount of natural light in the room, and I haven't regretted it once. It was super easy to install (even though I totally messed up my first cut and had to re-do it), and I'm considering buying another roll for our bedroom & Carl's room.
Currently, I have it up in our bathroom & dining room windows & it's so nice not staring at ugly mini-blinds but still having privacy & light. Both windows face our backyard, and subsequently, our neighbor's side yard/house, and let me tell you... not seeing our backyard full of frozen dog poop or feeling like people can creep into our dining room on the main floor is amazing. Plus, now men can use our restroom without feeling...ahem...exposed when they're in there and the blinds are up 😆
Personally, I highly recommend this for renters; they have tons of different patterns, too, if the frosted look isn't for you!

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