Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Design Dilemma - "Builder Bland" Bathroom Makeover

When the husband and I moved into our house, it was what I like to call "Builder Bland." We chose upgraded tile for the kitchen, bathrooms and floors but aside from that the walls and fixtures were pretty generic. We have been slowly doing some cosmetic upgrades with paint, new lighting fixtures and molding. One of my favorite projects was out guest bathroom.

I have used a very similar color palette throughout the entire house and rusty red is one of our accent colors. I know they say you shouldn't paint a small room a dark color but I did exactly that and I LOVE the way it turned out. Here is a view of the entire bathroom:


It originally had that cheap-o exposed bulb light fixture but I replaced it with a bronze version that was the floor model from a lighting store. I score it for $70 bucks! We also replaced the silver faucet with a bronze one I purchased on EBAY. That saved us another $150!

I wanted to do something with the mirror, but the builder glued the ENTIRE mirror to the wall making it impossible to remove. Instead, my Dad built a frame out of molding and we put that directly on top of the mirror. The result is a custom look for a fraction of the price. I have the same project planned for our master bath, so when I do that one I will put up a step by step tutorial. Another tip - I painted the existing light switch and outlet covers with a bronze paint to turn to make them look more expensive. Just lightly sand them to take the shine off the plastic and you can save a ton by just painting them.

For wall art I purchased these 2 ceiling tiles on EBAY and framed them in a shadow box frame without the glass.


This is a shot of my linen closet, with each shelf labeled (courtesy of the label maker) for the size sheets that go on it. I also keep a basket of sample products in there for guest to use.


Lastly, I just have to share a pic of the soap/lotion combo I have in the guest bath. Everyone that comes over just loves it and I can always tell when they have used it b/c the smell is pretty strong. Its Tranquil Mint from Bath and Body Works. I actually bought it for the kitchen but hated the way it smelled on me. Who knew everyone else would love it so much!

4 comments:

Joseph said...
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Unknown said...
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Brooke said...

Love your idea for framing out the mirror and painting the switch plates. We are working on our hall bath right now. I can't believe how long it takes to work on such a tiny space!!! I hope my results are as lovely as yours!

Barbie said...

Love what you have done! I love all of the bronze accents. I use the B&B Works soaps too. LOVE the Eucyliptus Spearmint the best!! Guests love that stuff.