DIY, Home Improvement, one room challenge, Renovating

one room challenge: week 5 – wainscoting

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It’s week Five of the One Room Challenge! This is also the week where I realize there is only one week left to finish up – everything! Well, you know what they say, time really does fly when you’re having fun…errrrrr renovating a bathroom. Last week, for Week Four, we finished the wallpaper but we still don’t have ya know, a toilet, a sink or anything else that makes this space a proper bathroom. And just in case you need to do some catching up, here are links to Week Three, Week Two, and Week One. Also, here is my mood board that has been serving as a blue print and as sort of my inspiration for the space.

And now that we’re on the subject of the moodboard, I have made a few modifications since we are so close to finishing this thing up! The first change is small but the light that I originally had picked was actually more of a bronze in color and after I saw the black, black faucet and some other finishes in person, I knew it needed to be black. So the new one is black and just a single light, instead of the double that is pictured above. The other change is the rug. I had been eyeing a vintage rug for weeks and I finally went ahead and pulled the trigger. I am so excited to show you guys but I think I am going to save it for the reveal. Gotta have a couple surprises, right? And the third and final change is the mirror. I started feeling like the space needed some warmth in all that matte black so I changed my mind and went with a wood mirror. Again, you’re gonna have to wait to see that until next week!

Ok – now back to business. This week we focused on the wainscoting! Remember the inspiration photo I showed you all a couple weeks ago?

We’ve made a few modifications to the design, mostly just with the angles of the wood and a few pieces of trim that we added. I’m really proud of this wainscoting and really think it’s going to give the space some serious pizzazz.

My husband and I both thought that this process was going to be a lot more difficult than it actually was. We found this material at Lowe’s and we love it! We are going to be using it for another project in the future, I’m just not sure what, yet.

The first thing we decided on was how high we wanted the wainscoting to go up the wall. For us, we wanted it a bit higher than traditional wainscoting and opted for 54″ from the floor. We snapped a horizontal chalk line around the room at that 54″ mark. Next, we snapped a vertical chalk line at the mid-point of each wall. This would mark where we wanted the planking to meet. After those two things were done, we had another decision to make: at what angle do we want the planks? Once we held a few pieces up on the wall so that I could visually see the angles (cause I’m a visual person and that’s what makes it easiest for me to make decisions) we pretty quickly landed on a good ol’45 degree angle for the win! And then it’s slow and steady progress from there…plank by plank and cut by cut.

Since the wainscoting was going up, this meant that it was time for us to make the plumbing modifications for our new wall mount faucet. But, we are the luckiest people around because our neighbor happens to be a plumber! I know, I know, don’t be jealous. So, he was nice enough to donate his time and showed my husband the ropes and they got that new faucet installed and looking GOOD. Thank you, Phil!!

The wainscoting is almost completely done and that means that I’m going to be filling ALL those nail holes and then painting it. I can’t wait to see this all painted! Here’s a progress shot so you can see exactly just how many nail holes are in the planks. Holy moly…there’s a lot.

Also, I found a paint color and here’s a sneak peak for ya!

So that’s our progress report for this week! Can you believe we only have one week left??? I’m so excited to finish this project and I’m also giddy to see some of the other makeovers. I’ve been poking around on some other blogs to see how the progress is coming along and it’s looking like some pretty fabulous projects are in the works. Can’t wait!

Oh and here’s my final to-do list so I can finish this baby up:

  1. trim out wainscoting
  2. fill all nail holes and caulk and sand wainscoting
  3. paint wainscoting
  4. install toilet
  5. install sink
  6. clean the whole space – all that construction dust and mess
  7. accessory time – install mirror, toilet paper holder, and towel hook. Hang art!

So much to do in so little time! Think I can do it???

 

DIY, one room challenge, Renovating

One Room Challenge: Week Four – Wallpaper

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Well…it’s that time again! It’s time for the weekly update for the One Room Challenge. Can you believe it’s already week four of my bathroom remodel? As a quick recap, I am redoing my bathroom over six weeks and am sharing the progress here, in real time, as part of the One Room Challenge. Here’s a link back to Week One, Week two, and Week Three. And just in case you need another refresh, here is the mood board that I put together as a sort of blue print and for inspiration.

This week was a fun one! We spent the last few days wallpapering the bathroom and although I was a little nervous about diving in, it was actually pretty fun once we got into a groove! When the wallpaper arrived, I was so delighted/excited that I couldn’t wait to get started.

I’ll give you the general rundown on the actual process of wallpapering so you can get the jist. The process is pretty simple and if I can do it, you can do it, too! It’s all about paying attention to details and making sure your lines are straight. Once you have straight lines, the process starts cruising. Measure first, and pre-cut your strips of wallpaper so that you aren’t measuring and trying to cut the paper when the adhesive is on the wall. Because we found that it starts drying really fast. We used a chalk line to mark straight lines and used that as a guide to line the individual pieces of paper to. The adhesive goes into the wall with a roller, and the sheet just sticks right onto the wall. Start smoothing with your flat edge to get all the bubbles out and use a SHARP razor to make your cuts at the ceiling. Done and done! Like I said, this is a very short summary of the process.

We decided we were going to st0p half way down the wall as we are installing wainscoting on the lower portion of the walls to really give this tiny space some pizzazz. The light fixture arrived yesterday and I’m smitten. It’s just perfect and looks so sharp next to all those black ostriches.

Now that the wallpaper is up, next on the to-do list is the plumbing. We are changing the plumbing so that it can accommodate a faucet that comes directly out of the wall. Once this is done, then we can start installing the wainscoting. My hubby started on one of the walls so I will give you a sneaky peaky. I will have to fill in all the knots and nail holes with wood filler and then all of the wood will be painted black. Or a color that’s very close to black.

So that’s where we’re at! What do you think of the ostriches? Do  you love them as much as I do? Anybody have any wallpapering horror stories they want to share? I sure read about some doozies online when I was doing research before we started. Only two weeks to go so I’ll be back next week with lots (hopefully) to report on!

 

 

DIY, one room challenge, Renovating

one room challenge: week three – DEMO!

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Hi all! It’s week three of our funky tiny half-bath remodel! Time is flying! As a quick catch up, I am redoing our half-bath as part of the One Room Challenge. If you need to refresh your memory or maybe you’re new here (WELCOME!), here is Week One with my mood board and Week Two with even more deets, and some very fancy wainscoting plans.

So the biggest change this week is that we finally have a freshly demo’d space! I love this part so much. Taking out all the old helps me envision the new! Goodbye tiny toilet! Goodbye boring sink!

The most exciting part of this process is that some of the items that we chose for the bathroom have started to arrive! My wallpaper came (it’s amazing) and it’s going in this weekend. My sister has graciously volunteered to come over for the weekend and we are gonna get our wallpaper ONNNNNN. Love you, Collin! Also, a few of the accessories have arrived and seeing them in person is an absolute delight!

Here’s the to-do list (in order):

  1. Decide whether or not to paint the ceiling
  2. Install wallpaper
  3. Change the plumbing to accomodate a wall mounted faucet
  4. Wainscoting construction and install
  5. New toilet install
  6. Sink install
  7. Light fixture, mirror and accessories

Now the fun really begins! I’ll be back next week with some good progress for ya! Now…does anyone have any wallpaper tips for me? Or maybe what NOT to do? This is my first time! Wish me luck!

Decorating, DIY, one room challenge, Renovating

one room challenge: week two

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Well that was fast! This week FLEW BY. I can’t believe we are already in the second week for the ORC. Last week, I let you in on my exciting plans to update our tiny powder room as a part of the One Room Challenge. Let’s have another looky at ye ol’moodboard:

1. // 2. // 3. // 4. // 5. // 6. //

This week is still slow moving and I am still finalizing all the plans and waiting for items to start arriving. The biggest change this week from last week is that I decided on a style of wainscoting that will go on the bottom half of the wall – underneath the most fabulous wallpaper that has ever existed. I was scrolling for inspiration for a modern style of wainscoting online because I was sure I didn’t want to go with the traditional look when I found this little beauty. I showed my husband and he is game (albeit a tincy bit scared) to give it a try! Wish us ALLLLLLLLL the luck.

Source Unknown – but if you know, let me know and I’d be happy to credit them. 

It will definitely be painted. I’m thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of a charcoal – but I will have to wait and see the wallpaper in person before I can make a final decision. We went toilet shopping this week (I know what you’re thinking…yes, we know how to have a good time) and selected a new toilet which is something that we have been wanting to replace in all of our bathrooms – the current ones are really small and low to the floor. Weird, right?

Our next mission is remove the current sink. We will have to move the plumbing to accommodate a wall mounted faucet because of the sink we chose. We originally found the sink with a navy border from Rejuvenation, but the navy was making things hard to coordinate. After a bit more googling, we ended up finding it in black at a few other spots, and for a bit cheaper, too. Easier to incorporate and less money? Sounds like a win-win to me! Here’s a little refresher in case you forgot what that looks like.

So that’s where we’re at after our first week. I know that’s not too much of an update, but just wait until next week after demo has been completed! That is going to be fun, but we will also be down one bathroom which I hadn’t really thought of until…..well, just now. The wallpaper, and a fun addition to be hung on the wall are both supposed to be arriving in the next week, so those will be fun to share as well. Hit me up with any questions! Until next week!

Decorating, DIY, Home Improvement, Renovating

tiny funky half bath – one room challenge: week one

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I’m coming at ya today with some very exciting news! I’m officially taking part in my first One Room Challenge! What’s that, you ask? Well….lemme fill you in. The One Room Challenge is a bi-annual design event where participants completely renovate a room in six weeks. Everyone checks in once a week with a progress report (or lack thereof) and spills the beans about the good, the bad, and the ugly. This event is designed to encourage and inspire, which is totally my cup of tea.

The space that I’m going to focus on is our teeny tiny downstairs half-bath. It’s small and since this is my first go-around with the ORC – I figured it was kinda the perfect fit. So, here’s my vision. And I’m going to give myself permission to change my mind at any point. Mmmmmmkay?

1. // 2. // 3. // 4. // 5. // 6.

This lil’baby of a bathroom is located just off of our front entrway. Soooooo, it makes sense to me that it should be pretty as guests see this room right as they walk into the house. Also, weighing in at just 23 square feet, I feel like I can manage her.

As far as the game plan goes, it’s pretty simple. The floors will stay the same as they are the same wood that carries throughout the entire lower level. I’m thinking about some kind of wainscoting to wrap around the entire room – but modern. Still working out the details on that so we’ll see what I can come up with. And then my crown jewel of the entire room is going to be my ostrich wallpaper from Milton & King. It’s so fun and quirky and I’m in love. I think I’m going to give it a big hug when it’s finally installed.

Alright!!! Here we go! I will be back next week with all the updates!!!!

 

Decorating, DIY, Home Improvement, kitchen remodel, kitchen remodel, Paint

Six months and three faucets later…the true story of a diy kitchen remodel

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This post is sponsored by Inmod

I’m so excited to share our finished kitchen with you guys today! It was a long, long process and it feels BEYOND good to be all finished up! Our kitchen was a diy through and through and has me feeling some major pride. We were newbies to some of the projects (tiling) but also old hats at others (painting the kitchen cabs). But, this story has a happy ending and we are thrilled with how it came out!

Let’s take a look back at where we began, shall we?

Although we kept the original footprint of the kitchen, we changed almost everything else. There wasn’t really anything wrong with the kitchen before, but it wasn’t our style and just kinda fell flat. That feeling of blah.

Our first task was removing the old upper cabinets and the vent hood. I hated how the original cabinets were floating in the middle of the wall. Our ceilings are high at nine feet and that area above the cabinets didn’t seem like a good use of space. Our kitchen is small so wasted space is a no no. This seemed like an opportunity for tile all the way up to the ceiling and some open shelving.

For tile, we chose the 2×6 weathered white zellige from Cle Tile. I have been in love with this tile ever since Emily Henderson used it in her kitchen last year. I have never tiled anything of this scale before and I was actually pretty nervous about tackling this project, but it turned out to be kinda fun! My sister and her husband came for the weekend to help us and we made a party out of it! I definitely recommend drinking cocktails while tiling…as long as you can keep your lines straight. The tile came out beautifully and I LOVE it. It’s my favorite part of the kitchen. And let me tell ya…it’s even better in person.

For the open shelves, we tracked down a local who sells wood slabs of all kinds. All we had to do was decide on a type of wood and he cut it down to size for us. We ended up going with a couple of slabs of maple. I wanted a light colored wood with some grain and the maple fit the bill. It’s a hardwood too so that’s another bonus. After they were hung, I sealed the shelves with wax.

Our countertops are concrete and we poured them ourselves. I’ve actually been getting so many questions about them and the process that I am going to dedicate an entire post just to the countertops. Coming soon! It was a BIG job but they are perfectly imperfect and just what I was envisioning for the kitchen! A big thank you to Jimmy and Dani for coming from Idaho and showing us the ropes.

Deciding on the faucet for the kitchen sink was a tough one for me. I don’t know why exactly, but I ended up ordering three before I settled on this matte black guy. My husband wanted to kill me (not really…but, kinda) but my folks ended up adopting the first one for their kitchen and the second one is living out its days in the box in the garage. I’m confident we will find it a new home though! Maybe Facebook marketplace or craigslist?

For our cabinets, we painted them Hidden Falls by Benjamin Moore and added new brass hardware from Cb2. The new color is a deep green with some blue undertones and I love the moody vibe it gives the kitchen.

And just when we were putting the finishing touches on the kitchen, Inmod approached me and asked if I would be interested in working together. I jumped at the shot. You see, I couldn’t decide on bar stools for the new kitchen and after the whole faucet debacle, I knew I needed to be sure of my decision (i.e. not order online and then hate them in person). Inmod is famous for their crazy big selection of modern, mid-century, industrial, and Scandinavian furniture. They also sell styles from world revered designers such as Eames, Wegner, and Saarinen, just to name a few! So knowing this, I knew I could pick some bar stools that would function well and look beautiful in the new kitchen.

I ended up choosing their Sigfred Barstools in the tobacco color and I’m. In. Love. They have a beautiful leather padded seat with the most lovely stitching detail. The legs are a black metal and I love how it plays so well with my matte black faucet. Aren’t they the perfect pair? Putting them together was a breeze, and I assembled them by myself one evening while my husband gave the baby a bath. I finished before he had his jams on!

And because we eat all of our meals at the bar in these barstools, I can attest to their comfort. We spend a lot of time in this area because we don’t have a dining room (but this is a whole different story, for another time). Also, it is worth mentioning that there may have been a spaghetti supper on their first night in the house and they wipe up beautifully. I’m a big fan, can you tell?

So there you have it! The kitchen is done! What do you think? Does anyone have any DIY tales where something went horribly awry?? Did anyone order multiple kitchen faucets? I want all the details. Leave me a comment…I’d love to hear!

 

DIY, Home Improvement, Installing wood floors, Renovating

Carpet’s out, wood’s in

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Hi guys! It’s been a million years since I’ve posted on here! Lately, it just seems more convenient to keep everybody updated with all of our house projects on Instagram versus writing out a long blog post. But I’ve been feeling guilty about ignoring my blog because it’s such a great, creative outlet for me and I love documenting our house projects. So I’m going to do a better job. The good news is that we have endless amounts of projects going on around the house which equals tons of content. House projects have been plentiful, blog posts not so much.

It would make sense for me to start with giving you guys a full house tour so you can see where we are at in terms of progress. And I will do that, but for now, we are just gonna skip ahead to the most exciting project ever! Wood floors! If you follow me on Instagram, then you already know that we started installing our new floors. We started upstairs, and the plan is to divide the house into three sections because we are doing the install ourselves and tackling one section at a time feels less daunting. So upstairs goes first, next is the stairs and its two landings, and lastly, the main level.

In our last house, we had our wood floors installed and that was great. But there is something to be said for doing the work yourselves and the most obvious bonus of all is that you don’t have to shell out the extra money to pay for the labor, which we learned was the most expensive part of replacing flooring. If you have been following along since we did our Texas renovation, we loved our wood floors from that house so much that we went ahead and ordered the same ones for this house. I know, I know, we like to live on the edge.

Even though this is a big project and tons of work, the work itself isn’t terribly complicated. So I’m confident saying that, if we can figure this out, anybody can do this! Isn’t that so exciting?

My brother and his family came to help for the weekend along with my mom and dad. We were so grateful for the help and are all set to return the favor and spend a weekend at my brothers house when his wood floors are ready to go down. Thank you Aaron and Audra! Thank you mom and dad! Like I said above, we started upstairs and first thing we did was remove the baseboards and then out came the old, nasty, dirty, shag carpet. YUCK. I got the heebeejeebee’s when we started rolling up the old carpet and I could see just how dirty it was. I won’t go into details but there were some suspect looking stains that I would like to never think about again. K – moving on.

 

We ordered the flooring way back in November and had moved it upstairs in March so we didn’t have to worry about it acclimating but I think the rule is that the boxes of flooring should live in the space prior to installation for three to five days. Next up was rolling out some underlayment, which acts as a vapor barrier and prevents the squeaking of wood flooring against the plywood subfloor under it.

The first row is the most crucial row as it will ensure that you have a straight line going forward. Also, the wood needed to start with a 1/2” gap from the wall since that is the thickness of our wood planks. This gap allows the wood to expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. But once those two things were done and right, we picked up the pace and even started to find a rhythm.

This is the biggest room upstairs so I’m so happy to have this beast of a room checked off the list. Moving forward, Nate and I will be doing piece by piece(see what I did there?) as time allows so we are hoping to be done with the upstairs sometime in the year 2021…just kidding…kind of.

Now that the new floors are going down, I started thinking about rug pads for my area rugs. I’m bad about choosing the pretty and forgoing the things that are practical, but aren’t seen. In the past, I tried those cheap waffle-like pads with a chemical smell and my rugs still slide around. So when RugPadUSA asked if I wanted to partner up, I was so excited! If my new floors could thank them, I think they would.

I chose their Contour Lock style because it’s well-suited to flat-woven rugs and my vintage rugs with a low pile. If you love vintage rugs like I do, then you know that they almost always come in an unusual, wonky size. RugPadUSA cuts their pads to fit any rug size, so no size is too weird!

I love how they make our rugs feel so cushy and comfortable now. The pads are thick and feel soft underfoot. As a mom with a baby who just learned how to walk, I appreciate the extra cushion.

RugPadUSA uses recycled felt and a natural rubber to make their pads so there is no toxic smell and that makes me feel good about bringing it into our home with our kids. On the reverse side is a natural rubber bottom that keep your rugs in place and they seriously do not budge, even with rowdy kids and toddling babies. I love these pads and am going to need more in the future! A big thanks to RugPadUSA for introducing me to these. I’m hooked.

This post is sponsored by RugPadUSA Opinions expressed are 100% my own

 

 

 

Decorating, DIY, Home Improvement, Renovating

Our DIY Entryway Bench

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We built a bench in our entryway and it feels so good. Hehe, I just sort of jumped right in without any pleasantries or warning. I’m a tad excited about this project, can you tell? Behold, our refreshed entryway:

It feels like a whole new space. Ah, the power of diy.

As you can see, we weren’t using this space in a functional way. Besides not being functional, it was so boring. Major snooze factor. There wasn’t any storage, no hooks for coats, and no mirror to check your hair when you leave. Doesn’t everyone do that? I knew it needed all these components, but I wasn’t sure how to implement them.

Via

So a couple weeks ago, I was on instagram one evening and came across this image from a favorite blogger of mine. Gorgeous, no? That floating, simple bench would be perfect for my blah entryway! This is why I love a good diy blog – so much good content to be shared for others to use.  She had a link to her blog with a genius set of instructions. I showed them to Nate and he thought we could handle the bench portion of the project – no problem.

We followed the instructions she provided without any problems. Her instructions were thorough and easy to follow. So, because I documented our steps and took photos along the way, I will include our step by step process. This is a great project that could be modified to fit a number of different spaces and homes.

First, we picked up some project boards and had them cut to size right at Lowe’s. We also grabbed some stain, poly, a couple 2×4’s, and two brackets. For staining the boards, I followed the instructions from brepurposed.com and she swears that the perfect stain recipe is two coats of special walnut with one coat of golden oak in between. I don’t have very much experience with staining, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I stained the boards outside with a lint-free rag and let them dry overnight. After they were dry, I applied a couple coats of poly.

To decide how high we wanted the bench to be, we measured our dining table bench from West Elm. It seemed to be a good height and even moved it over in the entryway space to have a visual aid to help.

Next up, attaching the 2×4’s to studs in the wall for the framing of the bench.

Then we attached a piece of the project board to the top of the framing.

To make sure that the bench was sturdy and extra strong, our next step was adding two 2×4’s across the top of the project board.

Finally, the top went on and we attached the brackets that the front piece would be screwed into.

We screwed in the last piece from the back so there aren’t any visible screws from the front. After this step, we got the nail gun out and used finishing nails to secure the piece all the way across. After that, done!

To make the bench even more of a work horse for us, I added three baskets underneath, one for each kiddo. I have room for a fourth basket but for now, I left some space for some taller boots. The baskets have been a life saver to corral coats, backpacks and shoes. The hooks were a cheap amazon find and help to finish off the space. I bought a mirror from Target a while back and hung it up above the hooks.

We love how this project turned out. Maybe love isn’t a strong enough word, maybe obsessed is more accurate. Now, we have the itch to get started on some other diy’s around here, so stay tuned!

Decorating, DIY, Home Improvement, Paint, Renovating

Project Porch

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Spring has sprung here in Texas which means the temps are high, the bugs are plentiful and the storms are frequent. We have been enjoying the lovely weather and never get sick of a good thunder storm, but the bugs…not so much. Lucky for us, our house has a screened porch; the perfect solution for being outside without being bothered by pesky mosquitoes.

But until last week, our porch looked like this.

Whoa. That’s a lot of flesh-colored paint. I love updating spaces like this because it really shows what a difference some paint makes. And that’s all we did, with the exception of rearranging some furniture and adding some plants. Paint!

Last summer, when we painted the exterior of our house, we skipped the porch. Why you ask? I’m not exactly sure but I am going to blame the hot temps. It was summer in Central Texas and I was almost five months pregnant with Urban. First on the to-do list was painting the siding to match the rest of the exterior. If you’ve been following along, you might already know we chose a charcoal color with some metallic undertones. It sounds crazy but the metallic undertones are bronze and they are lovely. Kind of like the way that oil and water swirl around and in just the right light you can make out little rainbows. Only the paint on our house isn’t an environmental hazard. We LOVE the color. We love it more and more all the time and have even had neighbors knock on our door and ask us what color we used. I will never get sick of that!

The rest of the walls were painted a bright white, and on the floor we used a stormy gray color. We started out painting the walls with a brush and roller until we were ready to lose our minds and rented a paint sprayer to apply the second coat. If we were doing this project all over again, we would definitely rent the paint sprayer from the start. To paint the floors, I went around the edges with a paint brush and then Nate rolled the rest. I always do the cutting in and he always does the rolling. It’s become a thing. I know, I know, we’re crazy.

The rest of the project was fun. I used things we already owned to decorate the room (I say “room,” but I mean porch) except a new outdoor rug, an outdoor light, and a plant stand. Remember my chandelier that got bumped from the dining room inside? She found herself a new home on the porch and I think it’s a perfect fit.

The table and chairs were put back on the opposite side of the porch because originally, I placed them on the same side as the bump-out with the windows on the house. The more I thought about it though, it makes waaaaay more sense to have it on the other side with more space. Duh. Now that side has a seating area with a rug. Also, plants. And more plants. My plants love Texas. Plants that I used to kill in Oregon thrive here. Must be all the sunshine and humidity in the air. Like living in a greenhouse.

Isn’t it looking so much better? And the best part is that we are now using this space. Nolan and Grey have been using the space for playing and we’ve even had dinner together at the table. Yay us!

Finally, I know I always do this but it’s just too much fun, so let’s look back at where we started:

And now:

Dear paint, I love you so.

 

Decorating, DIY, Home Improvement, Paint, Renovating

The Bathroom is Done Done

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A few weeks ago, I shared our finished bathroom with the promise that I would be back with some pictures of the space with all the accessories and art. So today, I will honor my promise (even though technically, I think I’m a bit late on my delivery) and show all the fun details that make the bathroom feel complete. Drum roll please:

We are very pleased with the finished product. And I use the word finished loosely because it seems like I am never quite done tweaking things. Nate hates that, but I loooove it. Tomato tomahto. I have to say, this was my favorite part of revamping a space…all the little details.

When the mirror was hung, I was nervous it was all wrong. And it would have been an annoying error to make because I had already painted the frame a flat black so there was no turning back and returning to the store. To remedy this, I brought in as many black elements as I could. All of the other pops of black help make the mirror feel less chunky. Now, it feels much more balanced to me and less like “look at this mirror with a giant black frame.” The basket on top of the toilet, the towel hooks, toilet paper holder, and hand towel ring are all black.

I thought that hooks for towels might be a fun change of pace from the old towel bar. And now that they’re up; our kids can actually hang their towel up on their chosen hook. When the old towel bar lived there, the kids would haphazardly throw their damp towels up on the bar. The messy towels drove me nuts because it looked sloppy and the towels couldn’t easily dry. Nobody likes a damp towel.

We installed a shelf above the toilet which is a nice spot for a few decorative pieces and a tray to wrangle bobby pins and Nolan’s hair barrettes. I had a lot of fun completing my first “paint by numbers” picture and framed it in an inexpensive wood frame from Target. Also, notice the black brackets on the shelf? I thought they complimented the mirror nicely.

My little vintage rug that we found at Round Top last fall fits perfectly in our little bathroom and I think it makes the room feel special. It’s perfect for a bathroom because it adds some color and pattern. I also like that it’s low profile so the door can open and close over it but it’s heavy enough to not slide around.

The light above the vanity is a galvanized steel finish and I like its casual feel. It is our preferred light for the bathroom as it casts a soft light directly onto the vanity.

That’s about it for our main bathroom. We can check this off our list and call this one done. One last time, let’s look back at where we started:

And now we look like this:

And speaking of making good progress, our master bathroom is looking a lot like our main bathroom these days. We have two bathrooms in our house and they are located right around the corner from one another. When we started planning to update them, we decided early on that they should have the same look and feel since they are so close. It seemed odd to give them each a completely different design. They aren’t quite twins but maybe they could be sisters?

We used all the same materials that were used in our main bathroom. Same tiles on the floor, same countertop, same sink, you get the idea. Here’s an old shot I dug up of this same spot right after our move.

So what do you guys think? Is there anyone out there who recently took on a similar DIY bathroom project? Any first-time tilers who are contemplating getting started? Were you as nervous as we were? Really, once you dive in it’s not that scary. I’d love to hear from you so feel free to leave me a comment below:-)