The powder room was the first room in the house that I tackled as far as painting goes. It was painted the same beige as the rest of the house - a perfectly nice color but not something I loved in that room. It had a wallpaper border around the middle of the wall, a black/creme travel-theme border peeling off in several places.
So here's the before - pretty blah...
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You can see that there was a towel bar above the toilet for some reason. That's about 6 feet away from the sink, so it wasn't the best place to hang a towel. Not sure what the thought was there originally. Plus, the handicap-access bar. I'm sure it had its place but it wasn't something we wanted to keep around. The tile is lovely - the light fixture, sink, and mirror were just fine with me - and the woodwork was in great shape. So the only major work needed was painting.
So, here's the big reveal...
I love how it turned out! This bathroom makeover was super cheap too. Here's how it breaks down:
- The paint is a warm purple-brown. So pretty. It's actually much warmer than it shows here. I got it in the oops paint section at Home Depot for $7/gallon. Crazy price.
- The big framed Monet print was a freebie from my dear friend Suzanne who inherited it from the previous owners of her house when they moved in (thank you Suzanne!). I bought the frame at a garage sale for $5. I then cleaned it up, painted it black, and rubbed it with bronze metallic paint before sealing with matte varnish.
- The metal scrollwork piece is from Hobby Lobby. I bought it for $12 one week when all metal was 1/2 off. The fleur-de-lis towel holder was only $4 during the same sale. (Love those Hobby Lobby sales.) The little 3-drawer chest and shelf/basket are from Hobby Lobby too. We picked them up when Hobby Lobby had a home decor clearance last summer for $15 and $8 each.
- The 2 candle sconces were a garage sale find. They were $1 each. Originally, they were black wrought-iron. I spray-painted them in oil-rubbed bronze. The magazine basket was another garage sale find for $3. I spray-painted that too.
- The switch-plate cover and outlet cover were $1 each and were originally black. I spray-painted them with oil-rubbed bronze for some shine. I had looked at getting new metal ones instead but I can't believe how much they were. This was a much cheaper option and they look great. I kind of wonder how it would have looked if I had just painted the original covers with the oil-rubbed bronze paint instead. I'll have to try that in another room.
- The toilet paper holder and the floor vent were the originals that were there. They were in bad shape to begin with. The toilet paper holder was chrome-ish - it was actually plastic but super chipped and ugly. And the floor vent was brown metal with crazy rust spots. I looked at getting new ones in the same bronze finish but they were too pricey for me (I'm so cheap!). So, again, I spray-painted them in oil-rubbed bronze. (Love that paint, can you tell?) A little spray-paint and they are beautiful again. I can't believe how great they turned out.
- I did splurge a bit on the soap dispenser - I think it's the only thing I bought new for full price. :) It's from Target and was $12. Oh - and the hand towels. Again, from Target at full price for $8 each.
- The rest of the accessories came from my stash of home decor stuff I had on hand and a few more garage sales. The tissue holder and the waste basket too - although both were originally brown. Of course, I spray-painted those too.
The one thing I might still do is to replace the existing faucet with a matching (you guessed it) bronze faucet. But it's not something we're planning to do right now.
So, with that, let's just admire one time, shall we?
Before... | After... |
Before... | After... |
What a difference. Thanks for looking!
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