2012 is already starting out as an exciting year here at A to Z. I am pleased to announce that I am a contributing writer to Homes.com, and I am also part of the Lowes Creators & Influencer Network! Woohoo! This week I posted an article over on Homes.com on how to update a bathroom on a budget. Next month, I will be updating my own half bath for a challenge through Lowes Creators & Influencers.
Let’s explore what the half bath currently looks like. This room (can a space smaller than a closet be called a room?) hasn’t been updated since we moved in 4 1/2 years ago. No one in the family enjoys this space. No matter how often I clean it, the bathroom just feels cold, dark, and dirty. I hate this bathroom. The mossy green just adds to the cold, dark feeling. The mirror was hung horizontally instead of vertically when we moved in, and I’ve never changed it. It’s always bugged me.
I decorated this room before we fully moved in and the accessories and bath fixtures were all chosen last minute. I’ve never really liked them.
The tealight holder thingy was a weird choice at the time I bought it….and it’s remained a weird choice. It’s never felt like “us” and it doesn’t match the feel in the rest of the house. I think I was trying to go for a “spa-like-zen” feel which is the last thing you feel in this “water closet”.
Here’s another thing that drives me crazy about this room. We have 10+ foot ceilings and this tiny bathroom is no exception. It gives you the feeling of being at the bottom of a pit. Hellllloooooo up there….. The light and fan are not on different switches so you get loud fan noise every time you enter. And the mystery box? No idea. I really wish they would have dropped the ceiling down to cover up whatever duct work is contained in said mystery box.
This room is so tiny that the pedestal sink is a must; however, I need to get more creative with storage. Our current tiny basket of toilet paper just isn’t working.
Okay, so here is roughly what I have planned at the moment.
I plan to tile the back wall in pearly glass tile. This should add some much needed brightness and elegance to the space. I will put up beadboard on the other three walls and paint the top in Quietude by Sherwin Williams. I would love to eliminate our current light fixture and place two sconces on either side of the mirror on the opposite two walls. However, I don’t do electrical so I’ll have to see if our budget will allow it. I will definitely be paying someone to get the fan off of our light switch! I would also love to drop the ceiling down a few feet and create a beadboard ceiling. Again, not sure the budget will allow it but a girl should dream!
Here are a few other images that I am inspired by:
Source: Uploaded by user via Beth on Pinterest
Source: Uploaded by user via Beth on Pinterest
Source: Hazardous Design (You HAVE to see the before on this one! Amazing!)
I’ll keep you posted with updates on how it’s going! Hopefully if all goes well, I’ll have a bathroom I enjoy by the end of February!
Liz says
Great ideas! I love the sconces on the side of the mirror and the idea of lowing the ceiling a few feet! I think those both are worth paying someone to do… They will make the biggest impact other then the tile 🙂
Whitney says
Congratulations!!!
We are in the planning process of remodeling both of our baths! Thank you for this wonderful inspiration!!!
I don’t see any storage in your inspiration, I’m excited to see the end result.
Sarah @ Sugar Bananas says
Wow Beth! Once again my jaw dropped 🙂 What gorgeous inspiration. The glass tile is going to look great. I’ve been looking at Sherwin Williams’ Rainwashed and I think I may change my mind to Quietude now. Beautiful!
Congrats on your Homes.com and Lowes ventures.
Sarah
Mindy says
lol – I was totally wondering what that thing was (the tea light holder)!
Kim B. says
Love the direction you’re headed, can’t wait to see it all come together 🙂
Jen Gilday says
Such a fun project! Can’t wait for the update. I’m sure you’ll make it a beauty!
Jen
athomeinthenorthwesttblog.com (just had my blog redesigned. Come over for a visit, if you like!)
ToTheMoonandBack says
Wow, I’m loving all your inspiration photos. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Richella @ Imparting Grace says
It’s going to be beautiful and it will go so much better with the rest of your house! It seems to me that tiny powder rooms should be elegant–which makes me think I should work on my powder room. Maybe I’ll just live vicariously through you.
Congratulations on the homes.com and Lowe’s deals!
Annie says
I love your ideas! I wish I could do beadboard, but our 70’s ranch just isn’t that cute style.
I ditto what some other commenters suggested; a chandelier would lower the ceiling without actually lowering the ceiling, and would be cute!
We have a weird full bath right off the living room (one of our 2 bathrooms) and there is no fan whatsoever in there. When we renovated the master bath, we decided to put the overhead light and fan on one switch because guests would probably be using it, it’s a small house, and you can hear e-v-e-r-y thing. Yuck. We actually got the loudest fan we could. We do still have a vanity light though so you can have light without fan noise if you want.
Anyway though love the ideas and can’t wait to see what you do!
Beth @A to Z says
This bath is on the main level and guests use it all the time so yes, I guess I have to keep a fan in there. Sigh. I like the chandelier idea! I want people to at least have the option to turn the fan on and off though. That thing sounds like you’re about to take off!
Susan says
I think you should do batten board on the walls and bead board on the ceiling for change up of texture size. LOVE your first inspiration pic’s tile! Can’t wait to see your final result pics.
Karen S. says
By the way, I LOVE the idea of doing one wall in the tile…can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
Karen S. says
Is this half bath on your main floor? One reason that your fan and light may be on one switch is so that when someone goes in to do their “business”, the noise of the fan covers up the unpleasant sounds that sometimes occur. Especially if you have wood floors running thru the bath and out into your living areas. Especially if you have guests over, and everyone in the living room is trying to have conversation and pretending they don’t hear what’s going on. AWKWARD! Something to think about! Maybe it would be cheaper to change it out for one that doesn’t sound like a wind tunnel, though.
Carrie @ Hazardous Design says
Thanks Beth! I’m so honored that my powder room was one of your inspirations. To view the original post please visit here:
http://hazardousdesign.blogspot.com/2011/05/powder-room-reveal.html
Mamaw's Place says
I love your ideas. Thanks so much for sharing. I am getting ready to redo my master bath and some of your ideas will work well for me.
Diane Krajcik says
I bought this magazine/toilet paper holder and love it! It holds two rolls of paper and lots of magazines – a great double-duty space saver!
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00853621000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00853621000
jenny @birdsandsoap says
I love your inspiration pins! My favorite are the hex tiles with a round mirror and sconces like the gold toned pic further down. My one bath house has the fan attached to the light swiitch as well. I HATE IT! It’s like being in a wind tunnel ALL OF THE TIME. We updated a few years ago and only found one wire in the switchbox, I’m afraid that somewhere in the ceiling of my old home is a tangled ball where the two wires meet! Looking forward to more Lowes projects, they are launching some new campaigns with MyLowes that I love! (My husband works at Lowes, so I am a little partial. Big fan)
lindsey - the pleated poppy says
love it! i am getting ready to do the same, but on a smaller scale, to my guest/kids’ bath. what if you had a chandelier dropped down from where the fan is? if you have to hire that out i bet its similar wiring for the lighting. that way it would bring the ceiling height down a bit? just a thought – excited to see the final results!
Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick says
Ohhhh, I LOVE love love the idea of a wall of tile behind the mirror!! I want to do that too but I don’t think it will work in ours. Can’t wait to see it!
Krista@TheGatheringPlaceDesign says
OOOH, I am excited to see what you do…the inspiration looks amazing!
Debbie@refreshrestyle says
Great inspiration photos, can’t wait to see what you do!
Debbie
Lorie says
Yay!! And I can’t wait to see the bathroom when it is done!!
Gloria says
That’s going to look fabulous! Can’t wait to see the progress.
Jill says
My last home we did the bath wall half way up with beadboard and added a nice 4 inch ledge/shelf to trim it out on top and loved it. It was easy to set pictures, decor, shells etc on to switch out the look.
jessica@fourgenerationsoneroof says
Your bathroom isn’t bad! I love the inspiration board! Do you use Olio? Congrats on the Lowes thing , yay!
Jenny says
Well it looks like you just planned my hall bath makeover for me! Seriously, your plan is gorgeous!
That is an odd box up there. We have a strange slated wall by the ceiling. I have no idea why it’s there.
Shelley says
All that inspiration makes me want to switch out the mirror in mine! Can’t wait to see what you do!