31 Days: Bathroom Before and After!

The first time we toured this house with our realtor, I thought the main floor bathroom was adorable.

Our realtor thought I was nuts.

"It's so dated," she kept saying.

Yes, but look at that adorable chrome pedestal sink!

"Yeah, and a yellow toilet to match!" she said with just a little sarcasm.

Yes, the fixtures are originals, but they are in fantastic shape! The tub (which is also yellow, of course) is made of the old original ceramic. These old tubs retain the heat so much better than today's fiberglass models. Every tile was perfect, not a single crack or scratch.

The decor in the bathroom was a little dated. Okay, a lot dated. I could not understand the dark mirror and light fixtures in this little room. And the truth is that even though I like wallpaper, these butterflies were more than a little scary.

I had a vision for this room that would turn it into the sweet little jewel box of our vintage house.

And as you may have figured out, when I have a vision, it is my husband who comes to the rescue, making that vision a reality.

He made me a deal.

"You remove the wallpaper, and I will paint."

Piece of cake!

After a few hours of peeling and scraping and smelling like vinegar, we then primed the walls with a nice coat of Kilz before adding the new paint.

Are you ready for the Big Reveal? Here it is!

The paint color we chose is called Woodlawn Colonial Gray, and it is one of Valspar's selections from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

I know what you are thinking.

"Gray, gray, everybody is using gray. It is so trendy."

I thought that, too. And normally, gray is the last color I'd ever pick for a room in my house. I tend to pick warm colors over cooler tones for almost every project. But the tiles and grout had just a hint of gray in them, and I knew that this was the only color that would "make sense" of the yellow in this tiny little bathroom.

This shower curtain (Threshold from Target) was the inspiration for this makeover. It had so many pretty tones of gray, and just enough of the yellow to tie in with the fixtures. Here is a tip: It is so much easier to match a fabric to paint than it is to paint a room and try to find a fabric to match.

The bath mat and towel had a fun paisley pattern that brought a little more retro flair to this retro bathroom!

I really wanted a new chrome medicine cabinet for this room, but it turns out that it would have taken too much retrofitting to make it work. A simple solution was to paint the medicine cabinet white and call it a day. We replaced the brown light fixtures with chrome fixtures to match that vintage chrome pedestal sink.

This bathroom makes me so happy!  I love the retro vintage style, and I am so glad that we managed to give it a mini makeover while retaining all of the original charm.

Total expenses: 2 new light fixtures (Lowe's), a quart of Kilz and a quart of paint (Lowes), new curtain rod and curtain (Target), new bath mat/shower curtain/hand towels (Target).

Grand total for this bathroom remodel: around $150 dollars.

That beats a gut job any day of the week!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Give it a makeover and love it instead.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!