Before & After: the bathroom

I know they say that a homeowner's work is never done, but in our house, we take renovation to a whole new level.

I remember when we moved into our house in June 2006 that we didn't think it was so bad. There were some things we could change, and we saw a lot of potential for creative use of space, but we didn't think we had a true "fixer-upper" on our hands.

About six months later, I was calling it a "fixer-upper."

At this point, there is just one room in our home we haven't renovated in some way. It has glorious red shag carpet that my kitties nap their days away and on which they hack up their furballs. It holds bins and bins of too-small toddler clothes and miscellaneous things I'm saving for a yard sale that I'll never hold. In other words, it's perfect for what I need it to be.

But every other room has seen at least a new coat of paint, the majority a new floor, several new light fixtures, and in others, news walls.

One room that has seen two renovations is the bathroom. Though I'd like to call it the "upstairs bathroom," I don't think you can call the space where we have a toilet kit in a box downstairs a "bathroom."

When we bought our house, the bathroom color was mint green & beige with a hint of tropics. I didn't object to it so much as our towels were "earthy green" and the wall color didn't clash too much with our white, airy leaf-flecked shower curtain. The flooring, however, was a rocking light pink and tan (hoo boy!).



The floor was the first to go. During my nesting kick in my third trimester with Noah, I had David buy a box of fake tile on a whim at Lowe's. I actually put in most of that flooring myself, big belly and all.

Last winter, David couldn't stand mint green any longer, so we settled on a green shade that complimented our new neutral-ish flooring. I suggested something trendy—perhaps a deep olive green. And we went with it. I decided the faux gold mirror that came with the place needed to switch to a less-offensive silver, and that the fixtures needed an update to silver as well. It was progress.

The real magic happened, however, when my hubby got hold of an extra (free!) countertop and decided it was time to update the sink as well. Jackpot!

And then spring rolled around. Green was out; beige came in. The mirror no longer looked good in silver, so chocolate brown it became...and I needed some matching accessories to boot.


Bye-bye white curtain with falling leaves, hello bright turquoise & brown stripes!


I still can't call the bathroom done. We have an early-80s inspired toilet that has to go at some point, and the shower is calling out to be replaced, but the interim look will stay... at least for a few months.