Half Bath Makeover

Well, you've now seen the pallet wall we installed in the half bath and even the shelf we built to go on it, so how about some real Before and After shots now?  

This half bathroom is off the kitchen, near our back door.  It was perfectly fine when we moved in, except that it was capital P Plain.  We only did two things immediately: hang the mirror (it was just sitting on the sink leaning against the wall) and hang a hand towel holder (how did they not have one of these?).  Other than hanging a red hand towel, nothing was done to the space.

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before.JPG

Do you see in those Before pictures how all the hardware is gold but I plopped down our silver garbage can and soap dispenser??  Drove me crazy! 

The other thing that drove me crazy was the view from the hall as you walk in from the back door.  From that angle, you get a full view of the main wall of the bathroom (across from the door) but the only thing on it was a toilet paper holder.  Nice shot for all of our guests, no? 

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It was high time this tiny room had a makeover!  Obviously the pallet board wall was the inspiration that got the ball rolling.  If you look up at the Before picture of the toilet, you can see that I had painted some blue swatches on the wall.  I toyed with painting the walls something bright so that the pallet boards would be a big contrast, but ultimately decided to keep it about the same shade that it was.  I found leftover paint in the garage from the previous homeowners that was just a hair of a shade darker and had it painted in less than two hours.

The pallet board wall went up on July 3rd and then on the 4th of July holiday, Matt was able to switch out the gold sink fixtures, hand towel holder, and toilet paper holder for brushed nickle ones.  Then it was just left up to me to accessorize!  Take a look... 

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Those of you that are really observant will notice that we hung the new towel and toilet paper holders on the opposite walls.  No more view of the toilet paper from the hall...hooray!   

The new mirror - from Home Goods - is slightly smaller than the one that was there but much  more my style.  I painted the shelf above the toilet to match it.   

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I thought the hand towels were a good way to introduce pops of more color.  The floral one is from Home Goods and the dotted chevron-ish one is from Target.  I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I got them both.  It's actually nice to be able switch it up occasionally and have a backup when I'm washing one. 

The big blank wall got decorated with a grid of six frames.  These were also found at Home Goods and I really wanted 9 instead of 6, but they didn't have enough.  If I ever find three more, I may add to the wall.  The original plan was to frame pen and ink drawings of outhouses since that seemed fitting for a bathroom.  Since I've been lazy and haven't actually obtained said drawings yet, I filled the frames with fabric scraps and called it a day.  I'm actually loving all the colors the fabric adds to the wall, though, so who knows how long these will stay.   

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The view from the hallway is much better now!   No more toilet paper eyesore.  

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I'm still struggling with what to put on the shelf.  I like the white vase (Home Goods) with the flowers (Pier One) for the touch of whimsy they add to the rustic wall.  And I like the color of the three candle holders, but I don't necessarily love that everything on the shelf is tall and skinny.  Anyone got any great ideas on what should go there?  Which should stay and what should I replace the other with? 

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So that's how the bathroom looks today.  What does it still need?  The three more frames?  A rug on the floor?  Something better on the shelf?  I'd love your feedback!