Guest Bathroom Overhaul

Now that our guestroom is up and running (or at the very least functional) we've had way more overnight guests than I expected. Like three within in a month. And all those people need somewhere to...errr...do...the things people need to do.

Up to this point our guest bathroom has had a pretty sad existence. It's become the place where all the mismatch bath stuff from all our old apartments and college dorm rooms ended up. Nothing says "be our guest" like a thread-bare, 10 year old towel.

Prior to the guestroom attracting friends and family, it wasn't a concern. Our house has three bathrooms and two people. That bathroom was pretty much only used when something so nasty was about to go down we didn't want to foul up the two most used bathrooms. Gross. Now I bet you can't wait to stay with us.

I want the guest bathroom to be as impressive as the rest of our house. I want it to look decorated, and finished, and at the very least, not an after thought.

So here's where we began:

Marvelous, isn't she?

Maybe not. But she is now:

I started by painting the ceiling a darkish, but not-quite-navy color (leftover from painting our master). I kind of think I'm crazy to go that dark, but I also really, really like it. The space is relatively small and everything else is bright and light so why not. It's just paint. Worse case is I paint it something lighter if I get tired of it later.

Normally, when I paint ceilings, I don't spend too much time cutting in because I know I'll just be painting the wall within a few days. But given how dark the ceiling color is and how light the wall color is, I took my time and did it right. I did not want to have to do four coats of trim work to stop the blue from bleeding through.

I'll have you know that I painted that perfectly straight line free hand. No painter's tape here. I guess we finally learned what architecture school was good for...

Next, the walls got a nice light grey color. While the old wall color (Builder Beige) was just as light, it has a bit too much of a yellow undertone to it. And it's just not cute. You might remember from the master bath makeover that I was looking for the perfect, foggy, barely-blue grey. I inadvertently found it in here. Even though I was looking for a greyish-white.

I've had my eye on that shower curtain for a while, but restrained myself until it was time to tackle this bathroom. Glad I did, because I scored it on clearance. It matches literally nothing, but I love the way it plays nicely with the blue ceiling and light walls. The big coup for me is the new mirror. Why? Because it's the only full length mirror in our house that is fully and easily visible.

The cabinet got new nickel hardware. We had our builder install the same knobs we have in our kitchen in both full baths, but the rest of the room is outfitted in brushed nickel. I had no idea how much that would bother me, especially since I normally advocate mixing finishes. In the end, I think it's just too small a space to include both finishes enough to make them feel intentional.

I still have a bit of work to do figuring out the accessories. The walls really need some pictures and the towel rack needs some color/personality/updating. But who cares? This is a big upgrade! Repeat after me, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Because we all love a good before and after, here ya go:

So there you have it, our new and improved guest bathroom. Poop away.