Our Guest Bathroom Makeover

When we moved into our 1970's fixer-upper, I was faced with a boring, outdated, old bathroom. Also faced with a small budget, I knew I had to come up with ideas to update our bathroom that wouldn't cost a lot of money. Well, with a little brainstorming and a lot of paint, I think I came up with some pretty neat ideas to take our bathroom from drab to fab!

I decided that if I was going to save money, I would need to work with what was already there. Here is what I ultimately was able to achieve with this room for less than $200.

And I totally put a bird on it.

So that you can see how far this bathroom has come, here is what it looked like when we first moved into the house.

Tons of outdated wood, drab walls, and zero character.
I wasn't deterred though, as I knew there were things I could do to improve this little space.
So, let's talk about what I did.

The first thing I did was paint our outdated trim and cabinetry white. Then, I painted the walls and added a striped accent wall.

Doing all of this totally updated the space and saved me tons of money by not having to replace the items that were already there.

I  also replaced the old hardware on the vanity with modern brushed silver pulls.

We were able to leave the flooring alone since the tile was in good shape, but I'm going to come back to this room later and paint the grout like I did in the kitchen and master bath.

For all who have asked, that awesome rug was from Marshall's.

We also stopped any prying eyes by hanging faux-wood blinds, and also replaced the towel rod with a sleek modern version.

The towel ring was also replaced.

One of my favorite updates was removing the builder grade mirror, and replacing it with an ornate silver mirror that I found at Marshall's. I had contemplated just framing it in like I did here, but once I found this mirror I decided I like it better.

Oh, and see that faucet below? If you look at the above picture, you can see that it used to be gold.

The faucet had the whole two-tone thing going on, so I came up with an easy way to fix it that didn't involve replacing it.

 

 I removed the handles and drain stopper and spray painted them with this silver spray paint and then I used this metallic paint pen (affiliate links) and brushed it around the gold parts on the bottom and at the tip of the spout. The whole upgrade cost me so much less than it would have if I had replaced the faucet, and it's held up great! 

Another fave part of the bathroom is the bird art gallery wall I created. 

It's one of my fave art ideas and it cost me zero dollars.

Print. Frame. Hang. ART.

Then, I just accessorized. I found a pretty mirrored soap container that looked great with the mirror.

And some snazzy curtain hooks, too.

One last detail: Here is the little mirror I repurposed. I needed something to fill the space, and had an old gold mirror I wasn't using. I spray painted it white and lightly sanded all of the raised parts for a shabby chic look. It's actually exactly like the mirror I used in the office that was converted into a chalkboard. 

And that's it! 

An updated guest bathroom for pennies on the dollar! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

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DIY Media Console: How To Paint & Stencil Furniture

Today I'm sharing my little media console that I painted with my diy chalk paint!

I've been in desperate need of something to hold our TV until we get around to mounting it on the wall.  So, I did a little Craigslist perusing the other day and came across this little treasure for $20.

It was hideous.

However, I really liked the shape, and for $20 I knew I could turn it into something decent to get us by for awhile.

After taking it home and cleaning it up a bit, I took the drawers out, sanded it down really good.

Then I primed the it. It took several coats.

I used Kilz to cover up any stains and smells, and to make sure my chalk paint was extra durable.

Then painted it with 2 coats of Behr 'Creamy White' in that I converted into chalk paint. You can skip the priming and sanding if you really want to when using chalk paint. However, I knew this dresser was going to get a lot of wear and tear, so I went ahead and did extra prep work.

Then I got a little creative and used some leftover metallic paint and a stencil to spruce it up a bit.

I decided to use the stencil on the part underneath where the knobs go on each drawer.

I used a little spray adhesive and some tape to secure it, and then used my roller to roll on the Martha paint.

I ended up with a cute little stenciled detail on each drawer.

Then, I used some old brass knobs that I had pulled off some other old furniture a long time ago. They were hideously brass, but I loved the shape of them. Using a couple coats of Oil Rubbed Bronze, I was able to make them look fresh and updated.

Ultimately I decided to take the legs off of the dresser so that it would be a better height for our living room. I kept them though, so that I can return this dresser to its former glory when I'm ready to sell it and upgrade.

I think it's a great solution for now, and fits well in our living room.

Thanks for joining me! Don't forget to pin this post so you'll have it when it's time to paint your own furniture!

To see more furniture painting tips, check out this post.

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Our Living Room, Dining Room & Kitchen: A Before/After Tour

One of my favorite parts of our house is the living/dining room area. It's so unique and open, but at the same time has also created some interesting challenges. It's also come a long way since two years ago when we first bought the house. This whole area of our house was an outdated wooden wonderland of shame. This house had been on the market for a really long time, and I'm fairly certain it was because no one else could look past the wooden nightmare that was this house.

This is our lovely living room today, after tons of work.

(For updated versions go here or here.)

and here is how it looked when we first moved in:

You should know that those icky couches are hot pink underneath those saggy slipcovers. 

The biggest improvements were made when I painted all of the outdated wooden trim, and painted the walls. Here is the before and after of the living room.

Here is the view looking the opposite way. I love the stone fireplace that separates the foyer from the living room. It really makes our space so unique.

Here's a view of the gallery wall I created from antique botannical prints I found on eBay and framed myself. I'm a big fan of finding inexpensive ways to create art, and this is one of my faves.

And a closeup:

I also love the little mirrored tray on top. It was orignally black, but I spray painted it gold and now it looks great!

I also found a dresser during one of my thrift store trips and painted it. I also refurbished these little end tables, which were found on Craigslist. 

 Here is a picture from when we first started with the renovation of me tricking my little brother into painting my living room while I sit on the couch and watch my shows. 
That's what big sisters are for, right? 

Those windows are just about the only thing in this house I haven't painted, and I am happy to give credit where credit is due. Thanks brother and husband. I tried...and quickly failed. I don't work too well at skyscraper heights.

Let's move out of the living room. Walking backwards into the dining room, here is what you see:

and now we will turn around a bit and enter the dining room. Down those stairs is the foyer and entrance. 

And a view of the dining room.

Here is a side by side shot:

oh, don't worry....it get's worse...

So much better! 

One last stop on the tour. Let's go past the dining room and into the kitchen.

I already painted the kitchen cabinets white, but I still have so much planned for this little kitchen.  I also love the little 'look through' bar area. Those chairs are also a thrift store find. They were a gross brown color, but had a great shape, so I painted them with the same white we did all the trim in.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

For more on the living room and kitchen visit these posts:

How to paint tile countertops

Budget living room decor ideas

My living room design flops

Kitchen cabinet chalk paint makeover!

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