Bathroom Makeover
I’ve definitely got a little Nesting going on, and the itch for a home project when guests are coming over. I’m cleaning and reorganizing the house, starting with the main/guest bathroom! Since the bathroom is one of the foremost places that sets the tone for guests’ comfort, I figured if I only finish one space then the bathroom would have the biggest impact. With a limited budget, I took on 3 projects to brighten and freshen up this space.
#1. Towel Hooks
Say goodbye to rewashing towels for avoidable reasons! Anyone else have the pet peeve of “clean towels on the floor”? My kiddos try their hardest to put their towels away, but they just can’t reach all the way above the toilet where the builder put the towel holder, so I end up with towels strewn on their bedrooms, bedding, or the bathroom floor. Yay to saving me time and laundry!
I cut, sanded, and put together a wooden board with our Initial Letter Hooks from Anthropologie—all by myself!!! It was a big step for me to do it all without my husband: rummaging through all of his tools, operating the saw cutter, going back and forth finding the right nails, redoing the project because one of the major screw heads fell off, measuring everything to make sure it was even and level. I didn’t have the patience to paint, stain, or treat the wood, but other than that I’m very proud of myself for having accomplished one thing completely independently.
#2. Organized Open Shelving
I remember when my older sister came to visit me for the first time, she made a comment about this shelf and how she would never leave all her stuff out for people to see- and that she would put a bunch of cute baskets here. I don’t recall it looking this bad when she was over 😂 but yeah, this Before pic is embarrassing.
Before: a hot mess! Cleaning stuff within reach of kids, everything looks so random and chaotic, contents in the boxes spilling out, 5 different open bottles of aloe vera… I wanted this area to be easy to grab towels and whatever guests need like extra toiletries. (Click the NEXT button to see the After pic.)
After: To hide the unsightlies in our open shelving, I got a great deal on some matching neutral colored fabric bins to keep things corralled and uniform. I even put together a “pretty basket” with whatever spa stuff I had on hand, since it seems only pretty things are allowed to be visible on open shelves haha! Tried to vary the shelf contents so it didn’t end up with all boxes in the same spots. I know exactly where to find things even if there aren’t labels, as I find labels distracting. Pet supplies, Extra personal items (toothbrushes, toothpaste, chapstick, deodorant, and even shoelaces), Cleaning supplies (Clorox wipes, lysol spray, gloves, etc.), First Aid stuff, Sprays and lotions (sunscreen, bug spray, etc.). My favorite thing might be the basket of toilet paper at the bottom that’s easy to see when I need to refill!
#3. Trash Bin and Bath Mat
I bought a new hammered metal waste basket that doesn’t need a plastic bag liner (you just wipe it clean). Instead of a bath rug that can’t be cleaned regularly, I ordered washable bath mats and want to learn how to bleach lol since they are white. They dry easily and are no fuss for me!
I probably should have gotten an “overall” picture, sorry. All these small transformations have added up a lot in helping me to love this space again. There’s nothing worse than a dirty bathroom, so I learned how to clean it efficiently and now it matches the fresh feeling of all the lovely changes I made! It’s holding up pretty well functionality-wise (no hooks have broken, the shelf is still organized, etc.)!
What room / area will you tackle next?
Love,
Kat
