Olivia’s Birthday Bathroom Makeover
You guys might remember the quickie $200 makeover that we whipped up for our niece Olivia last October. Just to refresh your memory, here are the before shots:
And here are the we-only-spent-200-beans afters (and that budget includes the desk, the chair, the headboard, the dresser, the curtains, and a ton of other things in the room- see the details right here):
Yes sir, Olivia’s room was definitely spiffed up. But when it came to her attached bathroom (yeah, she knows she’s a lucky girl to have one of those) well it was looking a little blah:
But it was nothing a bit of avocado green paint and a few playful (and super cheap) accessories couldn’t solve…
Can you believe that’s the same room all decked out for Olivia’s 9th birthday? And isn’t she totally a girl after our own heart to ask for a bathroom makeover as her gift?! John’s cute sister even wrapped the door to properly package the little makeover for her daughter on her big day:
And what’s that you see gleaming on the ceiling? Why it’s a posh little green chandelier for Miss. Olivia to brush her teeth under. The icing on the cake is that it only set us back $30 at Marshall’s (on clearance).
We also took the opportunity to inject color wherever we could in an effort to take the builder white room to va va voom. The wall color is Glidden’s Celery Sticks (we’ve been waiting to see it in action for a while and let’s just say it did not disappoint!). Especially when paired with splashes of hot pink (just like her adjoined bedroom) and a playful little round rug from Ross.
And of course our colorful Target shower curtain really added some playful pattern (that looks surprisingly perfect when paired with the little rainbow rug):
So that’s the story of Olivia’s birthday bathroom makeover. All wrapped up with a bow and everything. Needless to say she squealed with glee when she saw her brandy new bathroom with all the cheerful colors and patterns. It’s perfect for a happy little nine year old like her.
But what’s a birthday bathroom makeover without a fun little budget breakdown? We just love how a little bit of elbow grease and a few bucks can really transform a room:
- Chandelier (on clearance from Marshall’s):$30
- Rug (on clearance from Ross): $4.99
- Shower curtain (from Target): $29.99
- Paint (Glidden’s Celery Sticks): $17.60
- Hot pink towels (from Target): gift
- Door decorating supplies: already owned
- GRAND TOTAL: $82.58
Not bad eh? Especially since we were even able to inject little extras like a bejeweled chandelier. The funny thing is that you could easily spend $82 for the chandy alone, so we’re pleased as punch (along with the beaming birthday girl). And best of all we’ve now officially seen Glidden’s Celery Sticks in person, and it’s fabulous for any room (not just for kids!) so definitely check it out if you’re looking for a modern green reminiscent of a freshly sliced avocado. And speaking of avocados, what’s for lunch? Any bathroom makeovers on the menu for you guys? Any other kids out there who ask for home related updates for their birthdays? We just can’t get over how cute that is.
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Comments
Oh my goodness – it’s adorable! I love the green and the chandelier!
We just finished remodeling our bathroom (we ripped out everything and started from scratch…) http://homeinthecountry.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/bathroom-reveal/
We’re hoping to get started on our 1/2 bath soon… for some crazy reason both of our bathrooms had CARPET on the WALLS. So yucky!
What a great present! And it will probably feel fresh and playful for years to come. Lucky girl! We are definitely going to have to redecorate all three bathrooms here at the Nimitz. The small master bath will be a cool, pale silvery-green with espresso furnishings and crisp white trim (there! I said it!). I have no clue about the main public bath yet – it’s an odd white space with ancient blue and white linoleum, with a skylight that makes it hard to figure out what color to go with. The downstairs bath is also the laundry room and it is, quite frankly, too ghastly to contemplate right now.
I really, really like the green chandelier, Sherry.
By the way, thanks for the email offering your support. I’ve actually decided to throw a birthday party on that day instead for a child at a local shelter that I volunteer at. I appreciate your interest, though!
Wow! I love using bright colors and stripes like that. What a fun couple of rooms! I especially love the stripy shower curtain. It just goes to show you that a totally dull space can be transformed with a bit of color. I’m taking notes for things to use in my house! Thanks for the inspiration!
How do you find things like that chandelier that are perfect for a room? Do you spend hours shopping? Do you go to Marshalls, Target, Homegoods, etc on a weekly basis so that you always know what they have? With a full time job and a baby, I am short on free time for shopping. If you have any secrets on how to find great stuff without spending a whole weekend (or more) shopping, I’d love to know!
That bathroom is darling! I’ve been craving a chandelier in our bathroom for ages. I actually just put the finishing touches on our bathroom remodel this past week. And I made it on apartment therapy’s color contest with it! (and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to publish the pictures elsewhere, so I just included the link for the contest just in case!)
Hey Julia,
We definitely don’t have the time to stop in at every store on a weekly or even a monthly basis, but we’ll devote one afternoon to shopping for a makeover like Olivia’s and in that day we will hit up Target, Marshall’s, HomeGoods, and any other place we can find to gather things we can use. We wish we could say we have a secret but we just dig through sale stuff and try to see past bad packaging and unattractive displays and look for the hidden potential. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I LOVE HER NAME TOO! OLIVIA IS MY KID’S FAVE BOOK EVER!!! AND NOW WITH THE SHOW….WE ARE SET! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! I REMEMBER ASKING FOR A NEW BED AND PAINT COLOR FOR MY 12TH BIRTHDAY. RANDOM…..BUT NOW MY DAUGHTER SLEEPS IN THE BED THAT WAS MINE. SOO MUCH BETTER THAN A DOLL OR SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE LONG GONE BY NOW!
I LOVE what you did here and am still in shock at the $30 chandelier. I would love to do a chandelier in my powder room but the light has a fan built into it. Did you encounter this problem? I generally go for fashion over function but a vented bathroom is pretty important too. Thanks!
I love the makeover. Fresh, Sweet, Fun, and Functional! I want to know where Olivia got the ‘For Like Ever’ PRINT! I love that. I want one for my house.
Keighley
Christina- Emily’s house is a new construction so the builder put the fan in another, more hidden, part of the ceiling- while the overhead fixture was built to accommodate something more decorative. You definitely want a fan in a bathroom with a shower, so maybe you can hire a handyman to install a fan in an inconspicuous area so a chandy can be brought in? Hope it helps!
Keighley- If you follow the link over to the original post about Olivia’s bedroom makeover (and check out the comments) you can find out where the poster is from. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m not a kid anymore, but I did ask my hubby to take me to Ikea for my birthday present :)
Such a cute makeover! What I really like about this re-do is that it’s kid friendly but it’s still stylish for adult use. It’s for a 9 year-old but is not themed with Hannah Montana or whatever kids are into these days!
Since you devoted one day to shopping for this bathroom, which object did you find first that set the whole room in motion? Paint? Rug? Shower Curtain? Chandelier? Or did you go back and forth between the stores?
Or did you buy a ton of stuff at different places and then see what worked? :)
I’m intrigued with the whole ‘shopping in one afternoon’ for a room!
Oh, I love that chandelier. I’ve been searching for an affordable one for my bedroom. Wish we had Marshall’s in Canada …
Lovely bathroom, great job as usual, guys.
This is a great high-color makeover.
I wish you had shown what is over the toilet. I really struggle with that area. I have a half-bath with a “nie nie bird” picture that I picked up thanks to your recommendation. (this is hung where the window is in your half-bath.) But I can’t come up with anything to put over the toilet, so the room just looks plain. Do you have any ideas or a post from your site you could refer me to?
Hey Zed,
Anything from a towel bar with a colorful hand towel to a framed print with some of the accent colors of the room is always a hit with us. We also like simple floating shelves (like the ones from Ikea or Target) with leaning art or accessories (like a clear vase full of sea sponges). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey Heather,
Good question! First off, we keep a mental list of what we need (ex: shower curtain, some light fixture, bath rug, etc) and the things we already have that we want to work in (ex: paint color, gifted hot pink towels) and we snag anything in any order as long as it’s on the list. Sometimes we do rebuy something (snag two shower curtains for example) just to see which one we like best (and then return the non-winner) but most times we’re able to mentally picture how everything will work together (or even bring things along with us like one of the towels) to ensure that it works with the rug that we find (which we then check against the shower curtain that we find to try to get the full picture). Of course sometimes it takes more than an afternoon, and sometimes we find something beforehand (we actually found the chandelier a few days before the curtain, rug, and a few other accessories in this case because we were in Marshall’s looking for something else entirely) but we often find that having a mental list of what you have and what you need (and even bringing along paint and fabric swatches) really helps us come home with a lot of options when we’re hitting up a series of stores in just a few short hours. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wonderful makeover and what a great surprise for Olivia. I just completed a bathroom makeover. Such a satisfying feeling! :-) I’ve got my before and afters here on my blog – http://agirlinherelement.com/?p=880
I would never think to use a chandelier in a bathroom. What a creative and awesome looking use! I wish you were my aunt and uncle to redecorate my life room by room! Olivia is one lucky gal.
Wow…I cannot believe how thoroughly you guys answer each and every question posed to you. You don’t even seem to get annoyed by all the redundancy. You guys are AMAZING. And I don’t throw that word around.
Thank you!!!
I think this is one of my favorites. So pretty and fresh. Thank you for answering all the shopping questions in the comments. This helps me so much. I am inspired to redo a bathroom now.
Any chance you can remember the brand of the chandelier? It would be PERFECT in my bedroom makeover (pics of which I will be sending when I finish.)
Hey Rich,
So sorry but neither Emily nor John and I can remember the brand or any packaging details at all beyond the price of the chandelier. One idea would be to check out eBay for “green chandelier” or even nextag.com. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Super cute, guys :)
Yes, my 8 year old is a colorist. I’m only half joking. And for her birthday, she wanted milkglass and toile. Seriously.
We’re getting ready to paint her bedroom next, and it’s been fun to hear her ideas. At one point, she wanted a mirrored desk, lol. She’s not a diva/princess type – she just politely says things like, “Well, I was thinking that one of those mirrored desks like in your magazine (House Beautiful, most likely) would look really good next to the window. What do you think?” Crack up.
My first pick for her room paint color was a light stoney gray, with lots of white accessories and furnishings. But, she really wanted white – the same white as the trim “but not shiny like the trim” she said. So, she’ll have a BM White Dove room. She’s excited about it :) Her words were something to the effect of “Oh, it will look so fresh and crisp!” Sherry, did you possess my child?
Xo,
Jacci
Oh my gosh Jacci. That’s too cute! It sounds like we’d get along with your daughter juuuust fine.
xo,
s (& j)
Hi,
Loved the bathroom makeover. That chandelier is a steal…and to use it in the bathroom is so clever.
I also loved the way you have decorated the door to look like a present.
Thanks for sharing
The chandy! Oh the chandy! Sure wish that I could snag that for me. $30 is killer! And to have your own bathroom. Our’s is a tiny little 50′s room that is mid-fancying up for a while now.
Love the makeover! My 7-yr-old hasn’t asked for a makeover yet, but she loves to play “Design Star” – a game she made up after watching hours of the HGTV show with me! She divides her dry erase board into 3 even sections and then takes a black marker to draw a couch or chair, lamp & table in each section exactly the same. Then 3 people in our family have to do the “White Wall Challenge” while 1 will be the judge. She loves for me to be the judge since I do it just like the show… i.e. “Daddy, please step forward. The judges felt…”, etc. One person’s show gets cancelled and the other 2 move onto the next round – design any room you want from scratch. It cracks me up! Too bad we only have like 7 dry erase colors to work with!
Hey Jen H,
That is hysterical. We love that you take your role as a judge very seriously and have people step forward while you critique them. Awesome! Sounds like a game I would love as a kid!
xo,
s
Thank you for loads of inspiration! I just love Glidden Celery Sticks but my Glidden store here in Ontario does not have that colour on file although I can see it on the Glidden website!? Any suggestions for a close version in another brand of paint? Thanks so much!
Hey Ann,
Hmm, how about Sesame by Benjamin Moore? It’s not exact, but it’s a crisp and modern green with some warm gold undertones that we love. Otherwise you can probably call any Glidden store in the states (or any random Home Depot) and request the code so you can tell the guys at the paint desk and they can mix some up for you. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love Glidden Celery Sticks so much that I painted my living room that color! However, now I’m not sure what colors to accent the room with. My couch is a khaki color and I have a jute rug with bamboo shades on the windows. I’m really looking for that great accent color that will make the room pop. Any ideas?
Thanks for your help!
Maggie
We love amber as an accent color with it (a gorgeous honey-golden-orange to be exact) or even a crisp turquoise or aqua (green and blue are so sea-glass gorgeous together). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
what a surprice to walk to the bathroom early in the morning with the gift warping door in front of u.
We purchased this exact shower for our daughter and son’s bathroom because we loved how it was gender neutral. Can you tell me what color green you chose for the wall color? We went with a yellowish wheat color and I’m thinking it’s too bright! Thanks so much!
Ooops, just read the post dated October 20, 2009 regarding the wall color. I’ll have to march over to my local Home Depot and get me a sample of that Glidden Celery Sticks. Thanks for sharing! I love your blog!
What a fun makeover for the birthday girl. It really looks sharp. You guys are so talented.