Surprise! We painted the guest bathroom this weekend! The walls, the trim, and even the ceiling. And double surprise: we went with a fresh clean coat of white (Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore). Bet you didn’t see that coming…
Why’d we go white? Well the old paint was dingy (see the difference in the pic above?), but we’ve decided to embrace the yellow tile instead of yanking it all out gut-job style or painting or reglazing it. It’s completely original 60’s tile that’s in great shape – and the color is happy and cute so we’ve decided it’s charming. Especially with our fresh white (albeit bare for now) walls – which will allow us to bring in some personality and color in other ways without overwhelming the small space.
Our hall bathroom sports original tile as well, but we were able to crisp it up and bring in some fun accessories so it flows with the rest of our house…
… so we decided to give that the ol’ college try in here before bringing in the demolition hammer, a la this…
Oh and we raised the shower rod to ceiling height and added an extra long 95″ waffle weave curtain (from target.com) about six months ago that hides inside the shower now (this is the view from inside the shower, so the rod is 100% invisible from the main part of the bathroom). It was weird to see the lower bar hanging down around 4″ below the doorway that leads to the shower.
I wish I could have shot a better picture of the other side of the shower doorway so you could get a better idea, but the room’s just too tiny. I’d have to be out the window to get the right angle…
Speaking of the window, we finally frosted it (using leftover frosting film and this method) which is nice because it lets in all the light, but doesn’t let anyone standing on the deck creepily spy on you.
If you want to see how to frost your own bathroom window, we documented this process in a different space on video – you can watch it below or here on YouTube.
Between the freshly painted walls and the glowing frosted windows, it’s definitely feeling crisper and less murky in here already.
After my little frost-job I dug out this fabric remnant from over a year ago (originally from U-Fab here in Richmond and made by Iman) to make a sweet little no-sew shade. After nixing a faux roman shade like this one I made for the kitchen (not enough fabric) and considering a simpler version like this one from the hall bath, I decided to go with something closer to the latter, but with a twist. So I dragged out my materials (a tape measure, some iron-on hem tape, a scrap piece of wood, and my staple gun) and got to work…
I measured the window width (23″), cut my scrap wood about a 1/4″ shy of that size, and cut my fabric to 25″ wide and as long as I could make it (which ended up being 30″) so I could hem it on both sides and at the bottom to end up with a 23″ x 29″ shade. See how the wood is a smidge thinner than the hemmed fabric? That’s so you don’t see it poking out on the sides.
Then I stapled the top of the fabric to the scrap piece of wood (centering the wood so the fabric was slightly longer on both sides) and screwed through it from below three times to hold it into the window.
Voila!
I opted for a cute little rolled look at the bottom thanks to a smaller piece of scrap wood (old shoe molding) that I cut to be a teeny bit wider than 23″ – that way I could roll the fabric around the molding and shove it into place so it held itself between the sides of the window, sort of like a tension rod.
Here’s the view from out in the guest room. I love how the fabric works with the polka dot curtains in there. Not too matchy, but compatible and layered. It’s also nice to see the dark teal color from the bedroom walls carried into the bathroom, so it feels less like a random yellow box without any relation to the adjoining room.
It feels good to cross a few things off the list in there, but there’s still more on the agenda.
We think three more simple upgrades will make all the difference, so here’s the plan.
paint the wallsfrost the window for privacymake a window treatment with a bold fabric remnant- paint the frame of the mirror so it stands out against the white wall
- hang some art over the toilet
- go accessory happy (if Lesley made her pink tiled bathroom cute with the right stuff, there’s hope for this old room yet)
Is anyone else embracing something old? Any painting going on? Shade-making? Did anyone else watch the Atlanta Housewives reunion and laugh at how many times they said “throwing shade”? I gotta start working that in.
Psst- See how we upgraded the light fixture almost two years ago here.
KarenH says
Oh I love that yellow tile! It is really happy and bright, and such a nice foil for hints of blue to complement the guest room. :)
I’ve been embracing old floors–specifically the past two weekends I tore out all the rmemaining carpets in the house. Sadly, the living and dining rooms will need to be refinished (the former owners also had pets apparently. I’m not letting my old man cat off the hook completely, but there where more stains on the hardwood than can be accounted for on the bottom of the carpets I pulled). Still, even with the prep work that will need to be done so I can have the floors sanded and stained, it feels so much cleaner in there.
I’m now firmly convinvpced that carpet installers are paid by the staple.
Brittney says
I’ve always been a fan of those little floor tiles. They are so cute! I would have kept the old tiles too. All the white really helps make it look more up to date.
CAM says
Yup, yup, yup. I LOVE those yellow tiles. They are very ‘vintage’ and ‘retro’ without being revolting (pink pale pink or mint green). Love that you have decided to keep them. The blind sets it all off nicely. Yay!
andrea says
love the new look! the white paint makes it look so crisp. would love to see you spray paint the light fixture yellow – it’d totally pop against the white walls.
Jordan says
Let me just say, I am SO excited you’re keeping the yellow!! We have original 60’s yellow tile (and tub!) in our main hallway bathroom and I keep convincing myself it’s fun and doesn’t warrant a total gut job. Our brown linoleum that’s on the floor in there, however, definitely will be getting the boot! I’m excited to see how yours turns out! Yay yellow! :)
angel says
I have to be honest, I’m a little bummed. Not because it doesn’t look good… it does! I love the shade. Bathroom renos are just one of my favorite things to read about. You guys are so creative I was seriously excited to see how you would design the bathroom from scratch.
Though, working with what you’ve got is probably more realistic for most people.
Marcy says
Pantone me!
Aqua
No
Yes
Maybe
Martin says
We just redid a bathroom and kept the original tile too! It was rocking grey tile with absurd, old-school pink trim. We just ripped out the pink trim tile, replaced it with crisp white and painted the walls.
Looks totally modern now.
Maybe you guys could do something similar, and just update the trim tile?
Gillian says
I’m really interested in how it will look in the end, because I was unsure about the last bathroom you did when you kept the tile, but I think that turned out great, so even though I can’t say I’m a fan of keeping the yellow tile, I’ll hold full judgement until it’s complete :).
Sassafras says
Love the yellow bathroom and so glad that you saved it!
I love yellow, it’s such a happy color. I love it so much that we painted my paint studio/office a nice light yellow and will be using the same color in the kitchen. Out with neutral contractor tan and in with some HAPPPPPPPPPPY Benjamin Moor “Butter” in a pearl finish. Suddenly I love being back in my studio again.
I love the curtain too! I once made a curtain out of a skirt of which I liked it’s textile design. I cut out the elastic waist, used hem tape on it and pinned it in upside down w/thumbtacks and used the bottom flounce as the top valance flipped over the top as the reverse pattern was nice. It hung for years, people loved and commented on it and no one but me ever knew it was thumbtacked up because the flounce hid them. Big box stores and their $2.50 tension rod be dammed. I wanted a curtain that day at no extra cost. Making do and using up is creative and fun and certainly one of the reasons I enjoy your blog so much.
Donna says
Is Burger… licking the toilet? Kind of shoots down the theory that dogs’ mouths are cleaner than humans!
YoungHouseLove says
Just sniffing. Haha!
xo,
s
Sue J. says
don’t ever get rid of the yellow tile — it is fabulous (and so much better than pink!).
Sally G says
Apart from your bedroom (loooove it.) this is my favorite room in your house. Soo glad you decided to embrace the yellow. It looks great. Can’t wait to see how you personalize it even more. White… brilliant. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sally :)
xo
s
Heidi says
I love the blue of the shade with the yellow tile. Great color combo!
Alyssa Pederson says
I love the dark blue shade in the yellow bathroom, it looks so happy and fun! I recently moved into my very first house and boldly decided to paint the master bathroom soft yellow and I absolutely love it! It’s like a little dash of happy every time I walk in :)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so sweet!
xo
s
ashleigh says
Love the navy and yellow combo…Great choice!
Amy says
Love what you’re doing with the yellow tile bathroom! I also checked out your friends pink tile bathroom! Love what you’ve done! Any advice for the same exact tile in blue..
Jenny says
Hey guys! I just scrolled through the comment and–apologies if I missed it–but could you link to the shower curtain? I ordered one from amazon a while back but it ended up being a faux waffle weave that was polyester and more of an optical illusion. The one I found on target.com just now originally had good reviews but more recent ones describe it the same way! I’m ready to make one myself… But today I’m 40 weeks pregnant (!) and after spending the weekend sewing 14 curtain panels, two pillows, and reupholstering an occasional chair I’d rather buy something for once haha. xox
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we heard from someone that it’s not on target.com right now, so maybe just check back? We usually search “95 inch shower curtain” or “extra long shower curtain” and it came up last time, so I hope it’s back soon!
xo
s
Jenny says
Ok thanks for checking! xox
Blythe says
Is this the shower curtain you used? It might be the same one Jenny was talking about; the recent reviews do complain about the material:
http://www.target.com/p/shower-curtain-x-long-waffle-white-72×96/-/A-12109419?reco=Rec|pdp|12109419
I was also wondering: do you worry about the fabric getting moldy since the curtain is now hanging inside the shower itself? My house has a bathroom with a similar layout and I love the look of what you’ve done!
YoungHouseLove says
We do fabric liners usually but since you can wash those and get the grime off and this is the guest bathroom we think it’ll be fine since it’s used so sparingly and we can wash it :)
xo,
s
Ajyra says
Question for ya! Where did you get the light over the mirror? I love it!!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It was from Target years ago. It used to hang in our guest bathroom in the old house, so it’s been with us for a while!
-John
Trude says
So cute! I’m glad you guys kept that tile, it looks amazing. Love the navy/yellow/white combo, so fresh and so clean clean. :)
Erin says
I had a bathroom like this growing up except in blue tile – and EVERYTHING was blue. Bathtub, sink, even the toilet. Amazingly, my mom’s decorator made it look not crazy with some pretty art and shower curtain – it was in great condition so they didn’t want to tear it out. I would be amazed if the new owners hadn’t torn it out by now though…
Cathy says
Sorry if someone already asked this – but I have two questions. First, did you prime before you painted in here? Second, what paint finish did you use? I’d loooove to repaint our dingy bathroom walls, but (a) I’m preggers and trying to avoid primer (not even sure if low-/no-VOC paint is okay…), and (b) I’m not sure what the best finish is for our most-used bathroom. Any suggestions? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We didn’t prime and we just used Benjamin Moore’s Natura paint (it’s NO-VOC) and the color was Decorators White in a satin finish. Hope it helps :)
xo
s
Brigid says
Hi guys, we have the same size/age shower in one of our bathrooms and were wondering if there was a shower door that you removed, or evidence of one?
We have a 50’s bubbled glass and chrome door on there we’d like to remove and were hoping you did something similar.
Also, do you have ventilation in the shower? Wondering how the steam escapes with the shower curtain. Love the look, but worried about peeling paint, etc. over time.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Ours doesn’t appear to have ever had a door. So sorry we can’t help more about that. Also our shower has a light in it but no vent. Oddly enough it seems ok (no issues with mold or anything) although the bathroom in our first house needed a vent, so maybe the ventilation-factor depends on the house?
xo
s