Front Bathroom Update & and goals

I've been finding my self wandering into the front bathroom just to soak in the transformation that took place over the course of the summer.  Our front bathroom was this year's big home project. It's probably going to take all year, and we're okay with that.  We move slow, we take our time, we make it a point to not go into debt with a home project. We also are easily distracted and started working on decorating our room a bit. We also make sure that we have money saved and set aside for these projects.  We don't want to go into debt to get the home that we love. 

We started this project by chalk painting the cabinets white.  I used Annie Sloan Pure White and then applied clear wax over the top.  Before the cabinets were this really ugly golden brown that screamed paint me every time I walked in.  We decided to keep the original light blue tile since it's in great condition and so was the blue tub and tubs are super pricey!

After the business of Christmas and once we got back into a routine with the second half of the school year, we started researching and getting quotes for someone to come in and do the new tile and add a shower into the wall of the bath (there was never one put one in).   This was the first time we've hired a contractor to do something that we could've probably done, but we'd probably still be working on it if we hadn't.  We had the tile done while I was running around with my head cut off during the last week of school (between all sorts of school activities and getting ready for summer, I was busy!).  We went with a basic white subway tile and added a niche for the kids shampoo and used some small white hexagons to fill in the niche.  And we had switched out the spout to coordinate with the new shower head.  I am in love with the brushed bronze against the simplicity of the white subway tile.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love it.

 Once the tile was finished, I started painting away the color I painted when we first moved in.  I loved the color 10 years ago, but it was time for a change, and so I painted it Pure White, by Sherwin Williams.  I'm really loving the simplicity of white lately.  And from there, we just sort of enjoyed the bathroom as it was, painted and tiled and the best part, our kids NOT taking a shower in our bathroom!  I'm pretty sure that's my favorite part.

We had our flooring put in the week we came home from vacation.  It seemed to take forever for this part to happen because the flooring was put on back order.  We went with a highly absorbent laminate planks that had a nice grey wood grain.  It's the same flooring that we used in our master bathroom.  I could not wait to get the linoleum out of there!  I hated how they went up the sides of the wall with the flooring and didn't use base boards.  I seriously could NOT wait til it was gone!  It's amazing how powerful white baseboards are when it comes to the look of a room! 

 The next big task was to add ship lap along the wall.  Jon and his brother worked so hard one Sunday after church carefully measuring and nailing with a nail gun.  Jon was a little bit nervous about this wall because there's a window and some jagged edges with the countertops.  But they did it and it's gorgeous! 

 But, we weren't quite done.  Jon added a farmhouse frame around the window.  Since we aren't going to put up curtains, we wanted to be able to frame the window. I am hoping to get the ship lap and window painted next month.  In the meantime, let's just sit and stare at the beautiful ship lap.

The one thing that was driving me crazy was that the kids didn't have anywhere to hang their towels so they were always laying on the ground.  So annoying. . . and dirty!  So, I ran to Target one day after church and grabbed these hooks by Threshold.  I love how they have a place for me to add the kids names and make it personal.  We hung these behind the door next to the shower.  They can now, get out of the shower, grab their towel, dry off and then hang up their towel. . . well, we can dream, can't we? 

The best part is that their towels stay hidden behind the door, so no one sees them when their walking down the hallway. 

 We are not finished and have a few things to do to make this room complete.  Like shelves above the toilet here.  Jon had something creative in mind for the shelves.  He has some really great design ideas and I love it!  I can't wait to see what he does and then I will style the shelves.  

 We also are going to be changing the light fixtures and faucets to match those in the shower. 

I am so excited about what we've accomplished since we started and I'm pretty sure that we will enjoy it for years. . . because I'm not sure Jon's going to be up for me suggesting a repaint anytime soon.  Ha ha!