The Bathroom Project

It was finally time. Time to start making this house our home and putting a solid Edge stamp on the building. For the past two years, I have seen in my mind's eye a beach themed bathroom. Leaning more towards the East Coast as that's the only kind of beach I know and love. This is the first room we have fully completed and I'm happy to show.  I chose this room because I already had the decorations for it in a box. (I was serious about the two year remark.) I have looked and looked at colors and it's kind of funny how I finally found what I was looking for. I was able to acquire a sample of paint from Valspar online. I had to pick a color and I somewhat randomly browsed through the blues. I wanted a happy blue that reminded me of the beach. It's hard to really tell how a color will look online, but I took a chance. When it came in the mail, I slapped some up on the wall and was surprised. It really appealed to me. I went to Lowe's to find the color card and when I did, I bought a sample of the lightest color on the card. I brought it home and put it up against the blue and knew those were the colors I wanted in that room. I also chose to do this room because The Boy lays claim to this bathroom and it's also the guest bathroom. I wanted a nice restroom for my guests to use (even if the guest bedroom is in shambles!).

All in all, we were able to do this room for under $400.00. This is what I had to purchase:

• Paint.
• Primer.
• Paint supplies.
• Shelving.
• Towels, wash cloths, hand towels.
• Rugs.
• Laundry hamper.
• Decorations.

Now, I do have to admit that I am a big fan of Sherwin Williams. I took my paint samples to them and got my paint at that store. They are amazing at matching up paints! I love love love their cashmere paint. It is a self-leveling paint that is amazing to watch. You put it up on the wall and you see streaks and thirty minutes later? It's SMOOTH! I won't use anything else because it's excellent paint and very easy to use.  I used what was left of my trim paint from the office (purchased at Lowe's-next time will get it from S.W.)

My colors are Summer Splash for the walls, Crystalline for the ceiling, and Oyster for the trim. That oyster is a fabulous color. I love a good crisp white, but not "blinding", if that makes sense. This is just the perfect trim color and I will use it throughout my entire home, I love it that much.

Now, let's get started with the pictures!!

Ahhh..gotta love the builder's tan/beige paint. Good neutral color, for sure, but no imagination. It made this small bathroom look like a small box. Note how I tried and failed with the shelves for towels. Not a bad shelf/rack system...just not right for this space. In my opinion, the towel rack was about useless. Away it went!

It really was cramped looking and feeling in there.

Small vanity area to work with here. The bathrooms upstairs are not huge. That's perfectly okay. I have three bathrooms upstairs. The girls' each have their own bathrooms, so they don't need huge space. I tell them to be happy they don't have to share!

I...uh...started taping when I realized I hadn't taken any pictures so I left the roll hanging on the door frame. Those are paint splotches I started to prime. I'm serious about really looking at a color for at least a few weeks to see if that's what I really want.

This was my hands all week long. I ruined a few tshirts while I was hard at work, too.

We let The Boy do some painting. He asked to help and I wanted him to own some of the work it took to make HIS bathroom look good. He got a little slap happy a couple of times, but had a blast. He is shirtless because he had on a school shirt and didn't want to be bothered to go across the hall to his room to get a play shirt to work in. At least he kept his pants on. Please note the tank of the toilet has been removed to paint the wall. What a pain that was, but I wanted it done right.

I told The Boy to show me his muscles. The Man decided to get in on the act and you can see by the reaction that The Boy wasn't expecting it. Love this picture!

We kept a mess going here. Are you as nervous as I am that my son is walking past open paint? Gah, that kid makes my nerves bad some times!

Really look at this picture. On the left is the Oyster color. On the right is the builder's Blah color. You don't realize how dull their colors are until you put something nice and crisp beside it.

There were shelves that needed to be put on newly painted walls.

There were tools involved, which made my husband very happy.

Thank you, Lord, I have a husband who will read instructions before putting holes in my walls!

TA DA!!!!! Hello new bathroom!! Out with the rack and towel bar, in with the floating shelves. I love the way the lines are clean while giving me the storage I need for towels and decorations. (My son has his favorite green and character towels. Those were moved to under the sink and he's happy to still be able to use them.) I found the white wicker laundry hamper at Bed Bath and Beyond and it fits perfectly between the toilet and tub. Yes, we did do a "sit down" test to make sure it wouldn't interfere with personal business.

I took some shells and put them on the ledge around the top of the shower. Makenna discovered that if you bang hard enough on the wall, one or two might fall down. *rolls eyes* I'm not too worried if they fall and get wet on occasion....they are SEA SHELLS, man. Besides, this turned out really cute. I also kept the clear shower curtain. It gives the room a more open feel and keeps people from showering in the dark!

Nice white absorbent rug. I put a matching one in front of the sink that's a little larger. I love the rough woven look. It reminds me of beach houses. Easy to throw in the washer is what I like!

Please ignore the red fan that won't be staying. The fumes from the cleaning supplies I used needed help. The gorgeous shells are from the Florida Keys. Neighbor Debbie has family there and when she was visiting, she picked some up for me a couple of years ago because I mentioned I wanted to do a beach themed bathroom. I 'm keeping it to a minimum on the vanity to keep it clutter free and more spacious.

This is on the top shelf. Oh, how Makenna and I love these shells. We probably spent thirty minutes arranging them in the vase so they would look just right. The shells used through out the room are some we picked up at Amelia Island  beach and others are from The Keys.

SURPRISE!! Did you think I would just keep it all blue and white. No, Sir! No, Ma'am! This was my inspiration piece. This also came from the Florida Keys. I kid you not, Neighbor Debbie is a good woman. She went shopping and must have sent me a dozen or more pictures of the metal art/ sculptures she found while shopping . I finally decided on this one and have been perfectly pleased over it. I love the colors and the blue background had to be perfect for them to "swim' around. It's a good size, if you notice the light switch and top of door. Yes, it's heavy, but it's so cool! You can look at it a dozen times and see something different every single time. It gives the bathroom the perfect snap of color. It does come out from the wall as it is a 3-D work of art. That made me a tad nervous, but it really is okay and works well!

Got rid of the towel bar and put in a nice sturdy hook to hang your towel on while you're in the shower. It may be a little lower than most people would do, but I had to keep my six year old in mind. It's a great compromise, I think.



There you have it! An Edge Re-Do! A completed project in my home! We do plan on putting crown moulding in this bathroom eventually, but there's no hurry. I'm also on the hunt for a white wicker trash can to match the hamper. I now have the fever to get started on my other rooms. BUT.....give me a week to recover and let my shoulders reattach themselves, please. Hope you enjoyed!