Welcome to our happy little bathroom, friends! This turned out to be such a fun space and I’m thrilled to share it with you today. Though the major elements stayed the same (layout, flooring, vanity and fixtures), this refresh included several mini projects, so I thought it might be helpful to walk you through them one at a time. But first, let’s look back at where we started!

Since moving in, this upstairs bathroom was almost completely untouched, aside from hanging a shower curtain and occasionally changing lightbulbs :) This room doesn’t get heavy daily use, but eventually will be used mostly by our kids (as they get more independent), as well as guests. I wanted it to feel fun and youthful, but still polished! Here’s the design plan I eventually landed on:

And here’s where we ended up!!

Here are a few more photos, along with brief rundowns of the mini projects, the grades I’d assign them, and any tips I collected along the way!

Paint the bathroom walls
Who did it: Our handyman
Rating: A
Thoughts: In this season of life, I have accepted that painting is something I can do, but is well worth trading my money in exchange for my time. (Don was here for two hours to complete the job, whereas it would have taken us a full weekend!) We also asked him to remove the builder-grade mirror (we were able to give it to someone in our neighborhood!), remove the towel bars (donated those to Habitat!), repair the drywall, and fill in a few places of caulk. The color is Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace,” which I think is the perfect white-white without any undertones.

Paint the vanity and change out hardware
Who did it: I did!
Rating: A+
Thoughts: I loved this project and I’d do it again in a heart beat! I don’t think I’d tackle a project as extensive as kitchen cabinets, but a small vanity like this was totally doable and very satisfying.

I splurged on the Benjamin Moore cabinet paint and it went on like a dream! (I did two layers of primer and two layers of paint.) The color is “Palatial Skies.” The only change I would make next time is to paint the backs of the cabinet doors as well as the fronts. It would have taken a few days longer, but the end result would have been a little more professional, I think! As recommended, we left the doors off to “cure” for about a week before reattaching them and adding hardware – I chose these chrome knobs.

Wallpaper accent wall
Who did it: John and I, much to his chagrin
Rating: C+
Thoughts: While I still love the pattern (Julia Rothman’s “Daydream” in Sunshine) and am mostly happy with the end result, the application was fairly atrocious. This was our first time with a project like this, so I’m totally willing to take responsibility for my part, but I’m just not sure how we went wrong. Basically, to get the pattern to line up, we had to offset the panels themselves, so there is a half centimeter gap across the middle of the wall on the two outside panels??? We patched it with extra strips of wallpaper, ha! Thankfully, because of the positioning (mostly behind the mirrors) and the fact that the wall is also white, it’s not too noticeable, but still annoying. Even without this snafu, the whole process was just sweaty and fumbly, and some tense words may have been exchanged.

Note: it seems like Hygge & West no longer carries the removable wallpaper we used? Just wanted to note that we used the removable tiles, not the permanent rolls!

Change out light fixtures
Who did it: John and I, again to his chagrin
Rating: B-
Thoughts: This was fine, it just took a couple tries to get the wiring right, which is always frustrating. We used two of these polished nickel fixtures!

Hang new mirrors
Who did it: John and I, mostly willingly
Rating: B+
Thoughts: Sadly, my beloved round mirrors were too wide for this space, so we went with these narrow silver mirrors instead. They are HEAVY suckers but went up without much trouble!

Add decorative accessories
Who did it: I did!
Rating: A
Thoughts: The fun and easy part! These bathmats were a miraculous Target find (how perfect?!). I added this white waffle weave shower curtain (with these rings), these floral towels and hand towels (on this towel ring), four hooks in the shower room, and June helped me pick out the cutest shark step stool at HomeGoods. While I still love the Serena & Lily beaut, this one was a steal at $16 and can easily be switched out as the kids grow! The tissue box is from Amanda Lindroth.

The last thing I would like to add is framed photos of our kiddos’ sweet faces in the bath, likely in the shower room. Still on the hunt for the right square frames!

So there you have it – our fun little bath refresh! Well under $1000 and it makes me smile every time I walk by. Y’all know it takes me ages to finish a home project (6 months and counting for this one…), so I’m thrilled to finally be able to share with you!

I’d love to hear: are you working on a home project right now? Or do you have one in mind you’d love to tackle next?

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Here is a goal success story! And it’s not even one I highlighted on my January list! Actually, you might call it a habit success story. As part of my number one goal for 2021 (making room for God’s presence), I committed to a discipline of “Word before words” – reading something from the Bible before I tuck into my current book at night. Reading before bed is a deeply-ingrained habit and something I look forward to, and when you’re looking for something to tie a developing habit to, this is exactly what you’re looking for. I didn’t fudge a single day!

Consequently, in just a month, I read through the whole book of Mark!! (You may recall it took all last year for John and I to read through Matthew together.) Did I have any major revelations? No. But I believe deposits of scripture like this can and will be used by God, and I am grateful for that. On to Acts!

On my calendar:
— Making valentines with June! She has decided we’re going with a bunny theme this year, so I think I’ll add bunny grahams as the treat.
— Our Valentine’s Day fun.
— Celebrating Chinese New Year! Charnaie has some great book recommendations and we will 100% be eating dumplings.
— My birthday! Hoping we get a sunny day so we can go for our traditional walk in my favorite Raleigh neighborhood.

What I’m loving right now:
— It feels funny to recommend a podcast I routinely fast forward through 50% of, but here we are! Brooke and T.J.’s casual banter can get a little long-winded (hence the fast forwarding), but I appreciate their takes on topics that matter to me (family life, faith, generosity, marriage, intentional living). They cover topics that many others don’t touch in a way that feels personal and helpful.
— I hesitate to recommend skincare because it’s so individual, but this toner is too good to keep to myself! I’ve long struggled with dry, flaky skin on my forehead, and this is the first product that’s ever made a difference. The flakiness is gone, overall my skin is smoother, and I do think my pores look a bit smaller, too! (Fun fact: I discovered this via an online order sample. I don’t try 90% of the samples I receive, and I’m not sure what made me pick this one up, but I’m VERY glad I did!)
— After being eh on June’s balance bike, we picked up a different model for Shep, and are loving the Kazam so far! He’s already coasting after just a few weeks!

What I read in January:
— Such a Fun Age: Ooooh, y’all, for the most-recommended book, I expected a little more! It did hold my attention, but ultimately left me feeling empty. The snarls of modern life often feel icky and complicated enough in real time, without reading about made-up complications in my leisure time. Plus, Alix was just weird. Am I missing something??
— Oh Crap! Potty Training: I maintain that potty training has so far been the roughest developmental stage because I did not read a book on the subject beforehand. Skimmed this to remedy that before we dive in for a second time…
— Essentialism: About halfway through! Will review next month once I’m finished.

My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along!

Revisiting my January goals:
Research all school options for June.
Watch the Theolaby bonus materials with John
Print our favorite Instagram photos from 2020
Finish culling and sorting 2020 photos (January-June done!)
Write our sweet girl a note for her fifth birthday (continuing a tradition)
Complete her birthday interview
Prep for Valentine’s Day fun
Focus on small tweaks and refreshes in our foyer (Magic Eraser-ing made SUCH a difference! I also picked out a pretty linen light fixture but am holding out for a President’s Day sale :))

February goals:
— Book our annual camping trip (going in the spring this year – hopefully we’ll avoid the cold weather!)
— Book our mountains trip for this fall (places book up SO early!)
— Watch the Theolaby bonus materials with John
— Focus on small tweaks and refreshes in our bedroom, including a new paint color (!), new curtains, and a new grid of photos. Maybe not so small :)
— Finish submitting June’s kindergarten paperwork
— Finish culling and sorting the second half of 2020 photos

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!

Making travel plans last month for spring break left John and I so jazzed (reminding me that a big portion of the enjoyment from travel is in the planning and anticipation!). In that spirit, I’d love to hear something you’re looking forward to this year, whether travel or otherwise!

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