Budget Friendly Bathroom Makeover Reveal!

July 17, 2013

My son is what some might call “change resistant”. A few years ago I decided it was time to make some small changes in his bedroom since he had pretty much all of the same decor (vintage golf themed) from when he was a baby. He came home from school, walked into his room and saw that the little round rug was gone (actually just rolled up and stored under his bed) and immediately burst into tears!

I should have remembered that moment when I tackled my budget friendly makeover on the upstairs bathroom.

But, I didn’t.

Oh sure, he did pretty well when we painted the walls…

And he (and his sister!) loved the budget friendly bathroom wall art I made.

But when it came time to make the ceramic fish tile disappear by covering it up with bead board…well…that’s where I lost him.

Or actually, that’s where he lost it.

See, he had been eagerly helping us measure the bead board, watched as we cut it and carried it upstairs to attach to the ceramic tile using Power Grab All Purpose Interior Construction Adhesive and was excited to see what was going to happen.

But, the moment came when those little fish (which he had loved so much when we first moved into the house…when he was 4) were covered up by the bead board he got very quiet….stepped back a bit…and then we saw the tears flowing.

“I like those fish”, he said.

And my heart broke a little.

I didn’t realize how attached he had become to them. He and I had the exact opposite feelings about those fish. I was totally OVER them and ready for something fresh and light and not a weird color combination. But, he was not.

So, we hugged for awhile and talked about how the fishy tile would still be there underneath the bead board. Because, after all this was a budget friendly makeover. We could just think that the fish taking a loooooooonnnng nap, right?

He wiped his eyes (and I wiped mine) and we continued with the project. Whew! Crisis averted.

And now, he’s completely on board with the transformation. I mean, how could you not be on board with it when it goes from looking like this…

To THIS!!!

The bead board on the walls was a project we had tackled last year but the new paint color (Dutch Boy Colonial Cobblestone) just really makes it pop!

And using bead board on the back splash (behind which the fish are still peacefully resting) really ties it all together. I made sure to put a coat of polyurethane on it to protect it from any splashing that might occur.

The ceramic tile on the edge of the counter caused me the most angst. I considered adding wood trim over it but then there would have been a ‘lip’ where it met up with the counter top.

So, I painted it. I used a heavy duty primer designated for ceramic and then painted over that and then added several coats of polyurethane over that. So far it has held up really well and looks fantastic!

Then came the fun part…accessorizing!

New rugs add a pop of color against all the white.

And I created a simple gallery wall using letters (kids initials), their framed handprints and these faux milk glass sconces from Linley House.

A beach-y vignette was added over the commode (that sounds so much more fancy than toilet, doesn’t it?).

And very simple, inexpensive accessories were added around the rest of the room. The black wood lamp that was already in here was given a fresh makeover with yellow paint. The shower curtain was $14,99 from TJ Maxx and all the other decorative items total (including wall art) came in at around $50.

And since my youngest still needs a stool to wash her hand/brush her teeth, the little red stool got it’s own makeover as well.

When I look at this room I seriously can’t believe how such simple changes could make such a big impact.

And I learned something during the process of tackling this budget friendly bathroom makeover.

It’s going to be a long time until I can convince my son to let me paint the walls in his room a different color!

But, that’s ok…because, well, his mommy understands.

Change can be hard.

And when you’re 10 years old and you are kind of caught between two worlds…sometimes little kid…sometimes big kid…it’s important to have things you can count on.

Like the same paint color you chose for your room when you were 5.

And fishy tile.

Thanks so much for joining me at the fence today,

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Grace at Home

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