Quick Bathroom Refresh

People often think because I am a DIY/home blogger, my house must be the epitome of style and hipness, fully-decorated with each corner designed to perfection. HAAAAAA! This is very much NOT the case.

In real life, I suffer somewhat from decoration paralysis. I often fail to decorate anything at all, not for fear of getting it wrong, but because I love so many things. And so many of those things are big, grandiose ideas (thanks Pinterest!) that are neither practical or affordable or going to happen in this lifetime. So instead I do nothing and slowly become blind to the beige-i-ness that surrounds me.

Do you ever feel that way? That it’s all or nothing? Pinterest perfection vs. why bother? Here’s some advice I try to remember to give myself: do SOMETHING! A little something goes a long way. Maybe it’s not ‘all,’ but it sure the heck beats nothing.

So with that in mind, I decided it was time to pay some attention to the upstairs bathroom, shared by my three boys. I have put zero effort into this room since we moved in nearly two years ago. It had only the very basics: a shower curtain and a mismatched rug. Occasionally a bottle of hand-soap to really add some pizazz.

Maybe I’m not about to rip out a perfectly functional vanity just to buy a more expensive or stylish version, maybe I’m not planning to tear out the shower insert and retile it with custom concrete tiles imported from Italy anytime soon.

But darnit, I CAN put up a new shower curtain and a decent looking rug!

So that’s what I did.

It really is amazing what a tiny bit of effort can do.

I hung a shelf, I added some simple decor, I replaced the gnarly old towels with fluffy new ones.

So easy. And SO much better! I spent less than $100 and probably two or three hours of time, and now the room is so much nicer to be in. The kids even keep it cleaner too, which is amazing while it lasts.

I found most of the accessories at Ross and Target, and I made this yarn art myself.  I know what you’re thinking … “Yarn art? Above the toilet? Won’t that get kind of … gross?” Yeah, probably yes. I plan to give it a good dose of Lysol every now and then, and if it gets too funky, it’s just yarn. It won’t be all that heartbreaking to see it go.

But it was fun to make! I think I’ll try another one again for sure. You should do it too! All you need is a dowel and several colors of yarn. I cut my yarn in six foot long pieces, then folded them in half so they hung three feet long. I attached them to the dowel two at a time using a cow hitch knot. Then you can just trim the bottom to any shape you want. I did something random and piecey here.

I also wanted to add something to the window, which is the tiniest window in the house and looked so bare. I found this gold and white fabric that I loved from Wal-mart believe it or not, and whipped up a faux roman shade.

The shade doesn’t function (hence the faux) but it does a nice job of looking nice.  I just measured the fabric to fit the width of the window, and long enough to allow me to fold it several times. I held the folds in place with hot glue, then trimmed it with navy grosgrain ribbon. (Not true. I trimmed it with ribbon first, THEN folded it. Doing it the other way around would have been impossible).  Then I wrapped a 2×4 in the same fabric and stapled the shade on the back, screwed it into the wall, and flipped the fabric back over the top.

There’s a little shimmer to this fabric, which matches the shower curtain ever so nicely.

Nice job Wal-Mart fabric department, I tip my metaphorical hat to you!

So that’s the story of my JUST DO SOMETHING boy’s bathroom. Making these few little tweaks really has made such a big difference. I hope it’s inspired you to ‘just do something’ in a space that lacks attention in your home. Don’t put it off any longer! Enjoy your home today!

*sources*

Rug, hamper, shelf, bag, brass rhino, ‘Bathroom Rules’ art: Ross

Shower curtain, gray basket, succulents: Target

Towels: Macy’s Hotel Collection ultimate micro cotton