Hello, New Half Bathroom!

Adam and I have finally completed our half bathroom revamp!  It turned out super cute and we managed to do it all by ourselves.  I find myself visiting the half bathroom quite often, if only to stand in there and admire our handiwork. 

Here's what we were working with:

It was just okay.  We weren't crazy about the size of the vanity and sink.  It seemed like it took up half the bathroom.  And the paint color wasn't anything special.  The bathroom served its function, but it wasn't really our style.   

Plus, there were a few outdated features.  For one, there were ugly gold and silver fixtures.  The grout on the floor made the tiles look dingy.  And then there was the toilet that didn't flush properly.  You had to hold the handle down for a good 30 seconds in order for it to work.  

So, we set out to update the space and make it more our style.  I talked about our preliminary plans here. Once we had a plan in place, we started tackling one project at a time.

By the end of our renovation, we tackled quite a few projects to turn this space from ho-hum to 
ah-mazing:
-Fixed the flapper on the toilet so you don't have to hold the handle down
-Installed beadboard on the walls
-Installed baseboard
-Installed chair rail
-Replaced the sink and vanity with a slimmer model
-Used Grout Renew to make the grout lines look like new
-Painted the walls 
-Painted the window and door trim bright white
-Replaced the old wooden blinds with a sleek new bamboo shade
-Added a new brushed nickel towel hook and toilet paper holder

After lots of hard work, cursing (from Adam) and laughing (from me), we ended up with a beautiful space that perfectly reflects our style.  

This vanity and sink from Lowe's made the final cut.  We loved the slimmer profile and curved lines.  It fits the space much better than the previous sink, while still offering some storage.  

The beadboard on the walls makes everything very crisp and clean.  While it took some trial and error and some time, Adam and I are very pleased with the results.  I am working on a post to provide some tips and tricks that helped us out, so be on the lookout.  

We decided to go with a dark blue color to contrast all the white in the small space.  We used the same color that we used in our bedroom and master bathroom.  It is called Smokey Blue by Behr.  It's very dark and moody with a hint of gray, but plays quite nicely with white.  

To pick up more of the gray hints, we added a driftwood gray mirror and bamboo shade.  I used this handy tutorial to help hang and shorten the bamboo shade. 

I decided brushed nickel would be the perfect finish to compliment the color scheme.  So, we bought this faucet at Lowe's and also found a towel hook (it was in the section with the cabinet pulls).  At Home Depot, I bought this towel ring thinking it was a toilet paper holder.  It works quite well as a toilet paper holder even if that wasn't its original purpose.  If the shoe fits...:).  And to finish things off, I found a simple trash bin at Home Goods.  I like how all the fixtures have a boxy look, which helps tie them all together.    

Adam and I are pretty darn pleased with how our little half bathroom turned out!  And we can say we did it all by ourselves.  Yay for diy projects!