Before & After: The Girls’ Bathroom

The last bathroom in the house that was still hanging out in the 1990s finally got a makeover.

Praise. The. Lord.

But let’s go back to what it looked like before we moved in, and then the first renovation. That first renovation included removing the linoleum and replacing with tile and then a fresh coat of pink paint. Wow, that was pink, wasn’t it?

The space was certainly functional, but as my girls got older, the storage issue was becoming an issue. The hot pink walls had (out)lived their 15-minutes of fame. And, since we were transforming the adjacent little girl room into teen-inspired, it just made sense to do it all at once.

Go big or go home. That’s our motto.

We started by ripping out that horrific cabinet that was poorly made, had water damage and had no real storage solutions. Then, we painted the walls and repainted the trim and door in Sherwin Williams Pure White. By the way, that’s your winner of a white if you’ve been looking for one. Slowly but surely, we’ve been replacing all the brass doorknobs and hinges in the house with these. Hello 2020.

We ordered standard cabinets from The Home Depot and added one above the toilet that wasn’t quite as deep (it’s 12″), but that still offered some additional storage solutions. Scott did an amazing job installing them both. My pro tip here is to ask for one of the cabinet specialists to review your order. Not only did they ensure we had all the trim pieces, but they shipped it to the store, saving us $100 in fees!

Then, it was a trip to the granite remnant yard. When I saw this one, with a splash of purple I knew it was our winner. We opted to undermount the sink so the girls had a little more counter space. This bathroom is tight on extra elbow room, so we had to use every available inch. If you live in Austin, I highly recommend the company we used (linked below). Sharon is fantastic.

As much as I wanted to bust out the tile in the bathtub (another project for another day), we decided to get an all-white shower curtain to cover it up and add some visual space to the bathroom. Let the record reflect that I would NEVER do that color in a boys’ bathroom, ha! We also installed a shower rod that screwed into the wall because I was so very tired of hearing the spring rod fall down, followed by a scream from the girls.

The walls were repainted the same color as the bedroom and closet. It has just a hint of lilac and with the newly painted white trim, it really looks classy.

The fixture and mirror were upgraded, but we left the lights alone. Those were replaced on the last makeover. The boys’ bathroom has the same fixtures and they’ve been working just fine.

A towel bar wasn’t feasible, so we used hooks instead. Scott took an old piece of wood, finished the edges and then we painted it white, sanding it just a little for a weathered look, and then affixed the chrome hooks. We buy white towels for our kids and then embroider them with their number and family color. It makes for easier laundry sorting and I can bleach the heck out of them!

I wasn’t a fan of drilling holes into the cabinet for a toilet paper holder, so we got one that doubles as a stand and storage. It works perfectly with this space. To preserve the cabinet facings, we opted for simple chrome pulls.

For a small pop of art, we included this print and it’s absolutely perfect for the space.

All in all? We love it. The girls’ love it. Someday I’ll get that bathtub statement tile I’m dreaming of, but until then we’re calling it done!

SOURCES
Mirror: Wayfair
Faucet: Moen
Cabinets: The Home Depot
Granite Remnant: Precision Granite & Stone
Soap Dispenser: The Container Store
Shower Curtain: Target
Shower Rod: Wayfair
Toilet Paper Stand: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Art: Flor Larios
Cabinet Storage Bins: The Container Store
Cabinet Knobs: The Home Depot
Trim/Door Paint: Pure White, Sherwin Williams
Wall Paint: Gentle Violet, Valspar via Lowe’s