Bathroom Makeover in the Blink of an Eye
Do you love a dramatic makeover? Of course you do and I totally agree! You would think after all these years of being a designer that the charm would have worn off, but it definitely has not. The process of taking a room from lackluster to extraordinary really fires me up!
The project above is the bathroom in my friend Amy’s home. Amy and I have been friends since our 7th grade Spanish class. Instead of conjugating verbs, we were plotting a Friday night foray at the local movie theatre. Her guest bath (which she lovingly referred to as the “sucky pink bathroom” before the makeover) needed a face-lift. And with so many other projects (including 3 kids and a dog) going on at her home, she was not ready to do a full renovation. As you can see, this bathroom featured the lovely pink tiles that were featured prominently in many homes from the 1960′s. Replacing tile is a big job! So if you are not ready to tackle the job, then figure out how you can work with it. A new window treatment, paint, lighting and accessories helped transform this space into a glowing retreat.
These are the tips I gave to Amy. I am sure you will find them helpful as a general guidleine in most bathrooms. Just adjust the colors for your project accordingly and have fun!
- Paint the walls brown, yes “brown.” And I don’t mean a wimpy taupe color. Benjamin Moore “espresso” 2099-30 is very pretty, or somewhere in that family. It is going to take 2-3 coats to do it properly. I know Dave (her husband) is going to hate me. Rest assured this is going to give the room the face lift it needs!
- Window: An off-white or ivory roman shade will look great. West Elm has a nice one. Don’t worry that the shade is too long. It will look more substantial if it has some fabric folded up at the bottom.
- Put simple chrome hardware on the cabinetry.
- Install a simple light fixture that has a chrome finish. Get rid of anything brass.
- Find a brown vase (craft store) and put an orchid in it. Fake or real.
- Artwork – If you have some good digital photos of the kids and the beach, print them out in a “sepia” tone, which is brown and white. Then get some white frames and use either white or pink mattes. White frames are best beacuse they will show up beatifully against the brown walls.
- Rugs – Brown
Here is an alternate plan if you want to leave the walls white.
- Just paint the walls a warm ivory.
- Brown shade from West Elm
- Brown Frames on the pictures.
Since I know you all never tire of looking at photos, I have just posted a sample of my Portfolio online for you!
Shop for great bathroom furnishings at My Design Secrets!
Tags: bathroom, before and after, decorating tips, paint
June 30th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Great! I had a pink and green bathroom of the same era. I used a tiny pink & green flowered BLACK wallpaper on the walls and ceiling. What a difference! Even the men thought it was great. I accented with black rugs on the pink floor and black accessories. The pink ‘almost’ disappeared. The black wallpaper on the ceiling really made a huge impact and actually made the room look much bigger.
I like your espresso brown and will keep that tip in my decorating file. Um-m-m I can smell the coffee now!
Love your website. Thank you for all your work. Linda in Orlando, FL.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Hi Linda,
Your makeover sounds great too! A bold wallpaper takes center stage and all the bad details fade away! Good job:-)
Thank you for your kind words and I am happy to help everyone..one room at a time.
Lorrie
September 30th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
[...] the post I did a couple of months ago about my friend, Amy’s “sucky” pink bathroom? Well, she has moved to a new home since then (not because of the bathroom, but honestly she does [...]
October 15th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] you for your tremendously positive response to the fabulous bathroom makeover last week. My friend Amy is now a celebrity in the most prestigious circles of New [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Lorrie,
We are moving into my husbands late Grandmother’s house. It’s an old house and the bathroom is pink. It is very small, a single sink, just replaced from lettuce green to a white console. There is pink tile, just like the bathroom you did for your friend on the lower half. The tub is also pink (eeww!) and had\s sliding doors. I will have a coordinating shower curtain to cover that! We want to do a “mini-makeover” since we are low on funds. I am trying to find a black background with monkeys/tropical wallpaper to replace the existing floral. Do you have any other ideas/recommendations?
June 16th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hi Bridget, I know a pink bathroom can be duanting but as you can see from the mini-makeover we did, it really does not have to be costly or difficult. You might be thinking that replacing the paper with something fun will fool the eye but but realsticially you are trying to cover up one dated feature with something else that will become dated. The monkey motif was fun but is is fading and black and pink is not optimal for a bathroom. If you are able to take down the wallpaper without ruining the walls, I would paint and go with neutral tones in the brown family as I suggested. If the wallpaper removal does not go as well and you need to put up new wallaper, I would suggest again going with something natural with a texture (or to save some money, something that looks like it has a texture, such as a grasscloth). Also investigate commercial wallpapers are often good for the bathroom and kitchen because they are bulletproof and the prices are good.
Good luck!
~Lorrie