Elsie’s Main Bath (Mini) Makeover

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Hello! Today, I am excited to share our mini makeover with you! Due to Covid and other remodel priorities, we aren’t planning to fully gut and remodel this bathroom for a while (most likely 3-5 years and it is the last room on our list!). Since we won’t be remodeling for a long time, we wanted to do a quick mini makeover to address the functional issues and make it feel closer to our style for the time being. Mini makeovers (often called “phase one”) are very challenging because our goal was to use as much as you could from the existing room and spend as little money as possible. However, three to five years is still a long time and in my opinion it’s too long to live with a room we didn’t love. So this mini makeover became the perfect solution for us! We spent a few weeks updating it minimally and now I feel much more settled and happy here.

This post is sponsored by Delta Faucet. They make the most gorgeous faucets and hardware. As you will see in this post, they make a huge improvement and brought our space more up-to-date without having to take on a full remodel!

Before we dive in, Here are the BEFORE photos …

We started with a 1990s bathroom in pretty rough shape. The very big PRO is that it is very large, with abundant space, natural light and storage. The CONs were that it had lots of leaks, two clogged sinks, the tub and shower were both broken and there were lots of little issues like missing and broken towel bars. It was definitely in need of a refresh both functionally and visually!

My thoughts/goals when planning this MINI makeover:

-I knew I was not ready to fully remodel this space. So we did not want to rip anything out. So the tile, vanities, mirrors, etc., all needed to stay for now.

-We wanted to update the space so that everything is fully functional, including repairing leaks, repairing our shower and having clogged drains repaired.

-I wanted to make it look as pretty, modernized and “my style” as possible. Given the design challenges of not ripping anything out, I would need to find creative solutions to work around everything.

-I didn’t want to spend very much money on anything that we would only use temporarily. So we decided to keep the majority of our updates affordable like paint, removable wallpaper, adding curtains and some art from Etsy.

Here’s what we ended up with!

The space feels updated, more our style and most importantly is now FULLY functional!

Let’s talk about the toilet closet first!

Adding removable wallpaper made a HUGE visual impact. I chose the Botany print from Chasing Paper. Removable wallpaper is easy to install and durable. Plus, if you look at how this room looked in the “before” pics, it was SUPER boring. The removable wallpaper added a lot of personality.

We updated the hardware with a Delta towel bar, toilet tissue holder and a new flush handle. Swapping out your toilet handle is a great hack for modernizing it with just a simple hardware change.

I also added some marble shelves, two prints from Tiny Fawn on Etsy, and my favorite towels EVER! The smiley planter is from my favorite ceramics shop- The Coy Collection.

OK, moving on to the tub. We decided to paint it a pale pink (Behr “Sand Dance”) along with the vanities, using this tutorial. We kept the existing ’90s tub and updated the hardware to this beautifully designed Trinsic Roman Tub faucet with Hand Shower Trim. The included hand shower is such a unique touch and is perfect for rinsing off after a bath and is so helpful during bathtime. Plus, I love the vibrant, champagne bronze finish! Then we added some boho curtains. It was already pretty private with blinds, but the curtains help to give it a cooler vibe. I have to admit … I LOVE the ’90s tub. It’s huge and hilarious and really fun to take baths in. My kids love it too—of course!

OK! Let’s talk vanities. We kept the existing cabinets, counters and mirrors. We updated the faucets, towel bars and cabinet hardware. The Trinsic Two Handle Widespread Bathroom Faucet from Delta perfectly match the tub faucet. They were so easy to install and still in my favorite finish! I also added a few decor things like these affordable rugs (only $70!) and some cute things like organization for my skin stuff and a little bit of art here and there. It came a long way with these small changes!

In the shower, we updated the shower head to the Delta Faucet Raincan Shower Head, bringing a modern twist – showers are 100x nicer with just that one small swap. The shower tile is not my favorite, but the new shower head will help us enjoy it to the fullest for the time being.

I found this small, perfectly sized shower rug.

Speaking of rugs, I decided to put a big area rug in the area between the giant mirror and the (newly pink) cabinets. This is another tip for minimizing a floor you don’t *love.* I’m not crazy about the travertine tile, plus there’s just so much of it. A few cute rugs help my eyes not focus on it as much.

These shelves are without a doubt my favorite part of the room as we purchased it. I like the curved detail and it’s amazing having a lot of storage! Out of all the things in the bathroom probably these shelves and the Delta fixtures are what I will keep when we completely gut it and remodel years from now! I like arranging accessories and pretty things on the shelves. The giant air plant here is real. His name is Mr. Plant and he is Nova’s plant. She gives him a soak about once a month in my sink.

Ah! Well, I think that is everything! I am so grateful for the chance to do this mini makeover. It has already made a world of difference and I pretty much smile every day when I see the wallpapered bathroom. If you are living in a home where circumstances won’t allow you to remodel for a long time, I definitely recommend a mini makeover as a solution! Fix anything that is driving you crazy and make it as cute as you can with just a few small upgrades like paint, new rugs and new hardware.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! xx- Elsie

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Kelly. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.
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