you have to start somewhere.

Finally, at long last, the downstairs half bath is nearing completion! We picked a grand time to start it - right before Thanksgiving / my finals - so it's taken a bit longer than we expected. Patrick also ran into more snags than he anticipated by removing the giant wall mirror, which was attached to the wall by some super adhesive - so that resulted in LOTS of spackling, sanding, and extra painting. But it's nearly done! 

Here are the "before" pics again: 

aaaaand after: 

The walls are now a soft grey. It makes it a bit darker than before, but I like it because this isn't a bathroom where anyone will be putting on make-up or anything like that. I think it looks much softer and more comfortable now. 

 The faucet, knobs, and light fixtures - which were all brass - are now brushed nickel. I think the framed mirror (which I bought at Kirkland's a year or so ago for about $30) looks much prettier than the big, impersonal wall mirror. The light switches and plates are also new - I know it sounds like a small detail, but they were gross and paint-covered before, so this looks so much cleaner and more modern.

This has maps of where we met (Jamaica), where we married (Tennessee), and where we honeymooned (Mexico). I know it's a bit cheesy, but I think it's kind of fun, especially since it's in a place that guests are likely to see. I've had that frame since high school, and I think it works well for this purpose. I printed the maps from pictures I found online, used burlap as a border, and wrote the captions below it with a sharpie pen.

I plan to do more with this wall in the future (probably put some sort of pictures around or on either side of this painting), but for now I just wanted to get this off the floor and onto the wall. If you want to see how I painted this, here's the post.

I also want to make the sink area look a little nicer - I'll probably put a basket or apothecary jar with some soaps or something in the corner. This Woodwick diffuser smells awesome, by the way (it's Sunset Beach, I think). It's nice because it's spill-proof. I'm also on the look-out for a cute soap dispenser (I have plans to make my own gallon of Meyer's lemon soap for about $4). 

So, it's not completely finished. But it's definitely an improvement! You have to start somewhere, right? We've bought the paint for the bathroom adjacent to our bedroom, and we're hoping to get that project finished over the holidays as well. I'm super excited about the color...you'll have to wait and see ;)