$30 Bathroom Update

Hello! Ready for some super inexpensive ways to update any room? Here's the story!

 I’ve been wanting to update my bathroom for ages but most of my plans involved a bunch of money and a considerable amount of time. I really like the look of board and batten in bathrooms and thought that it would be easy enough to do myself. The problem was that my bathroom shares a wall with the master bath, and that wall is FULL of plumbing. So I was really nervous about nailing a bunch of panels to the wall and hitting a water line. We actually did this when we were putting the very last piece of trim after the great floor remodel of 2010! Busted right through the hot water line to the water heater!  It was horrible! So I decided that board and batten just wasn’t in the cards.

 I also wanted to build a new vanity from a dresser I rescued over 2 years ago on Craigslist but after I realized how much money it would take to put a solid top on it, not to mention a new sink and faucet, I decided that I could live with my old vanity for a while longer.

With my previous vision of the bathroom ruled out I decided to come up with a plan that would look great and also cost me very little money.

All I really needed was paint, a mirror, and a shelf!

I repainted the bathroom from Behr’s Herbal Mist, to Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter. I already had almost a gallon of this leftover from paining our family room so this was a free update! While I was at it I also repainted the ceiling white, which made a huge difference. Then I used Rustolium gold metallic spray paint ($3) to repaint the medicine cabinet door.

The biggest expense for this project was building the shelf along the side wall. This cost me $25 in materials and I already had the white paint on hand. The shelf is huge a little over 5 feet long and about 6 inches wide! I LOVE it! It really changes the look of the room. I also got a new mirror that I bought a couple of months ago for a different project which I never got around to. I think it was $20 from Home Depot. So all in all, this project gave me a lot of bang for my buck and really updated the look of the bathroom! Ready for some before and afters?

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I just LOVE this fresh space!

 

Home Tour

Just added pictures to the home tour tab at the top of the page. Hope you enjoy it!

Organizing 101

Ok I’ll admit it, I LOVE organizing! Organizing is something that’s so easy but many people feel overwhelmed on how to start or where to begin. I like to choose places that I use everyday so that I don’t feel so overwhelmed by clutter.  Today I'll be organizing my linen closet. This is a closet that gets a lot of use so having it organized is important and making it pretty helps me keep it organized. Here’s a crash course into my style of organizing:

 

Step one: Choose a starting place.

I chose my linen closet (obviously) Here it is before I got started

Step two: Assess your problem areas

I have way too many linens! And candles and wallflowers, seriously…I might have a problem! These were only the ones that aren't in season!

 

Step three: Empty the WHOLE area. I know is sounds contrary but this gives you a way to see all of the things you have and it also gives you a fresh start. You know the saying; it gets worse before it gets better? Yeah…it’s gonna look WAY worse! But I promise it’ll look great when you’re done!

 

^ fresh start ^

Step four: Group like things together. For this project I group similar linens; like hand towels and wash cloths; pillow covers and curtains; etc.

 

Step five: Get rid of things you no longer need. I forgot to take a picture of what I got rid of but it was a pretty big bag. Two pairs of curtains, table cloths, old washcloths, just things that I didn’t really need. I also relocated some items that get very infrequent use (like the humidifier) to my garage storage to free up space for more necessary items.

Step six:  Put your grouped items in containers! I put all my miscellaneous beauty products in one big bin and other house hold items in a smaller bin. I also put all my washcloths grouped in separate bins. The smaller bins are clear and a little hard to see in the photos. I chose clear ones instead of printed ones because I wanted to be able to see what was in each bin.

Step seven: Start filling the shelves up with things you use most. For me it was hand towels, washcloths, and bath towels. Then add in the less used items on less central shelves, like the top or the bottom. I put the rugs back at the top since I won’t need them until the rainy season starts. And I put beach towels on the bottom shelf because they’re not used as frequently.

 

 

Step eight: Now your space should be looking pretty darn organized! I like to add a little prettiness into the mix as well. So I used some bright colored chalk to re label my chalkboard door organizer. I love this system because when guests come over they can use the guide to find what they need! Unfortunately last time I labeled it I used a chalk pen and I can’t get the old writing off! So it’s a little hard to read, but it gets the job done and it adds some fun into an otherwise boring place!

 

 I feel so much better when my house is organized! Anyone else tackling any organization projects?

Instagram Coasters!

Over the weekend I finally crossed one project off my ever growing Pinterest to-do list! Instagram coasters! This project only cost me $2.50 because I had all the other supplies but even if you had to buy all the supplies in one go, it wouldn't be very expensive!

Materials:

- Instagram pictures (I narrowed it down to 15)

- 4x4 white ceramic tiles

- Decoupage

- Foam brush

- Clear spray paint

- Glue gun

- Felt or cork 

Step one: print photos. I printed these as 4x6 and that left me with an extra 2 inches of white space that I just cut off to make the picture 4x4 to fit the tile

 

Step two: apply a thin layer of decoupage to the tile with foam brush

Step three: place picture on top of tile

(Do this step to all the tiles before step four. This gives the pictures a little while to set so they don't move around so much)

Step four: apply another thin layer of decoupage to the top of the photo. 

(Do this very lightly and pay attention to your brush strokes, as they will show later on if you look closely at your coaster)

Optional: you can apply a second coat of decoupage if you want
 

 

Step five: after your decoupage has dried arrange your coasters outside and apply 1-2 thin coats of clear spray paint or a waterproof sealer.

Step six: cut out squares of felt or cork, whatever you have handy.

Step seven: glue onto the back of the tile and once it's dry you're good to go!

 

And you're DONE!

Notes:
I happened to have a can of clear spray paint but I think if I made these again I would opt for some waterproof sealer because I have noticed a bit of discoloration on some of the coasters but nothing major. Also, I wish I had some cork on hand because I think that would have looked nicer on the bottom, even though no one ever really sees the bottom!
 

 

 

I am so glad I finally made these. They were VERY easy to make and they're so fun to have around and guests love looking through all the photos! 

Any fun crafts you guys have made or Pinterest projects you've tackled?