The bathroom door barely squeaks open to three feet. And yet it’s all anyone talks about when they come to our house. Not the kitchen we meticulously designed.
Not the living room we stressed over. Nah fam. They ask about the bathroom that’s smaller than most people’s closets.
Let me back up. I’ll be honest — we didn’t think much about this bathroom when we first moved in.
Beige walls.
Cheap fixtures. And an outdated mirror that came straight out of a Speedway restroom. You know the vibe.
We used it, but rarely spoke of it. But something about ignoring it bugged me. Like, guests will actually spend time in there, right?
Stuck with your design decisions for what amounts to several shameful minutes. So I went all in. Wallpaper was the first order of business.
I’d been pinning forever, trying to decide if I should go bold or play it safe. My husband would offer suggestions for “something neutral” — love you, babe — but couldn’t get this vision of emerald palms on a dark gray background out of my head. The associate at home depot asked if I was sure I wanted to put it in a bathroom because it was “quite the statement piece.” Girl, I knew that already.
I wanted it that way. Imagine my surprise when I went to install it by myself. Matching seams on patterned wallpaper doesn’t sound too difficult…until you’re quarter turned in a small bathroom with no room to maneuver.
Half of that roll is stuck on the floor while you’re pinching palm fronds off with your knees. Pop your hip getting up and down? Who cares.
WALLPAPER GURL! Long story short, I shed many tears that day. I also developed a new love for my wallpaper smoother because paste was inevitably lodged in places hair dryers just can’t reach…TWICE.
But stepping back after that last wall was complete…baby was here. Lighting was up next, and boy did I not hold back. Instead of boring old vanity bulbs hanging from the ceiling, I added this brass beaut over the sink.
Yeah, it’s a little extra for a bathroom that people only spend a couple minutes in. But does the light shine directly down like those bulbs? No.
Instead it casts mood lighting (pun intended) across the room, creating shadows that play off the wallpaper all day long. Granted, this meant I had to play around with placement and direction. The original light switch was on the wrong wall, which meant you would have to reach over the toilet to turn it on when you left.
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Fantastic idea…right? Longer showers for everyone! I opted to have the electrician move it to the correct wall, which cost me more than I wanted to spend but hey.
Some lessons you just can’t learn without spending money. Sink was honestly the largest purchase I made, but also my best idea overall. I found this cute little brass vessel sink with a detached faucet that sits on top of a wooden shelf.
It instantly makes the room feel expensive, like you’re checking into a hotel and they give you tiny lotion bottles in your room (also, the towels are MASSIVE). Having the faucet separate from the sink also creates those sleek lines we all love, instead of cluttering up your counter space. The hardest part about these sinks?
They leak. Like, everywhere. I ended up installing a small backsplash after the first month of constant cleaning.
It wasn’t enough to do tile or change out the flooring, but I found this thin sheet of brass that sits about six inches up the wall behind the faucet. Bam! Problem solved.
The mirror isn’t anything special and was mostly an accident. Preparing to host a party, I frantically searched for a round mirror to break up all the straight lines in our bathroom. Somehow I ended up on Etsy and came across this adorable bronze number.
The owner sold me her grandmother’s mirror from the 1940s, and I can only imagine some glamorous broad staring at herself while she put on her red lipstick. Those little black specs aren’t perfection, and that’s what makes it special. Plus it was only $15.
Storage was by far the biggest challenge. You can’t renovate with anything permanent in an apartment, and there was barely enough room for a trash can much less cabinetry. I ended up grabbing a skinny shelf and hanging it up high above the toilet.
It’s just wide enough to house a small plant and decorative towels, but it gives your eyes a place to land other than wallpaper paradise. Speaking of that plant: it’s faux. Ironic, considering I’m all about adding real plants to every space you can.
But I tried THREE before realizing they just weren’t going to survive DAYS in that bathroom without sunlight. If you’re going to cheat, at least cheat like you mean it and get a plant that can fool someone within five feet.
It’s the little things that surprise you.
Swapping out the basic toilet paper holder for a small brass one to match the rest of the fixtures. Hanging the towel ring at the perfect height so you don’t keep hitting it with your elbow. Splurging on a brass soap dispenser instead of the plastic bathroom aisle staples.
But small details like these really pull everything together. People talk about it EVERYTIME we have friends over. My mil, who pretends to hate everything I decorate with, actually spent five minutes in there asking where I bought everything!
The mailman thought it was “crazy cool” which still makes me chuckle. Sure, it probably ended up costing me three times what I wanted to spend…but come on. It’s almost a foot wide.
BROKE MY BANK PER SQUARE FOOT, IF YOU WILL. Splurge where you can, and remember: just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make a statement.
