Monday, July 9, 2012

I'm Dorothy and I updated my bathroom

I'm loving the new look in the single most used room in our house.

Okay, maybe we don't spend all our time in this room, but it sure seems like it when you consider the tiny size and the amount of people making regular use of it.
Yes, I am talking about our main bathroom.

The bathroom is small (no surprise there) and was outfitted with a huge marble tub, marble sink, honey oak cabinet with matching wood mirror frame, pastel wallpaper border, and 80's style brownish tile with flowers. Ugh.
Oh, and the toilet didn't flush properly.  It used about 32 gallons of water and required you to hold down the handle for 32 minutes in order to get it to flush. Ugh again.  Because can you picture an impatient child eager to get back to his play standing there for 32 minutes?  Yeah, it wasn't happening.  Times four.


The first thing we did for that bathroom was order a Toto.
Because adding a dog into the mix is just the right answer. Just kidding.
But I did feel like clicking my red shoes together when the toilet was finally installed and "flushed like a champ" to quote the wizard my husband.  The fact that it uses only 1.28 gallons per flush, thereby qualifying us for the city's $100 water rebate was an added bonus.  I'll let you know if my water bill is reduced by $32 now that we have the new toilet.

Does ordering a toilet online seem weird to you, as it did me?  I was pretty skeptical, but the amount we'd save was enough to make it worth a try.  And when it finally appeared at our door, I had to rip into the box before the UPS guy could leave, to make sure it wasn't damaged.  There was no way that puppy was getting so much as a ding or crack.  Check out the amount of foam in this box...

Okay, enough potty talk, lets talk paint. Because I love the power of a little bit of paint.
The honey oak cabinet turned french grey after an afternoon with a paintbrush and $5 sample paint pot (I wouldn't normally paint a bathroom cabinet in satin finish, but this is a temporary solution. Eventually we will replace the vanity for something with less depth).
The walls became a light blue-ish color (a color that I love against white but am not sure about against the brown marble tub. It will work for now - probably until we get new tile).
The too-small and too-ugly mirror came out.  We replaced that with a large frame-less mirror from Ikea.  The room instantly felt brighter.


Ahh, that's better.  Next up is new fixtures, new tile (possibly wall tiles as well), and eventually, a new vanity with matching (to the toilet) sink top.

I am simultaneously in love with all the bright white and unsure if it clashes with the wood trim and marble sink and tub. But for now, I love the progress and fresh, new look!


Who wants to come and try out the new Toto?  And check out my homemade wall art?  And gaze at my blue walls?  Just pretend there's no dried up toothpaste blobs in the sink and that the floor is yellow brick instead of brown flower tiles and it'll all be good.

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