It’s room reveal day! Come tour our beautiful modern bathroom Makeover featuring dark green walls, brass fixtures, matte black hardware, a painted vanity, and more.
It’s room reveal day! I cannot tell you how excited I am to share our finished bathroom makeover with you!
This DIY bathroom makeover was entirely cosmetic updates, no major renovations or fixture replacements. It really is amazing how a space can transform with a little paint and elbow grease!
This bathroom packs a lot of modern style into a small space and I am all heart eyes about it. You get a glimpse of the pretty green walls when you walk in our front door and they make me smile every time.
A huge thanks to Behr, DecoArt, iDesign, Lamps Expo, Liberty Hardware, and Ryobi for partnering with me on this modern bathroom makeover! All content and opinions are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for details.
The Before Pictures
Before I share all of the gorgeous after photos, let’s back up to the beginning for a minute so I can remind you how this room looked before I got my hands on it.
Waaaaaaaay back in October, I shared the design plan for this space and declared that I was going to do this room makeover all by myself in just 6 weeks as part of the One Room Challenge.
Well, let’s just say I tend to overcommit myself and am an eternal optimist. Hence why this room reveal is coming at ‘ya in Februaryas opposed to early November. Oops!
It was quickly apparent that I didn’t have enough time to devote to the project and after getting halfway through the challenge, I waved my white flag and admitted that there was no way I was going to get anywhere close to finished in the six week timeframe.
I made good progress in the first few weeks but once I admitted defeat, I quickly lost steam. I ran into some roadblocks and tough design decisions that slowed me down, I got distracted by other projects, and life just got in the way.
One of the things I’m trying to be better at is finishing projects faster. I tend to get them 95% done and then lose interest in the little touchups while moving on to my next project. The bathroom has basically been finished for the past two months minus a few paint touchups and some accessories. Those final touchups are so annoying but so much a reality of any home project.
I rolled up my sleeves the past couple of Saturdays and actually finished this room. I really wanted to photograph it to share with you a month ago because it basically looked done. But I made a pact with myself that I wasn’t sharing the room reveal here on the blog until I was truly done. Because if I would have shared it a month ago, I guarantee you the final items would still be left undone. Blogging about my projects creates great accountability!
If you want to catch up from the beginning, here are the past updates:
- A 5-Week Bathroom Makeover With Little Time & Not A Lot Of Money | ORC Week 1
- Our Modern Green Bathroom Design Plan | ORC Week 2
- Green Walls And Mirror + Light Combos | ORC Week 3
- Window Trim, Board & Batten And A Vanity Mirror | ORC Week 4
- Bathroom Progress: Painted, Organized Vanity and a New Mirror
As a reminder, here’s a before photo of the bathroom. It’s your standard half bath just off of our kitchen. This small bathroom was functional but left a lot to be desired in the design department.
Our Modern Bathroom Reveal!
Gorgeous Green walls
These green walls are what dreams are made of. I love a room with high contrast and moody walls!
From the beginning of planning this makeover, I knew I wanted to go bold on the walls. I tested four green colors and David and I agreed upon the richest, truest green of them all: Rainforest by Behr.
I have used Behr paint in many projects and reached out to them when I was planning this makeover about using their Marquee line in our bathroom. I knew I would need a high-quality paint with good coverage to cover up all of that bright blue that was in here before, and the Marquee paint definitely delivered.
I was especially surprised that two coats of white were enough to cover up that bright blue! I did a third coat for good measure but I honestly probably didn’t need it!
DIY Board & Batten
I know it’s been done a million times over by now, but I’m still so in love with DIY board and batten. I installed it in our entryway last summer and knew it was just the thing to add some interest to this plain bathroom.
For our bathroom makeover, I chose to extend the board and batten up two-thirds of the wall and paint the top third white. I love how the bold green board and batten adds a lot of interest and style while the crisp white keeps the space fresh and light.
You can read all about how I install DIY board and batten here. A lot of Dap caulk and my trusty Ryobi brad nailer and miter saw were my best friends during this phase of the project.
DIY Craftsman Window And Door Trim
Besides the change in wall color, I think the next most striking difference between the before and after photos is the new chunky trim around the window.
This may be a tiny bathroom with one little window, but that trim really takes things up a notch, don’t you think? The windows in this house have zero trim around them so now I just wish I could snap my fingers and have the same trim appear on all of the doors and windows in this house.
I followed this DIY Craftsman trim tutorial from my friend Christene and it was super helpful! I’ve never trimmed out windows or doors before but it’s surprisingly simple! My Ryobi power tools and lots of Dap caulk are to thank for the new trim looking so nice.
Brass Light & Mirror
If you have a tiny powder bathroom like this that could use some style, I think the fastest and easiest ways to improve the look of the room are to replace the mirror and the light fixture.
People live with their builder basic fixtures for far too long when they really aren’t as expensive or difficult to install as you might think!
I’m in love with the antique bronze light fixture I found from Lamps Expo. That brass goes so well with the moody green walls! This light fixture is inexpensive and I installed it by myself in less than 10 minutes (and this is only the second light I’ve ever replaced so I promise you it’s easy to do!).
I also incorporated brass through the addition of this large round brass mirror (also very inexpensive). This mirror previously lived in our navy entryway but it’s right at home here in the bathroom and fits the space perfectly. Can you tell I have a thing for brass?
Painted Vanity
I took the plunge and painted the builder grade vanity in this room. I’d love to swap it out for something new someday but that’s not in the budget right now so I decided to try my hand at painting it.
It took some trial and error to land on the right paint color that went well with the bold green walls but didn’t compete for attention. I ended up adding a few drops of this gray paint to a container of glossy white paint from DecoArt and rolled it on with a small roller brush.
I really love the subtle gray color and the Satin Enamels paint from DecoArt cured to a smooth, hard finish so I didn’t have to worry about any kind of topcoat or sealer.
It got scrubbed pretty good with a Magic Eraser to remove a bunch of orange crayon scribbles the other day and the paint passed that test.
Painted Countertop
You may remember my countertop sagas on Instagram around Christmas time. I originally painted the vanity white and that made the cream countertop stick out like a sore thumb.
So after a lot of back and forth, I ended up just going for it and painting over the countertop itself. I’ll be honest, I was super nervous about this project. It took quite a bit of time but I’m happy to report that the end result looks awesome and has held up great!
I used the Rustoleum Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit in white and would definitely use it again. Although next time I would apply it with my paint sprayer instead of a small roller brush to get a smoother finish.
The epoxy is self-leveling but it was a little tough to roll it smoothly inside the sink basin so that’s where I think a paint sprayer would be the better way to go.
NEW BATHROOM & VANITY HARDWARE
This vanity is as builder grade as they come and had no hardware. Adding a few pulls or knobs is a great way to make it look a bit more custom.
I chose gorgeous matte black hardware from Liberty Hardware. Aren’t they so pretty? I chose this black pull and this black knob. I’m in love with the geometric design of them!
Adding nice hardware to a builder grade cabinet is a simple project. And the only tool you need is a drill so it’s great for beginners if you want to dip your toe into home improvement!
I decided to play around with mixing metals to create a more interesting, collected look.
With the brass mirror and light and the black vanity hardware in place, I added in a touch of polished chrome with the towel ring and toilet paper holder, both from Liberty Hardware. They have a modern-yet-classic design that’s so pretty.
Organized Vanity
Not only does this painted vanity look good on the outside, but it also looks really pretty on the inside! If you know me, you know I can’t do a room makeover without adding some great organization and this little vanity is now home to a lot of our cleaning supplies.
I covered the bottom with this pretty adhesive contact paper and then organized everything in my favorite acrylic bins from iDesign.
Now half of the vanity holds household cleaning supplies and the other half holds extra toilet paper, a box of tissues, and a small trash can (with a dog and a toddler, it’s best to hide the trash!).
I added pretty labels to the front of the clear bins to finish off this little organizing project. Check out my video tutorial to see how I make these DIY vinyl labels with my Cricut.
Modern DIY Art
I added some really pretty brass frames to the empty wall behind the door last weekend! And I’m so in love with the style they add to this modern bathroom makeover.
I’m still toying with art for these frames but I framed some quick DIY abstract art for now. And I actually really love how this quick art project turned out!
I had originally planned to add a frame above the toilet but decided to leave that space empty (at least for now). I didn’t want to detract from everything else in the room and that empty space gives the green paint room to shine!
Modern Accessories
I kept the accessories pretty simple in this space since it’s such a small bathroom and I didn’t want to detract from the mirror, light, and walls.
I chose two of these cute soap dispensers from iDesign and added DIY vinyl labels with my Cricut.
The hand towel was such a good Target find! I had similar towels picked out on Amazon but they all came in sets of 4 and I really only need one. It was only a few dollars but I think it looks a lot more expensive than that.
The rest of the accessories are faux plants which all ended up being from T.J. Maxx. That store is seriously my go-to for faux potted plants and they didn’t disappoint on my last couple trips.
I hung this really pretty faux houseplant from the ceiling and am happy with that decision as opposed to adding art on that wall.
This may seem obvious to you but I had zero idea how to go about hanging a plant from the ceiling. After some Googling, I discovered these magical hooks that can hold the weight of a potted plant. It was super cheap and easy to install!
I also found that realistic-looking potted succulent on the counter and the potted plant on the windowsill at T.J. Maxx. Aren’t they pretty! I love how fresh all of the greenery and green paint makes this room feel!
What’s Next?
Whew! Writing that all out reminded me of just how much work I did and how far this small bathroom has come!
I’m chalking this room up to complete for now, but there are a few outstanding projects that I’d still like to tackle at some point down the road.
For one, I really want to stain the door a different color. But I haven’t decided what color yet and I will do all of our interior doors the same color so it’s a decision that’s worth waiting until I’m certain of the color.
I added Craftsman trim to the inside of the door to match the window, but the exterior of the door frame is still the old trim. The eventual plan to carry out that same style of trim through the rest of the house or at least the main floor but that’s going to take some time!
I had originally planned to paint and stencil a cool tile pattern over the linoleum floor. But it’s neutral enough to work for now and, in the interest of time, I decided to table the painted floor idea.
Plus, we are tossing around the idea of installing wood-look laminate flooring on our main floor sooner than I’d originally expected so I’m kind of waiting to see if those plans pan out since I will carry that flooring into the bathroom.
Modern Bathroom Sources
- Light Fixture
- Round Mirror
- Towel Ring
- Toilet Paper Holder
- Black Pull
- Black Knob
- Acrylic Bins (inside vanity)
- Adhesive Contact Paper (inside vanity)
- Brass Picture Fames
- Soap Dispensers
- Faux Plants – T.J. Maxx
- Swag Hook For Hanging Plant
- Hand Towel
- Green Paint
- Gray Vanity Paint – A couple drops of this gray paint added to a container of this glossy white
- White Countertop Paint
And that, my friend, is a wrap on this modern bathroom makeover!
Thanks so much for cheering me on and chiming in with your ideas as I worked on this bathroom! I’m super happy with how it turned out even if it did take me way longer than expected.
And a huge thank you to the wonderful brands who partnered with me on this room makeover: Behr, DecoArt, iDesign, Lamps Expo, and Liberty Hardware. You all are amazing!
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Have a great day!
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