This post has been weeks in the making and I am so excited to finally share my bathroom renovation with you! A few months ago, after some Pinterest scrolling, I fell in love with the color grey. Already half of my wardrobe is grey, my new bedding is grey and I felt like I needed a new bathroom…that was grey. So I went to Home Depot and picked up some modern grey paint, bought a new sink vanity, new hardware and went home to work on it. That was back in like August, maybe? I spent a day painting my bathroom grey, and installing the new vanity. As months went by, it just didn’t feel complete yet. I wanted to take photos of my bathroom for an bathroom organizing post and I hated how they looked.

Back to Pinterest! What I did not factor in when I chose the color grey was that my bathroom has zero natural lighting. It is also a really tiny bathroom so the grey made it dark and small. During my first attempt at my bathroom renovation I put some holes in the wall moving around some hardware. I got some spackle and sanded it down. But now there was spackle marks all over my bathroom. I went into our basement to see if we had any leftover grey paint, which of course we didn’t. However, we just painted our dining room this very light yellow color and I thought what the heck, I can use the leftover yellow and see what it does.

8 hours later…

The bathroom immediately became lighter and brighter! After some pestering, I got my dad to call the electrician who had started to switch out my light fixture in November and then never came back…. After some rescheduling a few times, I finally had a light! Now I just need a trip to Target to get matching light bulbs…this project never ends!

I was able to incorporate the grey that I originally wanted in my bathroom without the space looking too dark.

Lesson of the story…. Try something new when it comes to home design. If you don’t like it you can always repaint or switch out the decor for something else!

Color

Look to Pinterest for inspiration, but look at my mistakes and learn from them. I love the idea of a dark color for a bathroom, but having a light color brings this sense of calm to it. I love my parents bathroom because of the marble and blue color, it almost feels like a spa! I usually spend another hour post shower in there applying my lotions and face creams because I don’t want to leave that room. You also want to create a color theme so when you purchase decor and towels, you know what to look for. Even if you have white bathroom walls, you can really make it pop with accessories! I have a grey floor mat and grey towels to bring in the grey color I wanted in my bathroom.

Light Fixtures

When we moved into the house a dozen years ago, my bathroom had bad lighting but I didn’t really care. During the bathroom renovation I wanted to replace the rusted light fixture and replace it with one that matched my parents bathroom. Note: when selling homes, buyers like having consistency throughout the house when it comes to light fixtures and hardware. In November, the electrician removed my light fixture and then never came back. It was the holidays, we went on vacation and I think my parents and the guy forgot to schedule another time to come back. My dad came up to my room one day and finally saw that my only bathroom lighting was a single bulb that barely lit up the room! Find a light fixture that fits your personality, but one that will give the best lighting. When I painted my bathroom I thought it looked fine, until I got proper lighting installed and was like wow, I need another coat of paint!

Hardware

Here’s the trick, don’t spend a big part of your budget on the hardware. The more inexpensive stuff is just as good as the expensive stuff. When we did the bathroom and kitchen remodel, we had a lot of hardware to buy. We wanted consistency throughout the house, so we decided on silver hardware throughout the entire house. For my bathroom I just needed new toilet paper holder, a hand towel holder and a bathroom towel hook and bar. At Home Depot, you can buy an entire kit that has everything in it for a reasonable price. Best part, it alllll matches!

Mirror

To me, this is the most important part of a bathroom. I need a good mirror that is big, but also is a statement piece. On my floor, I often use mirrors as decor, and I wanted to do the same in my bathroom. I actually shopped my basement and took one that had a shelf that I could put stuff on. I hate having a cluttered bathroom sink, so having a mirror that also multitasks, sold!

Towels

While doing laundry a few months ago, I noticed a lot of our family towels were gross. They were old and had stains that just would not come out. I threw out a bunch and bought new ones for everyone for Christmas. I purchased towels for my parents bathroom from HomeGoods because you can get high quality towels for super cheap! My parents bathroom color theme is light blue and white. Looks pretty for guests, but whenever I shower and dry my face, I still get face makeup allll over my towel. For my bathroom, I have separate hand towels and face washing towels. Seems a bit much, but I will tell ya why! When I wash my face at night, I use a Neutrogena cleanser and then when I dry my face, I can sometimes see makeup residue on my towel. So after I wash my face I have to use makeup remover and then a toner. It is a process! Under my sink, I have a six or so washcloths that I use to dry my face. I use one for morning and night, and then chuck it into my hamper. I have them in a dark grey color so they won’t be discolored with makeup. My hand towels get washed once a week, but are only used for drying hands. Also, invest in an expensive floor mat. I bought a Ralph Lauren one from Home Goods and it is amazinggg.

Bathroom Counter

The goal is to have nothing on your bathroom counter besides some decor. I use 4 different face cleansers a day, multiple hair products and not to mention all of my face masks. I keep all of those products tucked away under my sink and only have my Bath & Body Works hand soap, a Neutrogena face wash and a small box to collect clutter that may appear. Above my bathroom counter is that mirror with a shelf that I use to store minimal items. I have my cotton square, Q-Tips, and my toothbrush in Bath & Body Works canisters for decoration and they blend in and don’t look like clutter.

Decor

Walk the aisles of HomeGoods for inspiration. I like keeping my bathroom decor to a minimal look without a lot on the walls. Like I said earlier, I wanted my mirror to be the statement piece for the bathroom so I have small prints above my toilet from Homegoods. My bathroom is pretty tiny with a slanted ceiling since I am on the third floor, so it is super difficult to find space on the walls! But I like the simple look of it all. I wanted it to be a bright and calm space. Since my bathroom has no natural lighting, I wanted the space to be bright and happy. 

Storage

As you can see my bathroom is very tiny. I like to have my life organized, so finding creative storage solutions was important to me. My biggest help is my laundry basket. It is a wicker basket with a lid which is the most important part. The last thing I hate to see a pile of overflowing laundry, so having a lid that can hide it is super helpful. Under my sink I have my cleaning supplies and my most used products.

I also have a storage bin under my sink that holds all of my towels. Smartest move I ever made! I can throw all of my extra hand, face and bath towels in there and they can be organized without much effort.

Since I am short on space under my sink, I found a cute little basket in the dollar section at Target that matched my gray color scheme. In there I have extra toilet paper and a box of tissues hidden down there.

A year ago, I made a vow to not buy another beauty product so I could use up all of the multiple products that are taking up space in a drawer. Since this promise, the multiple hair products and lotions are beginning to dwindle allowing me to have a lot more room!

bathroom vanity // hardware kit // hand towel // mirror