Half Bathroom Makeover

Finally, another before and after to share with you! I must say, this is one of my favorites so far. Our half bath is down a short hall from the kitchen and across from the master bedroom. It not only serves as a bathroom for guests, but is also my laundry room. It's not the biggest bathroom/laundry room but I think it's perfect for us. 

Check out the before and after. The paint color went from yellow to Barcelona Beige to tone things down a little. We replaced the dated and yellowed flooring with a richer hardwood linoleum. Then, we tore out the old laminate countertops and sink and had a new cultured granite countertop installed. After the major changes were done, we found a new mirror, light fixture, and decorations to finish off this little bathroom.

The light we chose is actually an exterior light from Lowes. We wanted something rustic and none of the typical bathroom light fixtures had that look. We thought it went well with the oil rubbed bronze faucet. The mirror was snagged at HomeGoods and helps give a more customized look.

Here are some closeups of some little details that I love. The little bumblebee ceramic bowl is from Target and so is the straw wastebasket (both are from their Threshold line from late spring/early summer). The blue and white chevron rug is from Marshalls and inspired the color choice for the bathroom. 

This mason jar with wildflowers print is from Katie Daisy and we got the frame at Michaels. I love how it goes with the rustic feel but is fun and colorful. 

And here's my little laundry room! At the moment it's not really blog post worthy so this is the only shot you get. Maybe one day once it's a little more organized I will share it. :)

Kitchen Recondition

Finally, a post to show off the kitchen transformation! This kitchen has seen its fair share of updates. Check out the arrows showing everything that's been changed so far. New beadboard, paint, refinished hardwoods, countertops, sink, faucet, backsplash, outlets, knobs, and light. You can see the changes in the second picture.

We still have a few things to finish up. We changed out the brushed nickel knobs with some lovely oil-rubbed bronze ones. We did forget to change one knob, anyone see it? It was hidden and didn't make it in the count so we still need to upgrade that little guy. We also need to change out the brass hinges that are almost tarnished enough to look oil-rubbed bronze. 

Here's a before and after picture of the countertops (plus the photobombing cat). We chose solid surface countertops from Lowes. We went back and forth about getting granite but in the end we went with what seemed best for us. Lots more I could say about the decision making process but I won't bore you with the details.

We have these gorgeous hydrangeas in our backyard and I wanted to show them off with a close up of the countertops. The color is Slate by Allen + Roth and it has a brown base color with some black, white, tan and brown speckles. If you're in the market for new countertops, check out the sale options for great deals. That's what we did and saved quite a bit compared to the full price ones that were similar. Also, we didn't add the 3 inch countertop backsplash and were able to almost completely pay for the new tile backsplash to be installed with the money we saved. Finding a sweet Lowes guy who searches for every way to help you save is a great thing. :)

We decided to keep the original cabinets to save some money and they are still in good shape. One day we may decide to paint them but for now they are fine. My mom and I spent a couple hours cleaning them with Orange Glo and it really brought some life back to them. Oh, and the kitchen smelled great after. Check out that view from the sink. I love it!!

Here is a close up of the backsplash aka the"splashback." We had nice lady come by to give us a welcome packet and she said she loved our splashback. She had a very thick southern accent so imagine that combined with the flip-flopped word. Bless her heart. ;) Anyway, we love our splashback backsplash and are very happy with the choice of travertine tiles and the mosaic tile border. By the way, see that awesome cutting board? My super talented Papa made it. :)

I had to share a close up of this amazing faucet. It's kind of the mom to the little guy in our half bath that I love so much. 

We decided to make a new outdoor kitchen area with the old countertops and sink. Just kidding! We wanted to save some money and get rid of them ourselves. Truth be told, I think Colin just wanted to rip them out. It did prove to be more of a project than we thought. Thanks Uncle Brad for coming over late one night to help carry this monster out. I was happy to be the door holder instead of the assistant in the demolition and removal. :)

So, what do you think? Everything is coming along! I'll add some more pictures of my kitchen decorations when everything is finished. Still have more unpacking to do (it's never ending!) but I will slowly but surely add more pictures of the progress.