One Room Challenge, Wk 1: My Boys' Bathroom- Inspiration & Before Photos

Can it be? Oh, yes- It’s time for the fall session of the One Room Challenge !!

This will be my second time designing as a Guest Participant in the #oneroomchallenge on Instagram- YAY. Earlier this year, I redesigned my laundry room for this challenge, and still LOVE it. It was just the push I needed to get another home project done while caring for my two baby boys, and my incredible hubby.

The One Room Challenge is a challenge, not a contest, that supports and inspires creatives in the design community to complete a single room design and installation in just 6 weeks. In 2011, the creator of the challenge wanted to finish a room in her own home, and invited her friends to do the same- and the rest is history!

Can I get a drumroll, please?…….This season I will be redesigning My Boys’ Bathroom- FINALLY. (Funny, I feel like I need to say “FINALLY” each time I work on a project at home.) FYI, it is also known as the Hall Bathroom and the Guest Bathroom.

In case you’re new to my blog, my husband and I signed on our home the day we were able to bring our first son home from the NICU. Our baby was about 2 months early, and joined us in this world before we were able to fix up our new home. Fast forward 6 months, just about 2 years from today, my hubby managed to take down the large frameless mirror, and start painting.

As you can see it was a blanket canvas of off-white walls, oak cabinets, a laminate countertop, and ugly vinyl floors… It was move-in ready which is what we desperately needed, but just so BLEH. Step 1? Make it less, well, bleh. My hubby painted the ceiling and top of the walls white, and the main walls light grey. We rehung the shower curtain from our previous apartment, and surprisingly purchased the same style toilet cabinet we had in our previous apartment on Craigslist. Lastly, I found a stylish mirror at Home Goods, and what a difference!

Let this be a lesson to never under estimate the POWER of PAINT. It really is your best friend on a budget. So, this is pretty much the bathroom we’ve been living with for the last 2 years. Well, add in a second baby and a little potty on the floor, and about a thousand bath toys!

Yes, now I’m going to share with you the official Before Photos, as we live and breath it, and give you a few ideas of what I would like to change. Grab a cup of tea, and let’s get on with the show!

These floors just always feel dirty. On the plus side you can say they disguise the wear and tear of every day life, but I’d rather see little dirt than the floor. We had the same floor in the laundry room, and we’re going to use the same vinyl stick-on tiles in here. Can’t wait!

As I mentioned, this was the shower curtain from our last apartment. The color scheme works well with the rest of our home, and it has been the focal point of the bathroom, but lately it feels a bit overwhelming in our small bathroom. I’ll probably choose something in the same color scheme, but I want a more subtle pattern to bring a calm vibe to the bathroom.

This very lonely towel is on the wall to the right of of the shower/bath. I already switched out the single for a double bar. It’s just a sad wall, and desperately needs some artwork to cheer up the room and engage my baby boys.

See this mish-mash on our light switches and electrical sockets? I really hope we’ll find the time to get everything in bright white. I also want to update the door hardware. Currently this is the only nickel door knob in our place. Why?! And my husband is probably shaking his fist as he reads this, but I think it’s time to start painting the doors in a fresh coat of white- Eeeek.

Do I have to say it? This laminate countertop has to go, pleeeease. I hope we can find an integrated sink in a new white countertop to feel fresh and be easy to clean each day.

This would backsplash, if we can really call it that, is not cutting it. I’d like to add a nice back splash to protect our walls from the water fights at our sink- Lol. I’m still on a budget, so I think I’ll just swap out the light bulbs, and maybe give it some spray paint. We’ll see!

My hubby and I are in agreement to refinish these oak cabinets. We’ve just been fearing all the little surface changes, but this is going to be our test to see if we can handle a larger DIY job on our kitchen cabinets. Wish us luck!

Our poor, little, naked toilet paper holder. We keep the toilet paper on the toilet cabinet to be out of reach of our children- you know why! Maybe one with a cover might work better?

And speaking of the toilet cabinet (I just can’t deal with the name “Over-the-Johnny-Cabinet”), I need to find some stylish storage solutions for potty books, a few magazines for my hubby, and some odds and ends.

Are you still with me?! I know that was a lot, but these are all the things I look forward to changing about my boys’ bathroom. I think it’s all manageable, as long as my boys take their naps each day, and maybe get a baby sitter in on the weekend so my hubby and I can get some work done together. Sounds like a plan to me!

In Week 2 I hope to be sharing my design plans & mood board with you, but I don’t want to leave you completely empty handed today.

This artwork is the inspiration for the bathroom design. This Noah’s Ark artwork is personal and very special to my husband. This used to hang up in my his bedroom when he was a boy, and shared the room with his brothers, one of whom recently passed away. We miss him dearly, and I’m so honored to draw my inspiration for our boys’ bathroom from this piece. I’m going to modernize the look with a new mat and my choice of decor throughout the room. I just know we’ll make some new “bath time” memories with our little family, and always think of their awesome uncle who loved them so much, and left us too soon.

So, we’ve made it to the end of my prologue, PHEW, but I just have to share one more thing. There are so many wonderful designers participating in the #oneroomchallenge. Click HERE to hop over and see the 200+ Guest Participants, just like me, who are all in it to win it. And of course, don’t miss out on the AMAZING 20 Featured Designers who are sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens. (I have to give a little shout-out to my fellow Oregonian @girlandgrey for getting featured this year! ) Now, go have some fun exploring on the ORC blog and on Instagram !!