I’m finally finished with boys’ upstairs bathroom!
If you remember, I first shared with you my plans for our upstairs bathroom back in January.
When we moved into our house, all three of the bathrooms still had their lovely, early 90’s wallpaper on the walls and those awesome, honey-oak vanity cabinets. Â We were able to pull off the wallpaper and repaint in 2 of the 3 bathrooms pretty quickly, but we just never got around to this one.
Besides updating the color scheme and decor and upgrading some of the builder-grade features, I also needed to simplify the function of this bathroom and make it user-friendly for my 9,7, and 3 year old.
Just for a refresher, here is the photo that I used for inspiration:
Lisa Gabrielson Design
I love this upscale, modern-nautical look, but I don’t even want to think about the cost of this bathroom renovation! My goal was to achieve a similar look for minimal cost, through using all of my DIY skills (and learning some new ones) along the way.
Before we get to the final reveal, here are a few progress shots to show what I went through along the way.
Wallpaper Removal Issues . . .
Board and Batten Instillation . . .
and DIY Cedar Wood Countertop . . .
Are you ready to see all of it pulled together?
Yay!!!!!
After 7 months of working on this project in 30 minute chunks of time, my boys’ bathroom has finally been updated and made child-friendly.
There are now hooks for all of the towels, rather than towel bars (which are like kryptonite for little boys), and a single-handle faucet sink (so no more scalded hands because they only turn on the hot water).
I also replaced the double shower curtain with just one shower curtain liner and two fixed decorative panels.
The fabric panels (which are all 100% stitch-witched, remember I can’t sew?) are installed on a fixed curtain rod, and the shower curtain liner slides on a separate, thin wire mounted behind them. Now the boys only have to slide one curtain that always stays inside the tub, rather than figure out the whole “plastic liner inside the tub, fabric liner outside” conundrum. Â And bonus that the mounted fabric panels hide the thin wire and shower curtain liner when it’s not in use.
I added some decorative shelving over the toilet, with a basket to hide extra toilet paper.
By adding the shelves and hanging the fixed curtain panels all the way up to the ceiling, the tall bathroom ceilings are highlighted and the space actually feels bigger.
I absolutely love the board and batten, and all of the architectural interest it adds.
I am not going to say installing this was easy . . . but it wasn’t hard either.  I have very basic woodworking skills and tools, and I was able to pull it off though. It did take a considerable amount of time and patience, and a little problem-solving along the way though to get it right.
I also added the woodwork trim around the mirror. That was considerably less complicated than the board and batten, but makes a huge difference in the character of the space. Â A new satin nickel light fixture also replaces the brass strip lighting that was so absolutely terrible.
I used Fusion Mineral Paint in Homestead Blue to paint the vanity, and it worked like a dream.  The finish is so smooth and because Fusion is acrylic based, it requires NO topcoat at all to seal it.  Fusion cures up to a 100% waterproof finish, and I can attest that it really can handle a beating.  This cabinet has been painted now for 4 months and there’s not a nick or scratch anywhere (with 3 boys constantly beating on it).  Anytime there is soap or toothpaste on it, I just wet a rag and wipe it off.
I am so happy with how it turned out.  Yes, it took me 7 months to complete it, and I realize some people may think that’s crazy–but that’s how things work around here, transformation comes a little at a time.
The woodworking isn’t perfect, the curtain panels aren’t perfect, the vanity top isn’t perfect, but I’m ok with that. Hiring a professional would have produced more perfect results, but would have cost at least triple of what I spent–and really DIY for me is about much more than saving money. It’s also about learning a new skill, watching a space grow and change before your eyes, and being able to step back at the end of a project and say, “I did that!”
For your reference, below is a list of sources and cost for this project:
Wall Paint, Glidden Frosted Green Grape: Â $32 from Home Depot
Vanity Paint, Fusion Mineral Paint Homestead Blue: Â $20 from personal stash
White Trim Paint, Benjamin Moore: Â Free, leftover from other project
Cedar Vanity Top,  Free for the wood (leftover from fence): $16 for Varnish from Lowe’s
Kohler Drop-In Sink:Â $108 from Build.com
Faucet and Light Fixture:Â $83 from Home Depot
Wood trim for Board and Batten and Mirror:Â $36 from Home Depot
Curtain Rod and Shower Curtain Wire:Â $30 from Ikea
Shelves:Â $26 from Ikea
Fabric for Curtain Panels:Â $30 from Hobby Lobby
Extra Long Shower Curtain Liner:Â $15 from Amazon
Decorative Accessories:Â $60 from TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby
Misc. Materials for Paint and Woodworking:Â $17 from Home Depot
Plumbing Costs:Â $195 to professional plumber for removing fused water lines and installing new lines for new faucet
That’s a total of $473 for all of our DIY materials, and a grand total of $668 when you add the one professional cost of the plumbing job we had to pay.
Spread out over 7 months, that’s less than $100 a month. Â Not too bad for a whole bathroom upgrade!
Thanks for being so patient with me to roll this out, I know the reveal has been a long time coming. Â I hope it’s inspiring to you though and maybe has given you some ideas for your own project.
Linking up to:  Finding Silver Pennies,  Your Turn to Shine  Nifty Thrifty Sunday
That DIY ParDIY Show Off  Metamorphosis Monday  Wow Us Wednesdays
It turned out beautifully, Melanie! A great update!
Thank you so much Linda!
Looks fantastic! You should be so proud.
Thank you! I do love it. I don’t think my boys care much about it being renovated (hey, what can I expect from 3 little boys!) but it makes me happy to walk upstairs and see it finished.
perseverance is a great character and you had a lot of it to turn this bath into a stunning place xx
Thanks Chris. My husband told me I wasn’t allowed to start any other projects until I finished this one, so that kept me motivated to finish it up 🙂
Outstanding! I really like it even better than your inspiration piece.
Wow, thanks!!
Looks amazing, Melanie! Great job!
Thanks so much 🙂
beautiful!!!
Thank you Karen!
Dang! I dig that! The colors are amazing and I know my favorite is the countertop! Good job,
What an awesome job! I love that blue vanity. Perfect for a boy’s bathroom.
Thanks Linda. I absolutely love Fusion Homestead Blue.
You inspire me with these amazing results!
Thanks Kaely 🙂 It did take me 7 months to do, so don’t be too impressed!
Great job Melanie! I am really impressed, the result is amazing.
Anne.
Thank you Anne!
Melanie, this looks great! Excellent job!
Fantastic remodel!! You have inspired me to finally add board & batten to my bathroom walls – could you please post or email me the size boards you used? I really like the thinner look of your board & batten and it would go better with my small bath.Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Liz! I will get that info to you on the board, I’ll have to check next time I am at Home Depot. I do remember they are 4ft poplar boards, I believe the 1/4 thickness, but let me double check and get back with you.
Beautiful upgrade to the bathroom, I am inspired to improve mine now. And I recognize that wallpaper – it was in our kitchen and back hallway when we moved into our house in 2001…. Never thought I would see it again!
Great job.
That’s crazy Martha that it is the same wallpaper! Must have been quite popular 🙂 Good luck in your bathroom redo!
You did a wonderful job. Are you going to tell us about that cabinet top? To me that is your highlight. I am going to look around your site to see if you have already told us how to do that but if you haven’t, maybe you will.
Thanks Carol. I did talk a little more about the cedar wood top on this post here. It was really my husband’s project, and so I didn’t get as many photos to walk through it step-by-step as I would have liked, but you can see a bit more of the process there.
I love this makeover! My boys’ bathroom is on my radar for this year…you’ve inspired me 🙂