Pre-holiday Spruce-Up: The Vintage Blue Tile Bathroom

This week marks the official start of the holiday season (though, according to malls and big box stores, it's perfectly appropriate to start celebrating and shopping in September!). As such, I had the itch to get a jumpstart prepping for holiday guests; the first place I wanted to start: our vintage blue bathroom. 

I shared the photo above on Instagram one morning last week, as I could hardly wait to show off this work-with-what-you've-got spruce-up, which required little more than incorporating items I already had into an otherwise-ignored space. In the spirit of Thanksgiving gratitude and contentment, I challenged myself to work within the limits of what I had rather than undertaking a full (and completely unnecessary) renovation and, in doing so, I proved to myself that the smallest changes could turn one of my least favorite spaces into one of my favorites.

Towels Customized with Vintage Ribbon {An Easy DIY}

In my jadeite bathroom reveal yesterday (thank you so much, by the way! you all know how to make a girl feel goooooood!), I alluded to a quick, sewing project that adds a one-of-a-kind touch to affordable Target hand towels.

Even if you're a novice sewer, you can make your own customized ribboned hand towels in 3 easy steps!

Our Vintage Jadeite Bathroom {The Reveal}

This reveal is about three months in the making but, today, I'm proud (and relieved!) to show off the results of our vintage jadeite bathroom redo.

I first posted the plans in November, and at that time it was our goal to have the space completed for Christmas houseguests. Well, our visitors came and went while the bathroom languished. We struggled with uncooperative plumbing, speciality parts (the complexity that comes with working with original 55 year-old fixtures) and post-holiday exhaustion. But, today, here we are!

Prepping the Jadeite Bathroom for Holiday Guests

Call me crazy for taking on a room redo this time of year, but Adam and I are tackling our charming vintage green bathroom just in time for Christmas!

We will be hosting my parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece for the big holiday for the first time. As a result, I want to get the cutest bathroom in our house functional (it's the only bathroom in our house that isn't!). The bones of the space are really special.

While the 'befores' leave plenty of room for improvement, let's talk about my plans for the 'after'.

Gathering Ideas for the Half Bathroom

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my photo on Monday:

That day, I received a sample of Trustworth Studios' "Apothocary's Garden" wallpaper I had ordered. I decided immediately it will be used and couldn't wait to share it with my Instagram friends. Thankfully, you all agreed that the paper was as fantastic as I had thought (Adam did too! Yippee!).

The arrival of the paper got my mental wheels turning, so now I'm scheming some changes in the half bathroom. Let me tell you about them...

"What I'm Workin' With" Week: The Bathrooms

In the ongoing saga known as "What I'm Workin' With" we are going to talk bathrooms today, friends. Brace yourselves because it might be a bumpy ride. We have 3 1/2 bathrooms in this house (with a possibility for another bathroom in the finished basement), so while they are not in a short supply the bathrooms each need some tweaking. Come see what I'm talking about.

Black in the Bathroom

On Friday, I felt a rush of inspiration from this dashing dining room with its bold black ceiling and lantern.

(via Dwellers Without Decorators)

Adding black to a room, even to often-ignored element like a ceiling, may seem like something only Lydia Deetz would do but...

...I decided to go for it.

If it's good enough for Lydia, it's good enough for me.

I wanted to paint the tiniest ceiling in my apartment black, specifically my bathroom. I've adding several black and white elements to my bathroom in the last few months, including my custom monogrammed shower curtain and custom fabric-covered tissue box, so the ceiling felt like a nice complement.

Around lunchtime on Friday, I began to paint.
I chose "Francesca" from Martha Stewart for Home Depot paint and taped off the ceiling's edge quickly.

Three coats was all it took to get an even finish and a whole new look for the tiny space.

That's when I installed a pretty new fixture over a flushmount bulb in the ceiling (Ikea's Vate ceiling lamp).

Though paper, the Vate fixture felt much more substantial and permanent, as well as being reminiscent of the lantern used in the inspiration photo.

Now, the whole bathroom feels more snazzy. Check it out:

In a rental bathroom with no special details (like mine), a black ceiling adds some visual interest. 

I couldn't be happier with a little black in the bathroom.

My Custom Monogrammed Shower Curtain

In the midst of all of the holiday hoopla, I started working on our apartment bathroom that I'd never really considered much in the nearly two and a half years that we've lived here. It really was the forgotten room.

I decided to do the right thing and paint the walls a bright white, do some very deep cleaning, and purge a lot of unused toiletries. With a nice, clean, bright base I could start with a simple palette of black and white.

There were so many black and white bathrooms that just felt fresh and perfect for our little bathroom.

(via Decor*Pad and Pure Style Home)

While gathering inspiration, I fell head over heels for Matouk's "Newport" shower curtain, but I knew it would be hard to convince Adam that a $367 shower curtain was a good investment:

(via Horchow)

With inspiration to boot, I knew I what I wanted:

--a black and white color scheme

--a monogrammed shower curtain

So, while Matouk's monogrammed shower curtain was pricey, I found a reasonable alternative that I could further customize from Alphabet Soup Gifts for only $55. When it arrived (on Christmas Eve), I was very pleased. I chose to create a monogram that represented both Adam and I (hence the AHA).

Pretty chic and oh-so-preppy.

As great as the monogram looked, I knew this embroidery in a sea of white cotton wasn't enough of the look I was going for. Think Leontine Linens on a budget.

For this project, all that I chose to use both 1/2" and 1" black cotton trim. Spools of each can be purchased at Joann Fabrics. Before any cutting and sewing, I planned out my trim pattern:

 As you can see I wanted trim to frame the edge of the shower curtain, as well as an interlocking square design around the monogram. I spread the shower curtain out in my parents' dining room and set out to lay out the trim.

 With the 1" edge trim measured and pinned, I tackled the interlocking square design that framed the monogram. I used a thinner 1/2" cotton canvas trim for this. There was a lot of measuring and adjusting to make sure that the squares lined up correctly and professionally.

 Once everything was pinned, Mom managed the stitching.

Overlooking the fact that my bathroom is teeny-tiny (and, therefore, very difficult to photograph), I love the results of this project that I just had to share:

So, for $55 plus $10 in trim and an hour of sewing, I had my very own custom monogrammed & trimmed curtain!
What do you think?