Progress on our Hall Bath

While the kids and I were in Virginia this summer, Philip took on the task of tiling the hall bathroom floor.  This was so great for a couple reasons.  First, our floor before was white laminate that looked dingy and dirty even when it was technically clean.  Now, it looks like this:

Second, like so often occurs, this tiling project catapulted our plans for giving this little bathroom a facelift.  Now, we also have freshly painted walls and a new vanity to boot!

When we set out to freshen up this bathroom, I settled on this beautiful space as my inspiration.

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I painted the walls this color.  I found a vanity on Craigslist in San Francisco.  Naturally, I convinced my whole crew to trek down there with me a couple Friday nights ago so we could snag it.

This faucet just arrived in the mail.  I found this mirror at a local thrift store, and it's waiting to be hung. It's admittedly not consistent with my inspiration image but I've always loved it, it was $30, and I still think it'll look good. (Need to figure out what to do about the current medicine cabinet situation).  Still need to find a new light fixture to replace the granny-chic one we currently have going on.  Baseboard should go in within the next couple of days.

My current dilemna is whether or not to paint the vanity.  When we originally set out to select a vanity, I was thinking we'd settle on one of the lower grade options at Home Depot or Lowes, so I would definitely paint it.  However, the vanity we ended up getting is nicer than those, and really not offensive at all in its current state.  It's a nicer, solid wood, and the dark, espresso stain is pretty nice as is.  The thing is, nearly all the bathrooms I'm drawn to (a quick perusing of my bathroom pins told me this) include a painted vanity.  I feel like I'm leaning towards painting it (thinking this color would be a good match for my inspiration image).  What do you think?

Here are a few painted vanities for your consideration…

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Sooooo, to paint or not to paint?!

Monogrammed Towels

{Warning:  This post includes a tragic "before" photo that takes the cake for the "blandest bathroom" award.  Please proceed with caution :) }

By some amazing twist of fate, my husband has agreed that we can use some of our Christmas money we received as a gift to purchase new master bathroom towels.  We've had the same towels since we got married nearly eight years ago, and the prospect of fresh new towels has me very excited!  Adding a personal monogram to new towels?  This just about sends me over the edge.  Of course, spending the extra money on monogramming means the details of this decision need to be carefully considered.  I thought it would be helpful to me if I tried to organize my ideas, so I thought I'd share them here.

Before we go any further, I suppose I should give you an idea of the sad space where the new towels will hang.  With the exception of the plastic bath toys and the sink miscellany, this is pretty much how things looked when we moved in.

I know.  I tried to warn you.

Moving on to prettier things, here are some lovely images of monogrammed towels {and some really great bathrooms} that may help settle your stomach after what you just saw :)

Source: highstreetmarket.blogspot.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: lonnymag.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Anne on Pinterest

Source: paloma81.blogspot.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: thelittleblackdoor.blogspot.com via Anne on Pinterest

I think the styles I am inclined to use for my new towels are 1. the circular shape (as seen in the above photo), or 2. maybe this diamond style:

Source: bellalino.com via Anne on Pinterest

with this last style getting an honorable mention:

Source: Uploaded by user via Anne on Pinterest

I am thinking of going with classic navy in the master bathroom and maybe I'll sneak in a couple hand towels for our half bath (thinking maybe hot pink?  trust me.  it's another bland situation that could use a splash of color.)

I'd been planning to pick up some white towels from TJMaxx (love) that I could then have monogrammed.  I may still do this, but as I was searching for inspiration, I came across this deal from Horchow:

Source: horchow.com via Anne on Pinterest

The monogram is available in navy and a set, which includes two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths is only $57.90.  And monogramming is included!  They are apparently Egyptian cotton, which I know is good, but this price makes me wonder if the quality could be that great?  There is nothing worse than a towel that doesn't actually dry you off.  Know what I mean?  I hate using a towel that merely rubs the water around!  (please tell me someone else knows what I'm talking about!)

I'll keep you posted!