next house project: upstairs bathroom mini-redo

Here is our upstairs bathroom:

If you know me at all, you can probably guess that there are a million things that drive me crazy about this bathroom. Let me share them all with you:

 broken tile in multiple places

weird eyeball tile staring at me
while I am naked in the shower

boob light

icky mirror and bad towel bar

haunted house cracked walls

nasty taupe walls, which Liz and I decided
look like witch skin. gross.

bad towel bar placement and ugly fixtures

nice holes in the wall from the old shower curtain rod

Add to this that this is the only place to bathe in this house. (Well, that's not quite true. There is the horror movie shower in the unfinished basement. That's where we keep the cat litter box. No showering happening there, thank you very much.) So this means that above all else, it needs to be very functional. Did I mention that we don't have a linen closet? All the extra towels are in Lea's bedroom closet. Which means that if you are showering and you forgot a towel and Lea is sleeping, well, you just have to air dry.

All of this adds up to stupidness.

So, here is the bathroom I would like instead, please:

Ok fine, I know that this bathroom is as big as my bedroom. I would need a new house first. But I love the subway tiles and the beadboard and the penny tile on the floor. And the green vanity is awesome.

Oh my goodness, look: TWO SINKS! What a novelty. This bathroom has to be a serious workhorse - it needs to serve two adults, one kid who will someday be a teenage girl, and any vagrants or houseguests who stay with us. Two sinks would be awesome. And what's that? A countertop to put things on? Sounds amazing.

 But we have a problem here . . . namely, I don't have ten grand to pay for subway tiles and penny tiles and a marble bathtub and a custom vanity. Nor do I have the time to DIY all of this at this point in my life.These bathrooms are all far into the future: like ten years, a couple of promotions, and no car payments into the future. 

Kyle and I were talking budgets the other day. I really want to gut the whole damn thing and start over, and Kyle said he'd rather save some money and "wait until Lea has her own bathroom products that need storage." Which means we might make it at least until she's about seven.

I agreed - maybe this bathroom demolition could wait. But I cannot live with the witch skin walls for five years. So, we agreed on a $200 budget for a mini-redecorate so I can satisfy the decorating urge. YIPEE! I feel like the Young House Love couple. Trying to stick to a budget and do things myself. In fact, this bathroom is theirs:

I like this. This bathroom was a giant remodel - they tore out everything to the studs. Mine will obviously be much more low-key, but I think this is much more doable. I like the light green paint color and this photo helps me keep size in perspective. 

Here's The $200 List. I think I can do all this and stay in my budget:

• new shower curtains
• paint walls and trim and door
• new towel and TP fixtures
• move towel rods to back of door
• move hand towel hook to below light switch
• new pretty knob for medicine cabinet door
• install shelves above toilet for towel storage
• get a step stool/bench: needs to be a place to set clothes and also a step stool for Lea
• artwork/new hanging plant

And some maybes:

• new glass shades for the sconces
• new mirror
• paint sconces white
• new bath mat/rug

Ooh, I just found this bathroom, and it's my favorite: bright shower curtain, white walls, artwork, white tile, good lighting fixtures. This is the Big Remodel version.

 The more photos I look at, the more I realize I like white, white, white in the bathroom, with a bright shower curtain and artwork. But the trouble is, these all have interesting architectural details on the walls (tile or beadboard). I won't have that for now. It would be white paint. What to do??

Maybe just do the lightest almost white shade of green on the walls? I think I'm going for this shower curtain:

with the light blue towels I already have. But I am not sure about how that white center would look.

But I also love this fabric for a shower curtain:

Hm. I'm torn.

Thoughts about this pressing topic?