Teen Boys’ Bathroom Makeover
Hello, friends! Happy Tuesday to y’all!! Did you think I’d gone on a hiatus? I’m sorry….I’m trying to get caught up & blog more regularly! I want to bring you more projects and visual inspiration to hopefully brighten your day, and inspire you to take a step towards doing some of these projects yourself, or maybe hire an Interior Decorator named Interiors by Melanie Robinson to assist you!!( NOTE: You may have noticed that some of my photos have Interiors by Melanie Robinson and some have The Painted Chandelier watermarked on them. My blog started as a creative outlet for my design business about a year ago. Since then, I have attended a bloggers’ conference last Summer in Atlanta called Haven, and have been riding the fence on combining my branding, blogging full time, decorating full time, or both. Clear as mud, right? Anyway, that explains the two different names for now.)
Moving along….. I updated my 3 sons’ bathroom a few months ago, and am just getting around to posting about it! You’re surprised, aren’t you?! 🙂 Now promise me you won’t hold these photos and design against me….we have lived in our home for 11 years, and needless to say, um, yeah…the same shower curtain and paint job have been in there for that same amount of time. Hey, I was raising little boys, ok?! I honestly was in love with the fabrics for their bath all those years ago, and they’re still great kids’ fabrics, but this bathroom just needed to be updated and made more age appropriate for my boys.
Before
Frogs and stripes, what could be cuter for boys? I had originally painted the walls a soft yellow/gold to pick up the background in the frog fabric. A few years later, I added a harlequin stencil to add some pattern. ( many a teen selfie has been taken with this patterned background on social media! I snicker when the girls comment and tell my boys how much they love this “wallpaper!” )
In my mind’s eye, I could see this bathroom in a soft gray blue/pale aqua color. Paint samples on the wall from left to right in the picture above are : Behr Atmospheric, Sherwin Williams Silvermist, Sherwin Williams Tradewinds, and Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray. Atmospheric was too dark, Tradewinds was too icy/cool, and Wedgewood Gray was too blue. I decided to go with Sherwin Williams Silvermist mixed at Home Depot in Behr Ultra Premium Plus Paint and Primer in an eggshell finish. Many years ago, I got hooked on Behr paint, and it’s still my #1 choice. The paint with primer would help cover the stencil pattern easily.
Silvermist is a beautiful greenish blue gray, and I thought it was the right intensity/hue for this space. This bathroom does have a skinny, rectangular shower window, but with a shower curtain, it doesn’t get much natural light. That affected my color decision, as well. Because it’s a North facing room, that also means I shouldn’t go too cool with the paint or it will always feel cold. So this shade was the best choice all around with its’ blue green tones.
Next, I wasn’t sure what exact fabric I was going to use, but I did know I wanted a 96″ shower curtain to go ceiling to floor, and I also knew I wanted something classic, masculine, and neutral. And I’m still pretty much a novice seamstress, so I knew I wanted to have one made. My first ” go to” source was Etsy, where I browsed 96″ shower curtains until I came to La Fortune Linens. The fabric choices and beautifully made shower curtains caught my eye, and I messaged Ann, the owner, to see if she could make a shower curtain in 96″ length. She replied back with a yes, and I chose a Greek Key fabric in a griege color/ pattern. Ann was truly so nice and helpful, and had my shower curtain to me in a very short time! Check out her shop on Etsy here. She also makes curtains, pillows, shams, etc. and has lots of beautiful fabric choices! Her workmanship was neat and beautiful,too!
Problem area and Inspiration
I wanted to do something different after years of the boys hanging their wet towels on an over the door towel rack, which, as you may have guessed, was NOT working. Neither was the towel rack that held decorative towels that were more ornamental than useful. I had seen an inspirational picture of towels hanging on towel hooks in a Williams- Sonoma catalog, and I also wanted to add some architectural interest to this blank wall. My sweet hubby installed beadboard at 2/3 the wall height, and I painted it white ( Swiss Coffee by Behr ) We chose that ratio because we wanted the towels hanging well above the floor from the hooks. I chose chrome hooks by Martha Stewart for Home Depot.
After
The Solution
Another thing I wanted to change was the adjustable tension rod. This go round, I was having a fixed rod that wouldn’t fall from the weight of the curtain liner and shower curtain combined.( Best design decision, in that it has saved my sanity!) Another example that function and form can be accomplished without sacrificing beauty. We found this chrome fixed shower curtain rod at Home Depot for less than $10, and it has worked like a charm!( “Fixed” meaning it attaches to the wall with anchors and screws, then the rod fits tightly over the screws for a semi-permanent fit ) Voila~ the boys can hurl that shower curtain open and it won’t fall to the ground now!
I really love the clean look of the bathroom, and the white contrast the beadboard lends to this space. I also love the Thomas O’Brien bath towels and rug from Target. I think this color is called Alpaca Tan.
I ended up having to hem the 96″ shower curtain a few inches because the curtain rings I chose made the curtain hang longer than standard shower curtain rings would have, but I really like the look and ease of the hook through rings.
For the blank wall over the commode, I found this ram head. Or is it a goat? I found it at Home Goods hanging out with some zebra and elephant heads. It was a light brown wood when I found it, but I knew it would make a great focal point painted white ( sorry I forgot the “before” shot! ) The faux animal heads are so popular right now, and I thought it would be something different and fun. It was too sparse by itself, so I made a eucalyptus wreath and hung it around the deer/ram/goat whatever head! A win/win in that the steam from the shower activates the eucalyptus scent each morning. My sons said it smelled “weird.” I said it smells “clean.” Ah, teen boys…go figure!!
My oldest son said it reminds him of the white stag, Patronus, on Harry Potter. Except that it’s a goat. Or is it a ram? I have Googled it, but to no exact avail. Oh well. It’s a faux animal head..yeah, that’s what it is. Patronus, protector of the commode.
A view from the hall looking in. I have a new runner in this upstairs hall that pulls all the colors from the upstairs rooms together. ( I will do a separate post on that with sources.)
Not overly decorated, but definitely updated with more mature colors and patterns for my boys’ bathroom. It’s a tad trendy for me with the ram/goat head, but it’s fresh, fun, and different. It’s a tiny little bathroom, not sure why our builder chose such a small bath for 3 upstairs bedrooms to share? Crazytalk!! I did make function and form work together, and made the best use of a small space with towel hooks, wall art, and a fixed shower curtain rod. It feels clean, masculine, and age appropriate, not little boyish anymore. Sort of bittersweet, no?!
Another look at the before and afters:
Teen boys’ bathroom makeover complete. I will update this bathroom in approximately 11 more years. Just kidding!! I also want to frame the mirror, or replace it altogether with an interesting one, and add new lighting at some point.
So what about YOU? Do you change things often in your home, or just when your kids have outgrown it or you grow tired of it? Have you learned over the years that you prefer form over function, or do you choose to let function rule over form? When you see something not working, do you change it, or live with it for years? We have so many amazing inventions in our world now that enable us to have fully functional spaces that look beautiful, too. Oh, and the towel hooks are working SO much better than the old system!! When they make it off the floor, that is. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! I will be sharing my new rugs and sources in my next post. Please come back! 🙂
I hope y’all have a great week! xxooxx
SHERRY HART says
January 22, 2014 at 12:04 amGreat job! Nice and neutral….love the shower curtain!
Melanie Robinson says
January 23, 2014 at 3:37 pmThank you so much, Sherry! Appreciate you stopping by :)!!
Jenna LaFevor says
January 22, 2014 at 1:09 pmWow!! What a difference – love it!
Melanie Robinson says
January 23, 2014 at 3:41 pmThanks, Jenna! I can remember buying all fabrics for our home in Chattanooga when we were building here in GA. All of it was COLORFUL and I still love the fabrics, but neutral with a splash of color is the season of life I’m in currently! ha!
Emily says
January 23, 2014 at 4:36 amI really like both bathrooms, even the little boys’ bathroom is adorable, but I love how masculine and sophisticated the big boys’ bathroom is!
Melanie Robinson says
January 23, 2014 at 3:44 pmEmily~ thank you so much! I agree with you on the fabrics used previously and thanks for saying that! It was just too busy and young for my teenaged sons, and I’ve been slowly working to make our colors softer around the house. Still love color, just more subtle ones currently! I appreciate you reading my post! 🙂
Behind the Big Green Door says
January 26, 2014 at 2:31 amVery nice! I really like the wall color and curtain!
Jenna Krabacher says
July 10, 2014 at 2:48 pmLove it!
Saw this on Pinterest and I’m doing this in my spare bathroom!
Thanks for sharing this awesome bathroom!
mimirobins says
July 18, 2014 at 12:02 amThat’s so fun to hear, Jenna! Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂 I hope it turns out great!