Guest Bathroom Change-Ups

From the beginning, (with buying our house) I knew that it was going to have modern "bones", and it was going to take some tweaking on my part, to add a little bit of the traditional/old-school flavor that I so love. I really love a mix of styles. A little old with a little new, and a little modern with a little traditional. 

Here are some inspiration photos that I love, and have used as reference when selecting light fixtures, hardware, etc, for the bathrooms. 

(from here)

(from here)

(from here)

(from here)

The primary thing that I switched out in our house (from what the builder had selected), was light fixtures. Most of the ones that were selected before we decided to purchase the home (incase you don't know, we bought it as it was being built. So, some things I could change out, but some things were already purchased and therefore not able to be switched out) were really modern, and not my taste. One of the ones that I didn't switch out before we purchased the house was the guest bathroom light.  I haven't even taken the plastic off of it, because I always knew I would switch it out. 

Here is the light fixtures that our house "came with"

And, here is the one that I finally ordered from amazon.com. It's in the mail now, and I can't wait to hang it. I loved the ones from Barn Light Electric, but since there is still so much to do in this house, I tried to keep it on the budget-price spectrum of things, and I bought this one for only $36. I plan to spraypaint all the silver metal parts black, and leave the inside white, then probably use an edison bulb inside. (The bulb part might not work so great, though, since people do need to be able to see themselves while showering/brushing their teeth)

I love that the diameter of the top is 14" -- pretty big! I sort of wish that the pole was gooseneck instead of straight, but at that price, I decided to go for it anyway. I like mixing the industrial style with the traditional hardware/towel holders that I recently got at Home Depot.

Check them out:

towel bar...

and the guest towel holder hanging to the left of the mirror. I still need to replace the toilet paper holder... I bought a set from Home Depot, which included a towel bar, hand towel holder, and toilet paper holder for $40. I believe it was Moen brand - I can't find it on their website. 

I do plan to eventually replace that counter top with something else, probably something resembling carrara marble. Our shower/bath in here is carrara, but it's darker carrara, and I think it would be ok to use a lighter version on the counter top. That, or I might just find a quartz or something that is light and pretty. This cabinet/counter top came together (I think its Allen + Roth from Lowe's), and I have never been a big fan of the countertop. It is mini black and white specs, and when water touches it, it leaves big wet dark marks until it dries. Boo! 

And you'll remember how I painted the bottom and replaced the hardware:

(before)

after:

And, last but not least, Pfister sent me this beautiful new faucet that I can't wait to get installed!

It looks giant in this photo, but it's not... its only a little larger than the one that we currently have. 

Anyway... I just thought I'd share the progress in here! I can't wait to get some new accessories for this bathroom and really pull it all together once I have all the finishes completed. 

On another note, I wanted to ask your opinion on a mystery that I'm trying to solve.

We have these crazy windows in our guest bedroom and office, and I have NO idea how to put curtains or blinds on them. I don't want to put one long curtain across the middle of the center window/top of the skinny ones on either side, so that's not an option. What do you guys think?!?