Full Bathroom Refresh with Functional Beauty

Bathrooms don’t have to be an eyesore.  Nor do they need to be a catch all for clutter.  A few simple solutions in this full bathroom refresh has given us a cozy functional beauty feel.

One year ago, I participated in the $100 Room Challenge and gave our vintage full bathroom a makeover.  That was a fun project and it served us quite well.  But lately, I have been looking at my home with fresh eyes.  My goal is that every area serves us, rather than it is just pretty for a picture.  Functional beauty is what I like to call it, and so this full bathroom refresh came about.

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Last month, I participated in a Whole House Clean Out on Instagram.  This bathroom was one of the areas that I cleaned out.  Afterwards, I was surprised by how much I got rid of and the fact that we really don’t have a lot to storage in here anymore.  {Oh and I also cleaned out the linen closet, so that freed up some shelf space.}

BATHROOM FLOATING SHELVES

James installed these floating shelves as part of the original makeover.  At the time, I wanted them to be styled, but have a little practicality.  To be honest, the jar of soap was helpful and I use a cotton ball each evening to remove my makeup.  But, the q-tips were never used and the toilet paper was a little bit too high for some people {insert: me and my youngest kiddo…the shorties in the house}.

And while I love pretty things, I wanted these floating shelves to work FOR us.  As in, use them to hold the things we use on a daily basis.  Oh and “cozy” them up a bit…if that’s possible in a bathroom.  Here’s a peek at the before:

The bars of soap stayed, but I moved them up higher since those aren’t needed on a daily basis.  {This jar was the perfect solution to hold our Ivory soap!}  And the toilet paper moved down a shelf. 😉  {click HERE for the tp basket}

The jars now hold my disposable contacts, jojoba oil, charcoal bar soap, and cotton balls.  And instead of hiding the clean hand towels in a drawer, I decided to keep them out.  I put a new one out each day, so this helps me keep track of when I need to do another load of laundry.

My first thought was to completely remove art from this shelf, but in the end, the space needed something with a little height.  This actually came off the wall from the other side of the room.  {You’ll see why in a moment.}  And there is the infamous toilet paper…along with tissues.

FULL BATHROOM STORAGE

When we moved in, there was a random cabinet on the wall behind the door.  But the floor was open dead space.  {You can see all the before pics of this vintage full bathroom by clicking HERE.}  Originally, we put this sweet little dresser in that spot for some extra storage.

It fit great and worked well, but…you knew that was coming.  I needed a little more storage in our kitchen next to our homeschool nook.  This was the only piece of furniture that would fit, and so, it got a makeover and moved out of our bathroom.  {click HERE to see what it looks like today!}

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the dresser that moved in here next.  Maybe I subconsciously didn’t want to remember it.  Or possibly it was just too ugly for a photo op.  Either way, after doing a major clean out of our full bathroom, I realized that we no longer needed that much storage space in the room.  So…it got the boot straight to Facebook Marketplace.  😉

For a few months, I have been keeping an eye out for an old cabinet to fit behind the door.  Eventually, I gave up and the next best solution was this cabinet from Amazon.  Sometimes, anything else is better than nothing.  {click HERE for this cabinet}

Mostly, I am excited that our bathroom door can actually open all the way now.  This tall cabinet tucks so nicely behind the door.

Instead of shoving all kinds of things on the shelves, I used baskets that act a little bit like a drawer.  {click HERE for the baskets}  I also like the fact that it adds texture and warmth with a wood “tone” to break up all the white.  Some hair products were too tall for the shelves, so I added another basket on top to hold those items.  {click HERE for that basket!}

And yes, I hung a clock in our bathroom.  Weird?  Maybe.  But when “people” consistently get lost in a time warp while in the bathroom, a little reality from a clock just might be the solution.  😉  {click HERE for this clock}

VINTAGE BATHROOM REFRESH

Since the original makeover of this room, we added plantation shutters to the window.  This has been the perfect solution to give us privacy.  But it also allowed the window to be open when the weather is nice.  That way, fresh air and privacy can be achieved at the same time.

{And yes, a good blogger would have emptied their trash can prior to photos.  Ha!}

These floating shelves are the perfect solution for adding warmth from a wood tone.  They are also really easy to create!  {Click HERE for those details.}

My homemade shower curtain is holding up well a year later.  {You can read about that solution by clicking HERE.}

These floors…they had me at hello.  No, really.  This original flooring was the clincher in knowing this was “our house.”  {click HERE for my first peek at it}

This full bathroom refresh has been the perfect solution for functional beauty.  We have exactly what we need in the room…nothing more and nothing less.  I encourage you to think differently about a space.  Is it working for you?  No?  Then think about what will work better for you…and then go for it!

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