the big reveal....the loo

For about a month now I've been gradually sprucing up my bathroom. Or, at least, half of my bathroom. It's a rather long story, but my bathroom is divided weirdly (yet somewhat conveniently) in half; the 'front' half is like a powder room, divided by an outdated plexiglass 'window' and another door that leads to the 'back' half, which is where the tub and additional sink are. It's sometimes a pain, but it's also great to be able to just close the door when the tub is a bit overdue for a cleaning and the hamper is overflowing, and there's a pile of towels on the floor (not that these things ever happen in my house, of course...). There's also another benefit...the HIDEOUS pink tile is thankfully confined to the back half. Yes, it's true...my bathroom is tiled in Pepto-pink. I hate it, and often wonder what on earth the previous owners were thinking, but there's not a blessed thing I can do about it at the moment. So I deal. And shut the door.

(Yes, I know that pink window shade is awful too...but I'm so disheartened by the tile, I still kinda figure...does it really matter at this point?? This part of the room is merely about function.)

In my effort to pretend that this pink-problem doesn't exist, I decided a while back to emphasize the only other color present in this little room - gray. The floor is an oh-so-lovely little mosaic of gray and pink tile. So, since I can't really go any other direction color-wise, gray it is. I did banish all traces of pink paint at least. (Seriously, when we moved here the walls AND ceiling were ALL pink!! I always said it felt like jumping into a Peptobismol bottle to...well, uh,...do your business!)
So, step one was a white ceiling and gray walls. After a few years of that being all I had done, all the gray was feeling rather drab, and it needed some sprucing up. So, the only other option I could think of was to go with black and white. I've been in the process of adding and changing things where I could. The lower part vanity was originally wood. I finally got around to sanding and painting it black. The gray toilet seat we had broke, so this wood one is temporary til we order another gray one. Then all the out-of-place wood finish will be gone. The counter top is also awful, but the vanity is a odd size, and not easily (or rather, cheaply) replaced, so it's gonna have to stay for a while.
I thought I'd try to hide as much of the plexiglass as possible and add a curtain. This was the easiest thing I've ever done - seriously! A tension rod, some black fabric I already had and ribbon I found at Walmart. Finally, some cheapy black/white and glass accents (collected from handouts, thrift stores and Ross!) and I'm feeling much better about it all. Still not thrilled, mind you, but it will have to do for probably another few years, possibly, til we can get around to some more major renovations in there. Not real high on the priority list at the moment (money or time-wise). But, without further ado, I reveal to you "The Loo"...

(I got the little bench after I took the overhead pic, and yes, they were taken before Valentine's day, but I actually still have yet to remove my Valentine touches...) The shelf and mirror were both thrift store finds...the mirror had been a gold edged thing to sit on a dresser to set perfumes or whatever on. I'm sure it has a name, just don't know what. The bench had been given to me by my aunt, and was previously wood/red. The little basket underneath is perfect for storing extra T.P. - which gets changed quite often around here, so it's good to have spares handy!

The candle stand was from Goodwill and was green when I bought it. A couple shots of my cheapy black spray paint, a plain white WM candle I fancied up a bit with some ribbon (and an old heart earring I had just stuck in added a little Valentine touch). Total was about $3.

That's pretty much the best I can do for now...though I still feel the need to deal with this...

I'll be linking up over at these link parties...