I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is yes. I have the ugliest bathrooms in blog land. Maybe not the ugliest, but I’m one of the dumb ones willing to post pictures of them without a mind blowing after to compensate for my “bravery.”
The previous owner loved honey oak and floral wallpaper. It’s everywhere and we don’t have the money to do a full bathroom remodel, which is what this bathroom requires, and that’s that. See here.
We aren’t medicine cabinet people, as you already know, so we really only use this to store things we kind of use but not really so let’s not throw it away because the minute we do that’s when we’ll need it. The only thing in the cabinet I do use are my bobby pins because the truth is, I only wear bangs because it allows me to go longer between root touch-ups. I hate the feeling of hair touching my face, and the first thing I do when I walk in the door is pin my bangs back. I keep them in a plastic baggy to keep them corralled and also because that cabinet scares me.
I’ve cleaned it and scrubbed it down, obviously, but after almost 40 years of opening and closing, it showed wear. Mostly it yellowed and faded, but in some spots the paint started to chip. We don’t have fancy things like ventilation in our bathrooms, so I was worried about rust. My great idea was to paint the door interior with magnetic paint and then spray paint the entire cabinet a clean white with that rust prevention metal paint stuff (industry term). I was going for this, but without the strip. I was a little worried that it would be even messier than the strip, but I didn’t give it too much thought until the Mister came home and pointed out the obvious.
We don’t use the medicine cabinet for much, so while it’s a great space saving idea, we don’t need to save space. Simple cups attached to the door would work just as well, look neater, take less work. He even offered to paint the cabinet for me. Don’t be too impressed. It’s because he finds my painting skills inferior.
He did it over the weekend and I thought it looked great. A vast improvement! He told me he didn’t like it and that it was not good enough to go on the blog. Huh? Why not?
I guess I needed the obvious pointed out to me. The many imperfections, small areas where it could be better, paint that wasn’t smooth, and of course the fact it was all still very ugly. He didn’t say so, but I think he was concerned it would be a disappointing update.
Whatever, dude. It’s a 35+ year old honey oak mirror sandwiched into floral wallpaper above a 1970s cabinet with two-tone faucets. Of course it’s still ugly! The only way to make it attractive is to tear it all down and start again, which we can’t do. That’s life.
The way I see it, we can open a yellowed out cabinet a few months away from rusting or we can open a bright white, clean but imperfect cabinet with a few organization things (industry term) to keep things organized.
Here’s how I store my bobby pins and ponytail holders. I used sponge caddys from Bed Bath and Beyond, the kind you would normally use in your kitchen sink. It’s not what I had in mind, but they work. I ran into a big problem–they wouldn’t suction! It was easily remedied with my favorite Quake Hold, so not all was lost. [Edit: the Quake Hold didn’t hold, which is no surprise given our no ventilation situation in the bathroom. I’ll need to up my game and use adhesive putty, which is what I would have used it I had some on hand.] I cut a piece of cardstock to fit the bottom of the caddy to keep the bobby pins from falling out. If you’re wondering why I don’t just store them on the shelf, it’s because I’ve tried that before and they fell all over the place. Also, a naughty elf took the containers for bobby pins and pony tail holders off the shelf of the cabinet and then never puts them back so they just sat on the miniscule counter for weeks cluttering up the entire space and falling into the sink until, “Just so you know, Jules, I really love to brush my teeth surrounded by bobby pins! It’s awesome!”
This post was part of The William Morris Project, a weekly series that details the steps I am taking to create an intentional home. You can see more of my goals and completed projects here. To learn more about this project, start here.
Now it�s your turn! Feel free to share how you have lived according to the William Morris quote, �Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.� Made a plan? Cleaned a drawer? Bought a sofa? Tell us about it with a link or comment. A few guidelines:
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Two things – “he finds my painting skills inferior”. This is the whole reason Finn paints for me :) The ponytail holder solution is genius, implementing immediately for my daughter’s stuff (industry term).
Jules,
GIRL!!! I’m totally living with the same bathroom nightmare. I too bought a house covered in multiple layers of floral wallpaper. The previous owner of my house took it a step further and purchased plastic…yes, plastic pressed-board vanity and matching over-the-toilet cabinet. The mistake I made was stripping the wallpaper down in a fury and jerking the cabinet off the wall. I don’t have the money for a bathroom reno and so I’m living in a bathroom that’s partially demoed. Naked plaster walls with holes. *sigh* I kinda wish that I’d left it alone and just lived with the floral nightmare…at least it would have been cleaner looking.
Okay…enough of the depressing talk. I’m off to look at Pinterest for more bathroom inspiration. As though I need it.
Wait, so does this mean you’re not pinning my bathroom for inspiration? [shock face]
It’s tempting…especially the ponytail/bobby pin sucky things.
Your ugly bathroom only makes me love you more. You know that, right? Or maybe it’s because you put “bravery” in quotation marks.
You do not, however, have the ugliest bathroom in blogland. Well, maybe you do–but it’s no uglier than mine. I have seashell wallpaper. Some seashells look like female genitals. I have white, plastic laminate cabinets. I have faded peachy colored fixtures. Brass light fixtures and faucets. A discolored, speckled vinyl floor.
And NO plans to do anything about any of it any time soon. Because I just don’t have the resources right now. The toilet flushes, the faucets run water, and the lights turn off. I keep it clean and tidy and that’s enough, you know?
Maybe we need an ugly bathroom link-up, just for fun?
Oh yes! I forgot to mention that I too have the discolored, speckled vinyl floor! ha!
We should start some type of ugly bathroom support group!
Vagina wallpaper! In a bathroom! The jokes–they’re too many!
You caught my sarcasm with the quotes, eh?
Funny, someone on twitter just asked me to do an ugly bathroom link-up. Maybe we should do one. I thought there was one done before, but maybe I’m wrong. Or, maybe we need a new one!
Well, I think they look like vaginas. Cane thinks they look like tacos. I’m sure this difference reveals something about us that I don’t want to examine too closely. :-)
Other than this one, I pretty much don’t do link-ups any more, but I’d join an ugly bathroom party. Not to tear them down, though. To talk about why it’s just fine to have one.
I could definitely get in on an ugly bathroom link up! I’m actually feeling jealous of your medicine cabinet right now. Mine is beyond help and instead of framed in oak it’s framed in metal that is tarnished and rusted. I don’t keep anything in it because I don’t want to have to see the inside!
Hi there, you might be pleasantly surprised how well spray paint can fix your issues. Cover the mirror and spray your heart away on all that metal inside and out. I love spray paint. Just remove the whole unit to a plastic covered garage floor with good ventilation. Take your time and spray very light light light coats, but quite often. I set my timer to every 30 minutes, flip and spray, flip and spray, until you are satisfied. I did like 8 coats of very light sprays so it didn’t drip and run. A very cheap fix and amazingly nice looking. good luck
We have the identical twin medicine cabinet in our master bath (our house was built in 1966) so I can really relate to this post. I get tired of pristine “after” pictures- it is more interesting to see someone working with what they have. Our light fixture is hideous compared to yours, and involves more honey oak- yikes!
Whatever…it looks nice and clean (no yellow or rust), it functions well, and it got done. YAY for all of that, Mister! :)
Bobby pins are a conundrum, aren’t they? I store mine in a paperclip dispenser – one of those plastic boxes with a magnetized hole. It was free from a conference and has a logo, but I’m sure there are pretty ones out there!
That’s another great idea! I forgot to mention–so thanks for reminding me–that the other reason I chose this method is because I can also toss in my 2 or 3 barrettes that I use. They aren’t in there because I took them off at some point and can’t find them. They might be in my car….
p.s. Also, like you, I would use the logo paperclip holder from the conference. I wouldn’t go through the effort of finding a pretty paperclip dispenser for my bobby pins. I just wouldn’t, though I know plenty of women who would.
Love this! It looks so much cleaner & newer with the new paint & I honestly never would have thought of that.
I use a lot of bobby pins too and I used to have a plastic container that had a magnet at the top filled with them (it came that way) & it broke. Reading your post just made me realize that I could get one of those plastic paperclip holders with a a magnet in the top that would serve the same purpose. I have no idea why I never thought of that before. I do like your sponge holder idea though–great for the hair bands. I don’t understand though how you have so little in your cabinets. Even if we put our medicine in the kitchen like you did (which we should because my husband can’t even glance at the kitchen without drawing blood) we have so many products even after decluttering–moisturizer, sunscreen, makeup remover, deodorant, contact solution, etc.
I have a whole cabinet thing (industry term!) above the toilet. :) The link to it is in the post. The cabinet shelves are so narrow nothing really fit without falling, so we had to buy something deeper for over the toilet.
Aahhh. Honey oak. It is in my kitchen, both bathrooms, and the built-in in my living room. And the hardware is a brass that has warn, but not in a good way. One of these days we will sand and paint. Maybe if my husband has to lose one day a week because of government furlough, I can put him to work.
One more thing… in our previous home, I found a roll of vintage wallpaper. It was black and white toile, but instead of a pastoral scene, it was all naked women. It was in the powder room by the front door. Nothing says make yourself at home like a bunch of naked people. Luckily, when we bought the house, it had been repapered with dorky little blue flowers. And for that I am grateful.
It’s weird for me to love and comment on every post you write, right? I just so enjoy reading your blog everyday – its just happy and REAL. I don’t have an ugly bathroom, but I can totally sympathisize about how to use a medicine cabinet. About 2 years ago we did a minor makeover on our master bathroom and added beautiful, functional medicine cabinets. The plan was to have nothing, and I mean nothing on the counters ever (it’s a pet peeve of mine). I’m sure you can see this one coming from a mile away – both my husband and I are too apparently lazy to reach our arms into said medicine cabinets. So for the most part, the entire contents are on the counter. Of course I regularly flail my arms about in a rush and knock everything into the (wet) sink. Another container of blush just bought it this morning in the same manner. It’s awesome. I immediately made a plan to either buy containers to corral everything or rip the still fairly new medicine cabinets off the wall in a fit of annoyance. I’m guessing my husband would prefer the first option, but you never know!
Seriously, how much can it cost for a medicine cabinet? Around $300 or so for an innocuous but stylish one from Pottery Barn. Paint over the wallpaper and, hey presto, you have improved the room for hardly anything!
I do a project almost every week of the year, and in October I do it for 31 days straight. If I spent $300 every week on innocuous but stylish items, I’d spend $15,600 per year on a blog that, on average, brings me less than $200 per month. You don’t need to be a licensed accountant to see why I chose to buy a can of spray paint. Seriously.
$300 for a medicine cabinet?! I know we all have our own acceptable price points and we all prioritize the spending of money differently – But I for one wouldn’t spend $300 that way! I love this post and I thought the white paint and the organizers were a great way to retrofit an existing situation. The remedy can’t always be (for one reason or another) just rip it out and buy something new – nor do I think it should be!
$300 is ten weeks of piano lessons for two of my children. It’s two weeks of groceries for my family of five. $300 is school fees for two children. It’s two years of chorus membership dues. It’s new winter coats for the whole family. $300 is gas money to visit family across the country. Like Jules, I have more important ways to spend $300 (not “hardly anything”).
Um, I sorta don’t buy anything from Pottery Barn on principle. Thanks for reminding me why.
I’ve been reading your blog for several months now, and I love it because it’s about real life that I can relate to. I bought an older house 3 years ago after renting for a decade (following a divorce). The people that remodeled this house in the mid-nineties (for their aging mother) were in love with teal. EVERYTHING in this house–countertops, floors, roof and shutters–is teal. The bathroom was wall-papered in the same “lovely” teal print that the kitchen still is. I painted the wallpaper, because it would not come off. Not a perfect solution, but I couldn’t take it anymore! I still have ugly formica in my bathroom (that matches the kitchen) and the floor is still an ugly teal design (also identical to the kitchen!) but my walls are a lovely, neutral medium tan with white –yes, I painted them, too–cabinets. I so understand where you are coming from!
The paint makes it look clean and I bet provides a surface that can actually be wiped clean as well. Hard to do over bumpy rust spots! I will be curious how the suction cups hold up over time. I have always resisted that type of item for fear I would be picking up spilled stuff all the time.
So much better! And the effort (and money spent) is totally proportionate to the task at hand. Not solicited, but I have used those 3m sticky things (the ones that can be pulled off) to hang a bunch of stuff.
What a clever idea for your bobby pins and ponytail holders! Now, on to the rest of the bathroom. If you really hate it, why don’t you get rid of the wallpaper and paint it. You really could make a huge difference on the cheap. Is “the Mister” handy? I mean with plumbing/electrical. I wish we still lived in the same city. I would totally let you borrow Paul.
I’m still laughing about the zombie herd.
I love the clean-ness of your white paint fix it! And I also love the sponge caddies as a hair elastic storage.
I miss having a medicine cabinet. Our house has only drawers in the bathrooms, which took some getting used to. On the plus side, I now know what all my hair product containers looks like from the top.
I hate to be This Girl, but if you ever do a whole bathroom redo, may I have the opportunity to purchase that light fixture from you? It’s awesome, and will be flawless above the Babe’s retro vanity.
Yes, of course! If I don’t remember and I start a reno, email me. :)
Very smart. I like it.
Re: honey oak and flowered paper, I feel like in 2033, some young woman will enter Generic Blogger’s home and be like — Gah! That previous owner really loved grey and yellow and antlers. What was that about?
So, you know, it’s all good.
The next sentence will be, “Why on earth would someone tear out/cover up/paint over honey oak and flowered paper? It’s so timeless! Do you know what vintage honey oak vanities go for these days?”
Great job of making it work with what you have! Our previous home had what I liked to call “popsicle bathrooms” – downstairs the toilet/sink/tub were blue, and the upstairs ones were green; I was just thankful that we didn’t have the pink ones our neighbors were blessed with ;) The previous owners of that house had floral wallpaper in 3 rooms, and every other space was some shade of pink – right down to the fuchsia front door. Ooh, and let’s not forget the lovely purple stenciled grapes in the living room! Our current space was less pink, but we do have 1970s brass fixtures and 1980s dressing room light bars in all the bathrooms. Hey, eventually it will be trendy again, right?!
One other suggestion with the bobby pins – how about just putting adhering some magnets onto the inside of the door (hot glue some freebie business card magnets logo side to the cabinet, and just toss your bobby pins on there )
Just fyi on the brass fixtures, we inherited the 1995 fixtures and we have lived here for 8 years with them in the master bath and half bath. We updated the guest bath and kitchen and went to all chrome and looks fab. But for resale I wanted the house to look updated and the master gold shower surround and roman tub fixtures and all sink fixtures were all that gold. Without buying any new fixtures, we updated to oil rubbed bronze with SPRAY paint. Yes, and it has held up so well. I set up “shop” in the garage, took apart the shower surround and carried the gold pieces to the garage. The faucets, shower and tub knobs were all dismantled as much as I could. For any fittings not removable I just created a “spray zone” with painters plastic all around and up the walls (spray paint floats in the air) and blue tape and sprayed them in place (good ventilation required). I painted on warm but not hot days, in the 80’s. I painted very light coats, set my timer, and recoated, flipped, and recoated, every 30 minutes, until I was satisfied of coverage. I used several cans of paint; didn’t keep track but had to make an additional trip to the store; so maybe 8 cans. I am more than pleased and they take a beating. For any small scratches just grab the spray can, or spray into a paper cup and use an itty bitty paintbrush to touch up. Can I just say I wish I would have thought of this 8 years ago? The house sold off the bat,with the new owners understanding the fixtures are painted.
I’m just proud that you actually post after pictures! I actually posted a rotting wall behind my bathtub–in 2009–and never got around to the after. Total fail.
Your bathroom is not so bad; when we were house hunting, I have seen much worse (and people are trying to sell these homes!) A inexpensive update would be to remove the medicine cabinet and hang a dresser mirror instead. You can find dressers all over Craigslist and some of the mirrors are pretty ornate, they can be heavy but your framing is there from your cabinet.
I have two kids with long hair and the bobbie pins and elastics used to drive me crazy too. For the elastics, I just hung a shower ring on a towel rack in each washroom and clip the elastics onto those. I use a paint chip folded in half and try to remind everyone to clip the bobbies on them. I have tic tac containers in my purse and car for those bobbies when you run out of the house and realize OMG, what have I got my hair pinned like.
love this. and i would totally paint the frame black too. make it crisp and stand out. there’s nothing wrong with the cabinet- it does it’s job and fits and it’s already there so.. free! PLUS it comes with a tooth-brushing timer. possibly the coolest cabinet ever! =)
If you don’t want to remove the cabinet, just paint the frame a fresh white gloss. Already looks better. If you remove it,just frame the opening, and with a shelf or two and store your things in pretty containers. But you may find you miss the mirror. Also, I have successfully painted over wallpaper, if it’s secure and I know I don’t ever want to remove it. Paint some stripes in alternating gloss and flat paint for subtle texture. You might be surprised what a little paint can do at least for the moment. Good luck
Hi there. I just landed on your blog, so maybe I’m missing something in a big way, but aren’t there other options besides a total re-gut? I think some of the funnest projects are taking a couple hundred bucks and making things look great without any major face-lift.
Like you could take down the wallpaper then paint, put up a great new mirror, etc etc.
You’re missing the yellow shower with a drop ceiling, the crumbling plaster, the old pipes, the sink that doesn’t really fit (the original was a corner sink), and the lack of any ventilation. This is all detailed in older posts. :)