One of the first room updates we completed in this house was our son’s bathroom, which also serves our daughters and guests. For that initial project we avoided big messes like replacing counters or repainting cabinets. Instead we added a DIY board-and-batten wall, a cheerful coat of paint, a faux tin tile backsplash that’s still holding up well years later, two outdoor lanterns from a home improvement store, new cabinet hardware, and a few pieces of art. Everything else stayed the same.
The aim of that first makeover was to take a plain builder-grade bathroom and give it charm and personality on a budget. You can find the earlier before-and-after photos of that update; please forgive my old photos—lighting and color were harder to capture back then, so the hues look brighter in the pictures than they did in real life.
Fast forward to now: my son is almost 14. Since we recently refreshed his bedroom, it felt like the right time to freshen the bathroom again.
This time we did even less—just paint. It was one of those weekend projects we’d been putting off, but we finally made it happen.
I still daydream about new countertops, an updated mirror, or fresh flooring, but priorities and patience matter. Slow decorating keeps projects manageable and prevents big ambitions from stalling progress. We had no tolerance for dust or disruption, so a simple coat of paint was exactly what worked for us.
Even with only the paint changed, the difference is remarkable. The space feels calmer and more peaceful while still retaining a quirky, playful edge that suits our family. At this point there’s no pressing need to do more.
We still love the quirky animal gallery wall, so we left it untouched. It may be updated someday, but for now it makes us smile. The collection includes a few Etsy finds from years ago, drawings of our old dog Winston, and photocopies of nostalgic storybook pages like Frog & Toad. Those simple pieces are meaningful to our family and bring back childhood memories.
One of my favorite practical touches is the abundance of hooks. You can never have too many places to hang towels and robes—small solutions like that make daily life easier.
It truly feels like a whole new bathroom to us. Calm, approachable, and still a little whimsical—exactly what we wanted.
What weekend refresh have you been postponing?
Maybe it’s time to just do it.
Color: Polished Grey by Glidden (it’s noticeably lighter than WoodSmoke in the Glidden color book).
Towels: blue and white from Target; grey and white from World Market.
Round rug: from Anthropologie.
DIY faux tin backsplash instructions are available for anyone interested in this easy and durable option.