Belle: Black and White Bathroom Progress

So my weekend went a little something like this...

Friday
- trip to Home Depot to get new paint
- organize the entire mess of apartment // feeling good

Saturday
- 7am wake-up call for an Everygirl styling shoot
- 1pm returned home with lunch to find sweet boyfriend had painted almost the entire living room while I was gone, but he was running out of paint... (living room photos will post tomorrow!)
- I take to the wood pannelled bathroom (aka the giant sponge that took over a gallon of primer to cover) while he finishes the living room...
- queue second trip to Home Depot to get more paint and then stopped to pick up take-out for dinner
- 10pm we finally finish up, but the bathroom still isn't complete

Sunday
- finally finish moving stuff out of my old apartment (three years, you'll collect a lot of crap)
- grab lunch
- come home, reorganize and clean up the apartment again since everything was moved for painting
- try and finish bathroom painting // made great progress, but there are still some tiny grooves and corners that need to be touched up

So fun, right?

Fortunately, the bathroom is going to be so super kick-butt. Without further ado... I present to you: Bathroom Progress.

INSPIRATION:

Inspiration struck when I met my dear friends Bailey and Pete for lunch at GT Fish and Oyster, a fabulous restaurant downtown. I immediately took note of the paneled walls and decided that black, white, and gold would be perfect for my wood paneled bathroom.

So I began gathering more inspiration on Pinterest and adding it to my "Living with a Boy" board:

we might not have a claw-foot tub, but you get the idea...

PROGRESS:

Painting wood paneling is a real pain in the patoot. Not only is the wood like a sponge - like I said, it took a GALLON of primer and paint to cover this little room.

One full coat of primer - we used Kilz primer from Home Depot.

So. Much. Primer. So tedious...

That took way too long. One more coat to go...

BEFORE and almost-AFTER:

Our sweet, sweet not-so-little bathroom. I'm not going to lie, in the few weeks since we've been here, every time I brushed my teeth, I kind of felt like i was in a little cabin on a quick weekend getaway... but that... charm, shall we call it?, was quickly wearing off and it was time to make a change. At first I dreaded this space, but after everyone's comments and excitement to see what i would do with it, I began to love the challenge of making this room over.

paint colors: Powdered Snow by Behr and leftover Black Jack by Benjamin Moore (from my previous home office)

Here it is after two long days and the painting STILL is not finished... we still need new shower curtains (white with black lining), a rug (this striped Dash and Albert number from Layla Grayce), polished brass towel racks, and some styling (I'm thinking a plant!)... and as you can see in the ceiling, we'll have to get a piece of plywood to cover up the hole where there was once an overhead light. but overall, I'd say MUCH better!

there isn't much bathroom storage, so my expedit shelves that were previously in my dining room found a new home in the bathroom! love how versatile this piece is. speaking of which, did you see my updated dining room in The Everygirl feature on 10 Favorite Ikea Finds?

and we are filling the cubbies with white and black storage containers - the white bins are from ikea, the black wire baskets are from tjmaxx

cabin fever.

it looks gloooorious.

cabin fever take 2.

Helloooo black support beams!

Mike and I are loving it (victory!). I secretly hope you are too!

Thoughts? Accolades? Suggestions and ideas? Any great sources for CHEAP polished brash fixtures?

...and don't forget to come back tomorrow to see the updates in the living room!

View the full before tour of Belle here!

Happy Monday!

For more great bathroom ideas check out Bathrooms 365!