There is absolutely nothing wrong with our bathroom. Which, somehow, is the problem?!!? When we moved in, it was new, clean, white and aggressively builder-grade. White shaker cabinets. Chrome fixtures. Giant sheet mirror. One enormous overhead light with the ability to illuminate every pore I’ve had since 1997.
It was fine.
But I don’t want fine. I want romantic, slightly moody, old New York apartment bathroom. Preferably something that looks like it has been here since 1938 and has witnessed at least one scandal. I live in rural North Carolina so obviously our builder wasn’t on the same page.
So we improvise!
And because I am also deeply opposed to spending thousands of dollars replacing perfectly functional things purely because I don’t like looking at them, I’ve been slowly making little changes instead.
Turns out, the little changes are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
THE BEFORE
This was a very happy day where the naive first time homeowner (me) believed that the spending ended with closing costs. (insert crying emoji here)
Before we moved in, every single thing was white, bright, and unadorned. My natural instinct is to lean into this so I have been adding color to every part of this house EXCEPT this one. I like a clean bright bathroom and you’ll see how I’m doing that while still adding some romance.
The $65 rechargeable sconces that changed EVERYTHING
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We have LED can lights on the ceiling where decorative lights should go. WELL GUESS WHAT? I couldn’t find a light fixture that was safe for a damp environment, pendant style, in my budget. Figures. Option two was to take some inspo from socials and Pinterest and grab non-permanent wall sconces for pretties and for ambiance.
So I found these rechargeable sconces on Amazon for about $65 in polished nickel. And because I wasn’t even willing to commit to holes, I attached them with bathroom Command picture-hanging strips.
Romance! Glamour! Adhesive strips!
But here’s the thing: I freaking love them.
Like most sane people, I hate the Big Light.
At night I turn these on, light a candle, put Gilmore Girls on the iPad and stand in a steamy shower for 15 minutes while my nervous system gets a small vacation from reality.
Actually, now that I’m writing this, I need a shower chair and a shower lamp. *Adds to cart.*
The warm light with the little pleated shades gives me exactly the moodiness I was looking for, and the polished nickel works beautifully with the chrome already in the bathroom instead of making me feel like I need to replace every fixture.
Worth the $65? Every. Penny.
Apparently I’m a decorative switch-plate person now
I have replaced these things EVERYWHERE. The original white plastic switch covers were perfectly functional and approximately as exciting as a saltine cracker.
I found these decorative switch plates on Amazon for $15.99 for a two-pack, and they come in a bunch of different switch configurations. It’s one of the cheapest upgrades we’ve made to the house and also one of my favorites. No one is going to walk into your bathroom, clutch their pearls and demand to know where you got your switch plate.
Actually, I take that back. I might.
And then I Declared War on the shower
I love the products that I love, and I won’t apologize for that, but man the packaging is ugly. NOT TO MENTION the way mold just clings to the bottom of all bottles in the grossest way.
So I bought these wall-mounted shower dispensers. GAME. CHANGER.
I bought two units for around $30 each, and they hold our shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Zach doesn’t use conditioner, which means I commandeered his unused slot for my face wash.
I actually prefer these to the prettier refillable bottles with pumps on top. Those definitely win the Pinterest beauty contest, but these feel much sturdier and are incredibly functional.
Maybe they’re not sexy.
Neither is scrubbing dried body wash and pink mold off the shower every week.
Choose your fighter.
I ditched the marble trays for something I already owned
Originally I bought marble trays for my skincare. And they were pretty! But then I started noticing marble trays in every bathroom everywhere.
The more I figured out what I actually wanted this room to feel like, the more I realized I didn’t want modern spa bathroom.
I wanted: romantic NYC apartment bathroom. A little vintage. A little glamorous. A little Sex and the City. So instead of buying something else, I pulled out these mirrored trays I’ve owned for more than 15 years.
I originally found them at TJ Maxx, and somehow they’ve survived approximately 47 different versions of my decorating personality. I can’t link my exact trays because they’re practically old enough to drive, but I found some similar options if you’re trying to get the same look.
The bathroom still isn’t finished
Naturally. I am apparently incapable of looking at a room and thinking, Yep. Done forever. Our current bath mats are two little Target rugs that are perfectly acceptable and will remain perfectly acceptable until I find something I love.
But the big project I’m excited about is the mirror. Here’s the inspo and I think it’s so timeless and classy…
We recently got a quote to add beveled mirrored trim around the enormous builder-grade mirror rather than ripping the whole thing down. My hope is that it’ll give us a little 1930s glam moment and make the existing mirror look intentional.
If I can make the thing we already own look expensive, that’s the game I want to play.
What I’ve spent so far
Rechargeable polished-nickel sconces: $65
Decorative switch plates: $15.99/two-pack
Shower dispensers: about $30 per (I bought 2 units)
Mirrored trays: already owned
Artwork: my own photography
Existing fixtures/vanity/mirror: $0
The funny thing is that none of these changes were particularly dramatic or expensive like you see on socials. They are realistic for me and I hope that helps you find your bathroom zen too!
Now, about that shower chair…talk me out of it in the comments pls.
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