One Room Challenge | Week 5 Half Bath Makeover

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE

Welcome to week 5 of the fall 2017 One Room Challenge!  Over the next two weeks I will transform my downstairs half bathroom from a brown disaster to a room that is light and bright.

THE PROJECT PLAN

I will finish this project over the course of the next few weeks. This week my focus was on removing the existing toilet and installing a new toilet as well as sewing curtains.  I am so excited to share the results with you!  The room is starting to take shape.  All of the brown paint is gone!

The project plan by week is as follows:

• Week two – sand, prime, and paint trim and window
• Week three – prime and paint walls
• Week four – sand, prime, and paint cabinet
• Week five – remove existing toilet, add a new toilet, and sew new curtain
• Week six – add decorative elements to the space

PROJECT RECAP

The downstairs half bath is starting to look so great.  In week one I presented my design plan.  In week two I painted the trim and window.  In week three I painted the walls.  In week four I painted the bathroom cabinet.  Want to read more? You can catch up clicking the links below:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

WEEK FIVE | GETTING STARTED

When we started this project, the bathroom was dark from a brown paint that was not right for the space.  Last week I painted the bathroom cabinet. This is my starting point for this week:

OUR TOILET DRAMA

According to the project plan, this week was supposed to be focused on the installation of the toilet.  We ran into some toilet drama (you can read ALL about it here). I was not sure if we were going to have the toilet to install.  In summary, we had to special order the toilet for this project due to the rough-in size.  The tank came cracked.

Great news!  We were able to work with the great staff, specifically Bruce, at our Sandy Springs, GA Lowe’s.  Bruce changed out our tank and saved the day. The toilet has been installed and it looks very nice.

THE CURTAINS

Due to our toilet drama, I started working on the curtains.  We are pretty far into this project and I wanted to keep things moving. I have to admit, I am very excited about how well the curtains turned out.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

The Fabric

At the beginning of this project, I spent a couple of weeks shopping for materials.  Before I even picked up a paint brush, I knew what color I wanted to paint the walls and I knew exactly which decorative elements I wanted to put in the room.  Having all of these details picked out really took the stress out of this week when I thought we were going to have a delay with the toilet.

When I went shopping, I had an image in my head of what I wanted the fabric for the curtains to look like. The goal was to tie in the dark green on the counter top into fabric with a light background.  I also wanted something that was reminiscent to a Lilly Pulitzer print: vibrant and cheery.  (Not familiar with Lilly Pulitzer?  You can check them out at LillyPulitzer.com.)

I am a fan of SpoonFlower.com, but wanted to check out a local fabric store first.  I found these fabrics to fit my needs.  I loved each of them.  It was difficult to choose just one!

The Process

I did not purchase a pattern for sewing my curtains.  I am not a very knowledgeable sewer so I doubt I could even read the pattern if I had bought one. Instead, I decided to use math.  I pulled out my measuring tape and got started.

1. I installed the curtain rod in the bathroom.
2. I then measured the distance from the top of the curtain rod to the base of the window sill, where I wanted the curtain to fall.
3. I measured my fabric, leaving space for seams, about 1 inch just in case. I used push pins to mark my measurements.  
4. I then used my iron to create creases where my push pins were marking measurements.  This allowed me to be able to create perfectly straight lines for cutting.
5. I cut the fabric to the length and width needed.
6. I was adding a liner to the back in order to thicken the fabric and to have a crisp look from the front of my house, so I sewed the left, right, and bottom of the two pieces of fabric together. 
7. I took the nearly completed panel to the bathroom.  I pulled a bit of it over the curtain rod and pined it with push pins. This allowed me to see if I was still on track with my measurements.
8. I used my iron to create creases where I needed to sew the final section.
9. I folded the ends under and sewed the final seam.

I was able to dictate these instructions in 9 steps.  However, it took me nearly an entire day to execute.  I was not confident about anything I was doing.  I measured over and over again.   I am absolutely amazing at how great they came out!

THE REVEAL

I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, but this bathroom is starting to look so cute!  It has really come a long way.  This is a view of my bathroom window just a few weeks ago.

Here is a view of the window as of today.

NEXT WEEK

Next week is our final reveal.  I know it wasn’t part of the plan, but my husband surprised me with a lovely gift for the room.  Here is a sneak peak of his gift.  Come back next week to see the entire room!