moving files: the room that must not be mentioned

( small note for the tender souls amongst us:  I'm in a slightly rebellious mood today, it might show;))

if you've got a little experience with house-hunting, you might have noticed a pattern: brokers always tend to ignore a vital part of every home: the loo.  I mean, I can understand it: in our lives we all tend to ignore the loo and the business that belongs in there, but still.....
In all the houses we have seen, I think the most elaborate description of a loo we heard was " it is functional."     ...    Really?

I mean, how great would life be if brokers would approach the loo with the same enthusiasm as they describe every other room and say something like:  "Voila! and this is where you will poop! Look at how magnificent it is!"  and we would respond like " mmm, yeah, that looks like a magnificent place to poop, I look forward to that!" that would be absolutely brilliant.

So, in a vain and cheeky attempt to change the world: look at our updated loo!



And of course, I'll first start with a picture of how it looked before I attacked it with a few buckets of paint..

Well.. at least one person looked happy...

'ello!!

But apart from him, nobody did: everything in there looked disturbingly yellow
, faded, old, dirty (even though it wasn't) and outdated. so, time for an update!

I started by attacking those ugly yellow tiles with the paint I told you about in this post (which was convenient, because it was at the same day as my kitchen-backsplash-makeover) Not only is painting your tiles cheap and quick, but it also has the added advantage that you also paint the grout while you're at it (which is good, since grouts make me a little squeamish)

looks like it's new! 

I didn't stop with the tiles; I also painted the sink ( it's the same material, so it should work..) and the radiator ( not the same material, but well.. I think it does the trick)

who'd have guessed that this sink is at least 40 years old?

So, everything started to look a bit better already..

But now that the tiles were clean and fresh again, it quickly became apparent how yellowish and dirty the walls were. So, those also got a little make-over with some fresh paint, as did the woodwork ( I always forget to take photo's of that step, but you'll see it in the end results!) 

As I replaced the simple, square mirror with a more elegant version ( one that was left by the previous owner of the house, huzza!!) I had an idea, why not make a simple hand mirror to hang next to it? So I dug up an old make-up mirror and did the following: 

step 1: look very happy whilst getting your mirror and some scrap wood

Step 2: cut the wood into a shape you like and manage to stay out of picture two

step 3: Shine!

As I was busy with the saw anyway, I also cut a small shelf for above the toilet, all made from leftover underlayment from our kitchen. I did some extra styling, thought about what to do with the floor ( haven't made a final decision yet) and was done!

soo... Here's the result of few hours of work: 

waterski-man got replaced by a map of the north pole..
It's a though world if you're a waterskier!!

love that extra mirror... Joost didn't really see the purpose of it, but it's great for checking your hair! 

recognize the candle?
also, I may or may not have place the book from Hans Aarsman there because his name 'Aarsman'
means "buttholeman" in Dutch.. 

Nordic styling!

And of course, for all you fabulous frugalista's/frugalisto's, here's what I used and spend: 

paint for the tiles:      1/4 can of tile-paint,          approx.  € 7,50

paint for wall&doors: color:  RAL 9010             approx.  € 12,50

underlayment:            scrap wood                        FREE! 

mirror:                        gift from previous owner  FREE!

All other items were just things I had already lying around. So that brings the costs this project to a whopping €20,- ... I mean, that's not too bad, isn't it? 

So, that's our updated tiny loo so far! 

As I said: I'm still doubting what I should do with the floor.. I'd love a wooden floor but don't dare to use one in a bathroom ( any experience with that? I dread cleaning it..) , I don't really feel like adding new tiles, and I'm not sure how painting the old ones would turn out... So if you have any great ideas, I'd love to hear them!