Well folks, we are finally tackling the room most in need of some serious lovin’ in our Mississippi home – the guest/kids bathroom. Adorned with wood paneling in the shower with vinyl tile above it, a vanity that has seen much better days, and a poorly patched ceiling, the time is past due.

All jokes aside, this bathroom has done the job for the past 2.5 years we’ve been in this house and for the other probably a half dozen+ families that have called these walls home so we’re very grateful! It was actually the only bathroom we used until we demoed the primary bathroom in 2021. Like that bathroom though, there was a lingering musty smell and no matter how much elbow grease I applied, I couldn’t get the mold away in the shower area. We have been itching for the opportunity to get our hands on it. The time finally arrived! On a day in late January, Stephen and his good buddies took it completely down to the studs in just a couple of hours.

That wasn’t the original plan… Stephen was just planning on taking out parts of the bathroom that needed to go. However, once they got to demoing, Stephen decided they’d just take everything out and start fresh. If you’re going to put in all that work, just do it right, right? It ended up being a great decision because it was more efficient and less work to take it all away and start with new drywall versus working around what was already there.

Since everything was removed, Stephen has been chipping away at projects in there. He redid the plumbing, made a new bench for the tub area, and reinstalled all new drywall. This process has gone so much faster than it did in our primary bathroom. Praise the Lord! Once he finished the drywall, he primed the whole thing and I waterproofed the shower. On the to-do list this weekend… TILE!

As for where we’re headed in here… I can’t say that I’m a “theme person” but Stephen requested that the bathroom has beachy vibes. Anyone else have a bathroom growing up with some sort of shell(s) making an appearance? I think it’s nostalgic for him. I took it as a challenge to design a bathroom that feels fresh and new, fun for kids, while also not feeling juvenile (since it’s also our guest bathroom), something that will be appealing to future families that live here (hiiii PCS season approaching… more on that later), fits in with the rest of the house, with touches of the beach, and most importantly, something we love. Game on.

Here’s what we landed on:

Surfer girl painting – See that painting of the girl with the surf boards? Isn’t she awesome? It’s a Trader Joe’s card! As soon as I saw it, I was immediately inspired for the rest of the room. I love the wide array of colors in the painting that don’t scream ‘beach colors’. It opened up a lot of room to play with the design.

Vanity – I found the vanity during a huge sale at the beginning of the year and the way it ties in the green surf board of the painting made it feel like the bow on top. It comes with the sink and marble top too! Keep your eye out for when it’s on sale. It happens quite often.

Faucet – I tend to like combining hardware finishes. It’s like jewelry for the home! I played around with black + brass/gold but ultimately liked the look of the black + chrome the best. We have this faucet in our primary bathroom and have zero complains about it. Especially for the price.

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun artwork – Stephen doesn’t want this artwork in there because he thinks it’s too girly but my argument is that he is losing 5-1 there… The biggest reason why I haven’t been able to completely take it out is because I love how it brings in another black element. It really pulls the whole room together. This the other option I’m considering. We really like the title (our family verse has become Matthew 5:13-16) and I do like how it ties in the green from the vanity.

Wallpaper – A little shocker… Stephen was the one that insisted we do wallpaper above the bead board! We went back and forth with various wallpaper options in here but ultimately decided on this one. He really loved how it looked in the guest bathroom of our South Carolina house. It looks more yellow online than it is in person. It’s more of a tan color. The other ones we were considering can be found here, here, and here. This one would’ve been super cute but we didn’t see it on there when we purchased it (which was on sale, by the way).

Rug – I’m a sucker for a good scallop. I loved how this rug felt playful for the girls and tied in the blue from the painting. It’s also something that we’ll easily be able to use in the next house. I also would wait to find this on sale.

Sconces – I like the vintage feel of these lights and how they add another element of black.

Mirror (similar) – I found a mirror on Facebook marketplace that looks similar to this for $20. It is white so I’m going to have to work a bit on it to make it look similar but I think I can do it!

Shower curtain – We’ve had this shower curtain for a while now and still love it! It also is versatile enough to use in another house.

Toilet paper holder – I don’t want to drill into the side of the vanity so I purchased this toilet paper stand. It also ties in the black from the grout, sconces, and shower curtain rod.

Towel hooks – We plan on putting bead board on the bottom half of the walls and adding these hooks to hang towels. I purchased them in a chrome finish to go with the faucet. I like that they have a vintage feel to them.

Step stool – The kids need a step stool to reach the sink and I like the idea of a piece that is both functional and decor. Another item I’d wait for to go on sale.

Penny tile – The penny tile is a modern twist on the classic hexagon penny that I think will be really fun in here! We decided on white tile with dark grout to add some contrast and frankly, I don’t know if we can go back to light grout now that we’ve realized how much easier dark grout is to clean and maintain.

Subway tile – Keeping it classic and budget-friendly with a white subway tile and dark grout. We’ll do a herringbone pattern on the tub bench.

Things are really going to start moving along in the next couple of weeks! Make sure to subscribe here to receive updates. This is how I’m sharing what we’re up to now that I’m not on Instagram. Thank you for being here!

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