“It’s Like a 90s Taco Bell!”

It was AMAZING how the bathroom changed, just by taking off the upper wallpaper, and painting the ceiling. But WOW did it change even more when the walls were primed!

SO MUCH BETTER.

Before:

During:

But you know me – I’m not going to deal with white for long. Because this is a $0 makeover, I was limited to the colors I already had. Ideally, none of the woodwork in the house would be painted. I will NEVER paint woodwork that is stained. But if it’s already painted, I don’t have an issue keeping it painted. Stripping paint is a long and arduous process – and one that we may do when we do this bathroom for real – especially since we will be enlarging it, and will need more mouldings! And IF woodwork is painted, I generally like some color other that white. Black is great, cream is great. I went with this chalky teal. This was from a $5.00 mistint gallon that I’ve had for ages, and never used. It’s a really lovely color. But for woodwork?

I often doubt myself in the middle of a project. I see the end picture in my brain, I KNOW how to get there, but when I just have a couple of pieces in place, I start to think I’m a complete moron and WHAT HAVE I DONE. This is where Doug is amazing, because he’ll say, “It’s only paint. Keep going. If you hate it, we can change it later.”

Also during this time, I wanted to change the lighting. This is the most complex-non-cosmetic change happening in this room. Before, there was one sconce light above the mirror. I went through my lighting collection, and wanted to do two sconces, which would flank a mirror. We realized it would be pretty easy, so we went for it.

Adding the sconces at this stage was good, because it allowed me to paint the walls before they were installed. And they’re pretty curvaceous, so they would have been TERRIBLE to try and trim around.

Sconces in their pre-restoration phase:

What color on the walls? Purple. Why not? I had most of a gallon leftover from the living room at Jackson Street, where we just painted one section of the wall purple. I thought it would be too dark, so I added some yellow in to mellow it out. If you do this – stir for about 92 years. Also, don’t paint the room in stages. The color will ALWAYS be a little different when you open up the can, so do each coat in its entirety – don’t do the trim, and come back and do the walls later, or you’ll hate your life.

Coat One!

This was when I really started to go “this doesn’t work.” I loved both colors, but they didn’t work together to me. I texted my friend Stephen, who understands my crazy, and he texted back, “It looks like a 90s Taco Bell. I don’t hate it.”

I carried on.

Paint, and then hang. Can you imagine how hard this would be to paint around?

The more color I got on the walls, the less anxious I felt. And I kept reminding myself – it’s only paint. It’s only for a few years. It’ll be fine. Also, people like tacos.

Here are the sconces!

I love the ribbon detail on the bottom.

There are seven holes on each sconce for crystals. I went through my stash, and these were the crystals I had with at least 14. I actually put them on Instagram and told people to vote, because I couldn’t decide!

I hung these up, because I thought they were my favorite.

But these won the Instagram pole (like, not even close – by a LANDSLIDE) so I switched them out to see. I also liked the person on Instagram show suggested just using all of them and changing them every month, like a new outfit. BECAUSE THAT’S THE KIND OF INSANITY I AM HERE FOR.

Yeah, I like these.

I do love a little sparkle in the bathroom. And since a chandelier isn’t practical in here (yet), these will do!

90s Taco Bell. It’s all going to be fine. (Really. It will.)

9 comments

  1. Keeping the mural wallpaper on the bottom part of the walls, as I recall you are doing for the time being, I think the color combination (as serendipitous as it is) turned out to be a perfect solution. I have also been redoing a room during this time of self-isolation using only the things I already have on hand and it’s been a revelation to me to see that everything is coming together in such a wonderful, peaceful and serene way. (And I’m SO glad for you that you had the sconces inspiration prior to painting the walls!)

  2. It’s amazing seeing how much you can do to a room just by using materials in your house. I love the color combo and can’t wait to see what it looks like finished. It’s also amazing to see how much simple things can change a room, like how painting it purple completely transformed the bathroom.

  3. That looks so good! What a transformation just with paint. Can’t wait to see the end product. I also love your sconces. Great detail!

  4. It never fails to amaze me how you’re able to make things work. I would not have thought those colors would work, but they do. It’s so much calmer!

  5. Oh my gosh, you are such a good writer. I love your decorating taste, but I love your writing even more. “Also, people like tacos” is my new favorite line, and I’m going to work into all my emails today.

  6. Tacos, yum.
    Ha! I think it looks really pretty and the sconces are great! Just removing the florals makes the bathroom look so better and all your touches are going to be fantastic.

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