Bathroom Redo Reveal...

We flew back from an eleven day vacation in Virginia and North Carolina on Sunday. For most of that time we stayed in the Outer Banks in Corolla. My daughter took the picture below. It was easy to relax when you had a view like this every day...

 

All 26 members of our immediate family were there {heaven}, but that's not really what this post is going to be about. During our vacation our handyman was hard at work. He started our basement bathroom redo before we left, but while we were basking on the beach he refurbished our entire bathroom. I'm so grateful. I seriously think a good handyman is worth his weight in gold! Ours is anyway. He took the bathroom down to the studs and started from scratch. Here are some photos to give you an idea of what he was up to...

Before: 

{Don't judge -- I know this redo was about 15 years too late!}

During:

After:

I'm a horrible indoor photographer. Someday I'll read up on how to take a good photo indoors, but suffice it to say it is a huge improvement. I know the rage right now is painted cabinets -- white/black/gray -- but I love these maple cabinets and you should always get what you love. They are a beautiful, rich dark chocolate brown -- they show lighter in the photo than they really are. Fads change yearly, so it's always a safe bet to buy what you love -- not necessarily what's popular that year.

Here's a photo of the solid surface of the countertop we choose...

More photos...

Before:

After:

Now comes the fun part -- decorating with accessories. I prefer a minimalistic approach to decorating in a bathroom. I don't like clutter, but I do love to add color and character to these rooms. Because this room was finished while we vacationed at a beach house, I'm going to add the cool, calm colors of the pool and the ocean to the room. Here are a few photos from our trip that will serve as my inspiration...

The bathroom already has a backdrop of sandy colors, but I'm looking forward to adding the shades of blue and green that are found at a pool and on the beach!