This is what the downstairs bathroom used to look like--green tile floor, white fixtures and that weird gold/silver combo that people do for hardware when they can't decide which will go better. My feelings? Neither one works, so knock it off already.
The walls were a fetching shade of what I like to call "VA Hospital Green." Not sure if you can tell in this picture but the tub had slip-prevention sticky strips all over it and there was still a sticker on the side of tub from when it was installed too. The new tile we had installed really looked good but somehow managed to make the walls look even more sickly.
The point is--none of this indicates actual, hard renovation work because the bathroom itself is brand-new. It was just ugly. So here's the before...
And here's the after:
Better, right? Just new paint and a couple other small changes. The paint is Benjamin Moore "Harvest Moon" in the Aura line, eggshell finish.
The mirror is from IKEA--I tried to paint the one that was already in there black but it just looked bad. I'm not very careful around the edges apparently. Also the bathroom is tilted and a rectangular mirror just sort of made that more obvious. Phil said we should go round and I'm glad we did. I did end up painting the light fixture matte black--it was super shiny, reflective silver originally and just glared like crazy.
New shower curtain and all the hardware is just Target "oil-rubbed brass." It will oil-rub all over your hands while you install it, just FYI. And it requires the tiniest screwdrivers known to humankind to tighten it up. Poor Phil.
The little plate above the toilet was something I found a couple years ago at an antique store. I wanted it for my scooter but it didn't fit so I just hung onto it...for this, I guess. Colette toilette!
This bunny painting was actually the source of the bathroom color scheme--black, white, orange and cream. Also it looks like Mason Dixon so I had to get it.
See?
They really needed it though. Two flights of stairs, originally painted a weird reddish color with gnarly white risers. Phil's mom sanded them all down, way back in January.
Here's how they looked after the first attempt--I had it in my head that we'd do a taupe-y light color on the risers and maybe a chocolate brown on the step. Not so much chocolate brown on the first go-round! More like an ashy grey-brown. 
So we kind of, um gave up. For, like, 2 months they stayed half-way done. And everybody who came over was like "oh, I see you are painting the stairs!" and we were like "yeahhhh. we sure are."
That blue tape just hung out for a long time. You can see the snow out the window there.
Finally Phil had enough and we went to get a new color mixed--turns out stair/porch paint just is sort of weird when it comes to deep tones. It's difficult to get that glossy espresso color that I had my heart set on simply because of how the chemical properties in oil-based, high-traffic paints work with tints. But they eventually figured it out and it still looks this slick, even now that it's dry.
Gorgeous. I love. And no more blue tape.
