DIY bathroom renovation: attempt #1

We bought our house in 2011... actually it was December 23, 2011.  Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.  As we were going through the process, I had a great friend of mine give me some advice:  "do not do anything major with the interior or exterior for a whole year, if you can help it."  The house was in great condition and move in ready when we bought it.... but every wall was eggshell white and the trim was white and the carpet was beige.  I wanted to paint every single wall in that house so bad!  But, I listened and I am so greatful that I did for a few reasons.  First, it takes an entire year, going through each season to completely figure out your house.  Second, if you come up with an idea and immediately act on it then you might regret it sooner than later.  And, making a house your own is not something you want to do often (unless you have tons of money and can pay others to do it for you). 

So, my first DIY renovation project was the kids/guest bathroom.  Ever since we moved into the house I have HATED that bathroom.  First of all, I have little boys.  Gross.  Second, it was so so bland.  Here, see for yourself:

See the pedestal sink?  That was my inspiration.  I love pedestal sinks... granted it leaves you little to no room for storage, but they are pretty. 

The walls were eggshell white, the tile is eggshell white.  The bathroom is small, so we needed some sort of storage.  There was a recessed medicine cabinet.... I hate those things.  The things that you want to put in there do not really fit.  The towel racks, shelves and toilet paper holders were all mismatched.  The bathroom was a bland mess.
I wanted to do something that was manly but nice at the same time.  And, since we love the water/beach, a nautical theme would be perfect for the boys.  So, that was it.  But I wanted it to be original and nice.  See, I have rented many houses, and to be honest, the inside of our house looked like a rental house.  So, I did not want to do the rental thing and buy an "over the toilet" shelf thing or a matching toothbrush holder/soap dish/ bath mat/shower curtain set (which is exactly what we have in the master bathroom).  So, thanks to Pinterest, Google and Hobby Lobby, I came up with a color scheme and starting piecing together the bathroom.  This, by the way, took about 4 months to do. 

I had everything I needed to start the renovation... tools, mud, paint and pretty stuff. 

So, I started on a Wednesday afternoon and removed the recessed medicine cabinet and replaced it with a piece of drywall.  It took a couple of days of mudding, waiting on the mud to dry and sanding to get that part finished.  That Friday night, I painted the first layer.  Saturday I finished painting the main parts.  Sunday I painted the stripe and added all of the fun stuff.  Here is the finished product:

The colors are navy blue on the bottom, a crisp white stripe through the middle and a pretty gray on the top.  (I got a new camera for Christmas and I have not quite figured out the settings and what is best for what.  I need to spend some time playing with it.)  I found these awesome wall hooks at Hobby Lobby.  The sign is my boys' favorite part.... it says "Captain's Quarters" and I hung it up over the toilet.  They think its hilarious!

I have to say that I am very proud of my little bathroom.  Next up:  the master bathroom.  It is bigger and has cabinets.... so I am going to practice painting cabinets.  It'll be a little while, though.  I am still trying to recover from this bathroom!