Mermaid Bathroom Design Plan

Beige.  That’s the only word you need to sum up Olivia’s bathroom.  Beige and maybe a dash of clown thrown in.  I guess that’s where these harlequin diamonds come from?  I dunno.  Beige clown.  That’s the theme here.

To be fair, I think I recall some of Frank’s rooms from Trading Spaces looking like this back in the early 2000s.  (Who else rushed home every day to watch that show?!)

But since this is Olivia’s bathroom, we are still going to be a little “theme-y”.  Mermaids.

Coastal style is not really something I’ve ever done, and being a good 3-4 hours from the beach, it’s something I feel like wouldn’t make sense in our colonial house anyway.  But little Love Bug has been completely enamored with mermaids all summer long.  It just seems so fitting for a little girl’s bathroom.

So I’m going to try to check off a lot of boxes in this space-

• Make it cutesy mermaid for Olivia
• Keep it still grown-up enough to use as a guest bath
• Keep it just subtle enough that this space still makes sense with the rest of our house.

This is how I see it totally changing to look like in my head.

BUT here’s another thing… I’m going to try to keep this whole makeover at around $300-400.  That means paint and shopping sales / clipping coupons on decor has to play a lot of roles in this whole scheme.

We plan to eventually do a gut job in here, but with a few unexpected older home expenses we’ve had to deal with (like handling some plumbing issues and rewiring some boring old electrical work… boooo) we’ve decided to tackle just cosmetic fixes for now.  To be honest, a lot of our house will probably have a Phase 1 makeover done before we can get to the more heavy duty Phase 2 plans.

The bad news:  We have this beige 80s cultured marble countertop, shower, and jetted tub (that I haven’t really had the courage to test yet because goodness knows what we’re dealing with there).  And the existing pinkish tan tile has seen better days.

I’ve heard amazing things about Rustoleum’s Tub and Tile Kit, so I’m really intrigued to test it out on at least the countertop first, to see how it goes.  And for the floor, we’ll probably just pull the same trick we used on our Lowe’s Makeover to paint the grout and see if that helps brighten things up. And a bath mat always helps.  (I don’t think I’m game to attempt more peel and stick vinyl in here though since the tile is still in okay shape.)

The good news: The mirror is already in great shape, and the lighting and faucets are updated for the most part.  Win!

And I just know painting that bisque colored paneled wainscoting a bright white instead and the doors a dark gray / black like the rest of our doors will make it all look like a million bucks.

I’d been itching to get some fresh paint in this bathroom ever since we were nearing the finish line of the powder room makeover, but I couldn’t really dive in until now.

So here’s the whole plan…

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1. Magnolia Home Paint in the color Weekend | Olivia actually picked this color all by herself, out of the 8 choices I gave her, and I think it is so perfect for a not-too-kiddyish mermaid bathroom. Right?!
2. Gray Vanity | I thought about painting the existing vanity a bright white, but since I plan on painting everything but the walls white, I think a medium to light gray will add more interest.
3. Mermaid Watercolor Art | I found this watercolor art on Etsy, and it is just too sweet.  And works so well with the wall color.
4. Shower Curtain | I’ve debated on two different shower curtains, this one and this one.  But the one that looks like mermaid scales has my heart right now.  It adds texture without being too busy with a pattern.
5. Antique Brass Vanity Light | I keep going back and forth about if I should spray paint the existing light with antique brass or leave it the brushed nickel.  Hmmm… The frosted glass shades will definitely be swapped out though.
6. Towels | These patterned towels I found at World Market just say “mermaid” to me.
7. Water Hyacinth | I’ll be throwing in some woven items to still have some natural texture in here.
8. Flowers | Because duh! Every girl needs flowers.
9. Mermaid Figurine | How cute would this be on a little shelf?
10. Mermaid Towel Hook | I just know Olivia would freak over this little detail.
11. Sea Glass Accents | I’ll probably throw in some light aqua accents, like this soap dispenser, for a nod to sea glass.
12. Antique Brass Faucets | Still debating about this one too, but if the light fixture gets painted, the faucets will be too.  I’ve done it before, and it’s do-able for sure!
13. White Textured Knobs | Just for a fun detail on the cabinets.  This base and this knob remind me of coral or sea shells for some reason without actually being too in-your-face coastal.
14. Gray Wood Shelf | A little nod to driftwood and a great spot to display any toiletries for guests along with the art.  We might just end up making one from wood we already have.
15. Storage |  I’ll probably throw in some woven miniature baskets like this one for holding ponytail holders and random things that Olivia always ends up with in here.

So that’s the grand plan!  It might be ambitious, but I’m so excited about how much potential is already in this space.  Can you envision it yet?  If not, that’s okay.  You’ll see it. Fingers and toes (and mermaid fins) crossed!

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