Aw yeah, it’s hall bathroom time. We’re tackling this room in several phases, and here’s phase one. For a while we’d been hiding something in our hall bathroom. That big empty frame wasn’t there just for looks — it was concealing a repair project we kept postponing.
To explain the story behind this oddity over the toilet, you can trace it back to a post Sherry wrote about a year and a half ago called “Sometimes I Go Crazy,” when she removed one of several unnecessary towel bars that were off-center and just too many for the space. Removing that bar left a scar in the tile we covered with trim, which was an easy fix and felt like a win.
What didn’t go as smoothly was the attempt to remove a strange soap dish embedded above the toilet. That left a rough, lumpy mess in the tile, and for nearly two years we shrugged, saying “we’ll remove a tile or two and replace them someday.”
Finally, we came up with a better plan: a functional and decorative solution to hide the damaged tile — a chunky floating shelf to hold art, toiletries, and small accents. Form + function + blemish cover-up = success.
Note: we accidentally deleted some early photos of this project, so a few steps are explained from memory. Consider that a blogging sin we’ll atone for later.
Covering the damage required making new holes in the tile for mounting the shelf. We started by drilling pilot holes to secure a mounting sleeve for our homemade shelf.
We followed a plan similar to Ana White’s floating shelf concept from a previous project on our blog. The idea is to build a “sleeve” that anchors to the wall, then slide a box-shaped shelf over it so the shelf appears to float. Because this shelf won’t hold significant weight, we simplified the build compared to those heavier-duty plans.
The shelf itself was made from inexpensive craft pine from Home Depot — the whole wood cost about eight dollars. The top was a thin leftover piece from another project. I used a Kreg Jig to assemble the face and the sleeve pieces, then drilled the sleeve into the tile with a masonry bit. The finished box measures 6″ tall, 21″ long, and 3″ deep.
I skipped adding a bottom since it won’t be visible unless you’re looking from inside the toilet tank — and if that’s your view, you’ve probably got bigger problems than an exposed underside.
Here the shelf fits over the sleeve and neatly conceals the damaged tile. We added a colorful fish print Sherry bought, which now has a proper place to rest. The piece balances nicely with the mirror and gives the small space a friendly pop of color.
We debated whether to paint or stain the shelf and what color to choose, especially since the wall color was still undecided. To avoid committing to a bold tone, Sherry whitewashed the wood. She dampened the shelf first so the paint would glide on evenly, then rubbed a light gray (Collingwood by Benjamin Moore) over the surface with a paper towel until we reached the desired, even wash of color.
The whitewash kept some of the wood grain visible while toning down the orange undertones that didn’t suit our black-and-white bathroom. The result looks cleaner and more cohesive with the current palette.
With the shelf back in place and the fish art on display, the bathroom already feels more intentional. This is just step one: we plan to paint the walls a bold color, add a patterned shade, frame the window, and bring in brighter hardware for the vanity. So while it might look a bit understated right now, the shelf ties into a larger vision for the room.
This little DIY shelf is a much better solution than the old soap dish, which wasn’t very functional — modern toothbrushes don’t even fit in those things. The shelf adds both form and function and pushed us to finally start painting the walls. Spoiler: we’ve already begun the next phase.
We’ll keep better track of photos moving forward, and if the missing images turn up I’ll add them to this post. For now, it’s just a fish on a shelf hiding some broken tile — everyday life around here.
What did you do this weekend? Any cover-ups or quick fixes in your home?
P.S. While we’ve been up in NY, CT, and NJ the past few days we’ve seen the effects of Sandy firsthand — it’s rough. Sherry’s grandmother still has no heat or power, gas is scarce, and many coastal areas were hit hard. We’re sending love to everyone affected and will share more in an update later this week.