Surprise! We painted the guest bathroom this weekend — walls, trim, and even the ceiling — and chose a clean fresh white (Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore). It feels bright and crisp compared to the dingy paint that was there before.
Why white? Rather than gutting the room or replacing the original 1960s yellow tile, we decided to embrace it. The tile is in great shape and has a cheerful, retro charm. Painting the walls white lets the tile be the feature while keeping the small space feeling open. The neutral backdrop will also make it easy to add color and personality with accessories rather than overwhelming the room.
We used the same approach in our hall bathroom, which also has original tile. By freshening the walls and adding thoughtful accessories, that space now flows with the rest of the house without losing its vintage character.
Before committing to demolition here, we wanted to see how far a few simple updates could take the room. It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint and a few styling choices can do.
We also raised the shower rod to ceiling height and installed an extra-long 95″ waffle-weave curtain. Since the curtain tucks inside the shower, the rod isn’t visible from the main part of the bathroom, which cleans up the sightlines. Initially the lower bar hung down noticeably below the doorway, so this change made a big visual improvement.
The room is small, so getting the perfect photo of the shower doorway is tough — I’d basically have to shoot from outside the window to show the whole thing — but the raised rod looks much smarter in person.
We finally frosted the window using leftover film and a simple method that preserves light while providing privacy. It keeps the room bright without letting anyone on the deck see inside.
We documented how to frost a window step-by-step elsewhere and have a video walkthrough for anyone interested in doing it themselves.
Between the fresh white paint and the frosted window, the bathroom already feels much less murky and more inviting.
After frosting the window, I pulled out a fabric remnant I’d had for over a year to make a simple no-sew shade. The fabric came from a local shop and felt like the right scale and color to connect the bathroom to the adjoining guest room. I considered a faux roman shade but didn’t have enough fabric, so I built a straightforward tucked shade using basic tools: a tape measure, iron-on hem tape, a scrap piece of wood, and a staple gun.
I measured the window width at 23″, cut the scrap wood slightly narrower than that, and trimmed the fabric to 25″ wide and 30″ long so I could hem both sides and the bottom. After hemming, the final shade measured about 23″ x 29″. The wood is a touch thinner than the hemmed fabric so it doesn’t peek out at the edges.
I stapled the top of the fabric to the scrap wood, centered it so the fabric hung evenly, and screwed through the wood from below three times to secure it into the window frame.
Voila — an easy, custom shade.
For the bottom I used a thin piece of scrap molding slightly wider than the window, rolled the fabric around it, and tucked it into place so it holds itself between the window sides like a tension rod. It’s a simple trick that looks finished and keeps the shade neat.
From the guest room, the fabric pairs nicely with the polka-dot curtains — not too matchy, but complementary. I like that the dark teal from the bedroom walls now echoes into the bathroom, so the yellow tile doesn’t feel completely disconnected from the adjoining room.
It feels good to check a few items off the list, though there are still some finishing touches to complete.
We think three more straightforward updates will make a big difference:
- paint the walls (done)
- frost the window for privacy (done)
- make a window treatment from a bold fabric remnant (done)
- paint the mirror frame so it stands out against the white wall
- hang art above the toilet
- add accessories to bring personality and tie the room together
Anyone else working with vintage finishes instead of tearing everything out? Painting, shade-making, or other small projects are such satisfying ways to refresh a space without major demolition.
Psst — we also updated the light fixture here a while back.