thinking about my laundry/half bath sitch.

i tried to think of a way to make laundry sound cool, but it doesn't exist.  laundry is just the worst.  

my laundry room also functions as a half bath. it's situated directly to the left of the back door as you enter my house through the garage.

right now my laundry room looks like this:

 

pshhhh, yeah right.  we all know that people who have laundry rooms that look like that don't do laundry.  and if there's a half bath in that room, too, they don't use that either.  probably because they can afford to not eat their feelings like me and therefor do not create human waste.  and you just can't argue with science.

in reality, here's what my plane jane little bathdry room (see what i did there?!) looks like:

since moving into my house in 2009, i have literally done nothing to it besides adding that random old target "painting" and various twigs in bottles.  although the room is white, it's pretty dark in there due to the finish of the cabinets.

 here's a glimpse of the laundry side of the room.  featuring clothing that i'm just too lazy to fold and a state-of-the-art sweatpants drying system.

again with the piles?!  get your life together, ray.

the vanity/counter features a particularly heinous shade of blue marble laminate.  it's pretty terrible.  ten points if you can spot the oxymoron.

 every time i go into that room, i get a sense of rage when i look at where the previous owner decided to hang the towel rack.  WHY on god's green earth would someone choose to center the rack between the toilet and the counter rather than placing it over the toilet?  or even better, hang it on the wall next to the door and sink.  this is not brain surgery, people.  and i feel like i need to admit that i'm not proud of the number of magazines i have on my toilet.

needless to say i am so sick of the grossness that is this room.  so i've been brewing up a little plan for her.  i'd like to spend as close to zero dollars and zero cents as possible on this little project and bust it out in a weekend.

so here's my plan:

wall color

i picked up a free gallon of benjamin moore's aura paint back in january.  apparently this paint is supposed to be the best of the best.  i'm skeptical because they all claim to be the cat's pajamas, but my friendly local paint man said he was jealous that i got a free gallon, so i'm choosing to believe him.  anywho, that's the story of how i chose the color: it's what i have on hand.

vanity

the vanity is by far the worst part.  i plan on scouring garage and estate sales this summer to see if i can find an old cabinet or dresser that can be converted to a vanity.  who am i kidding...scouring sounds like way too much work.  i'll browse.  nothing sweat-inducing.  i'm looking for something similar to this:

however, until i find the perfect little chest, i will probably paint the current vanity.  i'm thinking white (really original), or perhaps use some of the left over gray from the kitchen project:

thoughts on this?  give 'em to me.

as for the counter top, i really just need to find another one.  i have not researched at all, so i don't really know what sort of price to expect or even what materials are good options.  part of me just wants to try this stuff:

have you tried it?  i watched a youtube video on the application process and the final product didn't look like a complete disaster.  it's worth a stab at it since the cost is so low.  a big part of me feels like an effed up paint job would still look better than the ridiculous "marble" that lives there now.

laundry cupboards

painting them white.  not exciting.

accessories/hardware

i love these pulls:

and hanging a hand towel over something like this would be a whole lot cuter than that wonky, poorly-placed towel rod:

and speaking of towels, west elm knocks it out of the park:

art

this bathroom (like most half-baths) is small.  but it's prominently placed in the house, so i'd like it to make a big impact.  i love the collection of art in this bathroom:

this one kills me, too:

i've started a little collection of cheap-o oil paintings that will more than likely take refuge on my bathroom wall.

i'm sure many of you are concerned about that terrible mirror that lives in the bathroom.  she will go to a better home (courtesy of goodwill) so i can make room for this estate sale find:

lighting

i neglected to take a picture of the light in the room, but it's your run of the mill boob light.  i have my old, brass dining room chandelier collecting dust in the basement.  i'd like to freshen it up with a coat or two of spray paint and give it a new life in this room.  it's current state is not entirely unlike this guy:

so that's the plan, stan.  i am predicting that i can do this room for less than $100 if i play my cards right.

predicted budget
paint--$0 (on hand)
painting supplies--$0 (on hand)
counter top coating--$31
anthropologie pulls--$24 for 4
anthropologie towel hook--$16
west elm hand towels--$20 for two
art--$0 (on hand)
mirror--$0 (on hand)
lighting--$0 (on hand)
spray paint--$5

total--$96ish

if you have any great suggestions and/or tips, feel free to send them my way.  i welcome them with open arms.  wish me luck!