Step One: Inspiration.

If you have read my earlier posts, you’d already know that I am currently redoing the back porch and half bathroom in our house. My mom got overwhelmed with the whole DIY aspect of it, so she turned the job over to me. I was very excited to handle a big project all by my lonesome and started creating the longest to-do list known to man.  The only downfall is I realized no matter how driven I can be, sometimes you need to realize that I can’t do everything myself. The bucket of primer was bigger than me… I am so short that everything involves a step stool... And employees at home improvement stories don't think I know what I am talking about. {What should I expect when I wear wedges into those stores... I probably send off the "too girlie" vibe.}

The most successful part of the job so far has been the pieces of inspiration I have found online and in magazines. My mom is mildly obsessed with shabby chic and country style, so I thought I would bring aspects of this design into the new half bathroom. I love the crispy yet old-hearted feeling of these rooms... so I am taking pieces from each to translate into the design of our bathroom.

We have wainscoting in our kitchen and I am thinking of doing a feature wall that has this design as well. I think it would look amazing underneath the 2 windows that reside already in the room. Not to mention this detail would divide the room and give it some depth. I also love these shutters. The windows in the bathroom look out into the backyard, so its necessary to add curtains or shutters as privacy. I want the shutters shown below badly, so those definitely made the to do list.

Storage is extremely important for this room. With 5 members of the family, we have accumulated a lot of bathroom toiletries. Especially since my sister and I are back from college meaning all of our "almost gone" bottles of shampoo and body wash came with us. {Heaven forbid we throw it away because when you are a poor college student you are squeezing every single ounce of that conditioner out of the bottle!} Even with all the extra stuff, I love the simple look of this picture below. My mom went out thrifting the other day and found a cabinet just like this one, so I am going to sand it down and maybe even paint it this soft blueish-green color as well.  

I am a sucker for little details also... I have an old window frame that I found/purchased at a barn sale earlier this summer. My game plan is to sand it down to get it clean again, then make it into a mirror by replacing the 6 pieces of glass with mirror panels. Ahh, I am so excited! Of course, I thought I was the only one who has ever had this idea, until I googled it. Haha! Turns out people have been doing this trend for awhile now... Like this one was turned into a mirror and put in a garden.... Brilliant and beautiful!

So the one I am doing is going to be the mirror over the sink. No one uses this bathroom to get ready in, so a proper mirror isn't very neccessary. Allows me to get creative! Plus, I love how it will tie in with the shabby chic feeling of the room. Here's a few more mirror inspirations:

 Have you ever done this? Thought you were a genius then once you are looking online find that someone else pretty creative has beaten you to the punch?

Also, if anyone has a good eye or taste in interior design and have any ideas for a country-style bathroom, please let me know! I'd love some inspiration from the blogging world. Until then, I guess here we go... throwing myself into this project!