Neutral & Modern Shared Boys’ Bathroom Reveal

The month of January felt like an eternity, but this challenge felt like it came and went in the blink of an eye! Today is the big reveal day for our Neutral and Modern Shared Boys’ Bathroom for the New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge! Two out of three of our little guys share this space and it has officially been refreshed! And after a ton of work, it’s as beautiful handsome as I had hoped it would be! I’ve said it many times during this challenge, but especially now. My #bathroomenvy runs deep!!

Our home is always in a state of “refresh” but each January, I’ve had the opportunity to officially refresh a space! As a participant in the New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge, I’ve now revamped 5 rooms.

All thanks to Stephanie of Casa Watkins Living for hosting it and so graciously inviting me year after year! 

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To see all of my NYNR Challenge posts over the years, click here or the posts below:

• Stairwell Spruce Up – 2023
• Relaxed Formal Dining Room – 2022
• Neutral & Modern Shared Boys’ Bathroom – 2020
• Playful & Pattern-happy Big Boy Room – 2019
• Kitchen Refresh – 2018
• Stylish & Bold Playroom – 2017
• Primary Bedroom – 2016

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NEUTRAL & MODERN SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM

I knew I was most likely going to tackle one of the Bathrooms in our home. They are all pretty basic and outdated and although our house is only 20 years old, for some reason the bathrooms scream early 90’s. Think peachy pink tile, yellowy vanilla oak cabinetry, beige walls, cream-colored counter-tops and builder-grade faucets and fixtures.

Did I paint a pretty picture for you?!

After lightly refreshing the main floor Powder Room and the Basement Guest Bathroom, I instantly opted for the Shared Boys’ Bathroom. Although, we’d love to update our Master Bathroom, it would be a pretty big undertaking [and cost a pretty penny] to remodel during a short, 1-month challenge. 

So, the biggest and littlest boys bathroom it was! The other option would have been the middle boys bathroom Room. And now that he’s seen what we’ve done in the other boys’ bathroom, I’m fairly confident his space is now on the 2020 Project Punch list ha!

Before I share the highly anticipated “AFTER” photos, let’s take a look back at the Before, the Design and the Plan.

SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM BEFORE PHOTOS

Be prepared for plenty of blah with a side of crusted toothpaste and some you-know-what stained grout. Sorry to be gross, but seriously boy moms will understand! It is nearly impossible to avoid even with regular, deep cleaning. Gosh, I love ’em, but UGGGGHHH!

And here is the design I came up when creating the mood board:

SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM MOOD BOARD

NATURAL STONE MOSAIC STAR TILE || GRAY OMBRE SHOWER CURTAIN || TOILET || SINK || VANITY || BLACK FAUCETS || BLACK & GOLD VANITY LIGHT || ROUND GOLD MIRROR || BAMBOO STEP STOOL || GREEN TASSELS|| STAR TOWELS || WOVEN POM POM STORAGE || BLACK & GOLD FRAME || FAUX PLANT

SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM CHECKLIST 

• paint the walls
• replace the floor tile
• paint the vanity
• add new hardware
• replace countertop
• install new sinks
• hook up new faucets 
• remove mirror and replace with 2 round mirrors OR frame out existing mirror
• install new vanity light fixtures
• put up new shower curtain rod and curtain
• swap out the bathroom hardware / fixtures
  • towel bar
  • towel ring
  • toilet paper holder
• add bath mat / rug
• purchase step stool[s]
• find and hang art
• new countertop accessories
• decorate and style the space
• Miscellaneous Items / projects:
  • _paint 2nd pocket door_
  • _________________
  • _________________

I think we just about hit each and every last item on here! That’s the blessing with these challenges, you *actually* accomplish more than you could even imagine possible. Deadlines do wonders! Especially for home projects.

NEUTRAL & MODERN SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM REVEAL

Are you still with me?! Now for the After and all the details on what we did, what we used and of course, how it looks! 

THE VANITY

We painted the vanity and added these gorgeous brass knobs. You can see the full detailed post I wrote on the black painted vanity and the rest of the vanity info here!

I love the glimmer of gold against the bold black.

THE TILE

This particular update might win the prize! I knew any tile we chose would be a welcomed change, but I didn’t know just how hard I would fall for this polished natural stone mosaic tile by Jeffrey Court. The star pattern is so incredibly beautiful in person – these pictures just don’t do it justice!

You can read my tile update post here with more before, process & beauty shots. It truly took the space from updated to elevated.

BOYS BATHROOM // THE COUNTER-TOP, SINK & FAUCETS

We went to a local counter-top fabrication shop and picked out a remnant piece of quartz to be installed. I wanted a light-to-white color with some gray veining.

It’s stunning.

I went back and forth on whether to do black or gold fixtures. Since I really wanted a light with both black and gold detail, I felt like I could flip a coin and go either way for the faucets.

It was either going to be black faucets with gold mirrors or the reverse.

And we landed on black faucets! When I first laid eyes on these beautiful high-arc faucets, I could not believe the price! Such a great buy in comparison to a few others we considered.

The space definitely has a bold feel with all the black. Black doors, black vanity and black fixtures, but I prefer bold and knew that the white walls and pops of gold would help balance it out. 

Besides, when in doubt, I almost always choose bold black. It’s a classic after all.

BOYS BATHROOM // THE MIRRORS & LIGHT FIXTURES

We pulled off the large, rectangular builder mirror and replaced it with two gold round mirrors. 

For the lights, we replaced the single, 4 light fixture that was centered above the vanity with a pair of these fabulous 2-light black & gold vanity lights.

The lights were actually one of my first design choices in here. Except I ended up going with a slightly different shaped light from the George Kovac collection than I shared in my mood board because it was sold out.

I adore these lights so much!

BOYS BATHROOM // THE HARDWARE & FIXTURES

Black all around.

We replaced the switch plate covers with matte black ones and removed all 3 towel bars and opted to go with a towel ring for the hand towel and a double towel bar to hang bath towels.

And a black TP holder, too.

More contrast for the win!

Another fixture, I’d can’t neglect to mention is this glorious new toilet. It has a compact elongated bowl and has a sleek and cool profile.

We decided to go all-in and swap out the seat for this Purefresh LED night-light closed front toilet seat with a built in air-freshener. Again, because boys!

It’s perfect for when they wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

BOYS BATHROOM // THE RUGS

We struggled to source rugs that would fit in this small bathroom and work with the location of the toilet in relation to the shower/tub combo. 

These soft and plush gray bathroom rugs from Mohawk Home ended up being just what we needed.

The bath mat lays over the edge of the tub and the other rug is perfect for in front of the vanity. We won’t use a rug in this spot year-round, but it’s definitely nice to have in place in the winter.

That bare tile is cold on little feet, so a rug here works well!

BOYS BATHROOM // THE WALL ART

With one skinny wall left to hang art, [the rest of the walls hold the shower, the pocket doors, the mirrors and the double towel bar] I knew I wanted to take full advantage and go almost all the way to the ceiling.

A simple green, gray and black abstract print in a thrifted frame, DIY word art that reads “These are the days” and an old framed black and white triangle print that I found while shopping my house, stack up the wall above the toilet.

Similar to the stacked framed art look I created in the Dining Room.

BOYS BATHROOM // THE SHOWER ACCESSORIES

We pulled the patterned shower curtain down and replaced the rod with a black one. We also raised the bar all the way to the ceiling and purchased an XL shower curtain to elongate the space and make it feel larger.

When I first spotted these great little shower curtain hooks, I knew they would be a unique touch to the space.

Most shower curtain rings are solid metal, but these black, white and gold textured hooks look great against the solid white curtain and the gold hooks gleam on top of black shower curtain rod.

And you know what else I discovered after I found the curtain hooks?

The collection had matching counter-top accessories, too! They have a “carved” look and appear to be so much more expensive than they were. 

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

It really is, though, isn’t it?

I snagged the soap dispenser in the matching print to put by one sink and then I found this unique toothbrush holder to go on the other side.

It’s black & gold. No wonder I had to have it!

With so much black and white, a space can feel very cold. I added the bamboo step stools & woven waste basket to bring in some warmth and texture.

I always love the addition of tan and warm brown tones with any color palette.

And here are few more of my favorite “moments” in the Shared Boys Bathroom…

I wrote a whole post on how I got the vanity organized using these trays in the drawers and these clear bins under the sink.

They really are though, aren’t they?

Toothpaste war zone, lego explosions and fleeting moments.

Each and every one of these moments, big and small, make my heart smile. But what made this entire challenge worth it, is getting an “I love my new bathroom!! Thanks, Mom!” from the biggest.

And the littlest, well he trots around in here like it’s been his for years. He was my little bathroom assistant for the whole month of January, after all.

If you missed any posts during the challenge you can get caught up below. A full source list will follow along with the rest of the NYNR participants’ reveals. You absolutely need to make your way through the list and see them all!

There is such an incredible amount of talent all around.

See the rest of the bathroom posts in the New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge:

THE BATHROOM BEFORE + MOOD BOARD + PLANS
INSPIRING BATHROOM DESIGNS
HOW TO MAKE A BIG IMPACT IN A SMALL BATHROOM WITH STATEMENT TILE
BOYS’ BATHROOM PROGRESS REPORT
NEUTRAL & MODERN SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM REVEAL 

SHARED BOYS’ BATHROOM SOURCE LIST

SHOWER CURTAIN ROD
XL SHOWER CURTAIN
XL CLEAR CURTAIN LINER
SHOWER CURTAIN HOOKS
BAMBOO STEP STOOLS
COMPACT ELONGATED TOILET
LED TOILET SEAT
GEOMETRIC METAL OBJECT [HomeGoods]
ROUND MIRRORS
VANITY LIGHT FIXTURES 
BLACK HIGH-ARC FAUCETS
SINKS 
VANITY KNOBS 
TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER 
SOAP DISPENSER 
DRAWER LINER
CLEAR DRAWER ORGANIZERS
HAND TOWEL RING 
DOUBLE TOWEL BAR 
STRIPED TOWELS 
TOILET PAPER HOLDER 
STAR MOSAIC FLOOR TILE 
RUG 
ABSTRACT ART PRINT
BLACK + GOLD FRAME
WOVEN WASTE BASKET
TOWEL BASKET [HomeGoods]

TRIM PAINT:  BEHR Ultra Pure White – Semi-Gloss 
WALL PAINT: BEHR Gallery White – Satin
VANITY PAINT: DecoArt Satin Enamels Classic Black

Casa Watkins Living // The Boho Abode // Delineate Your Dwelling // Haneen’s Haven // The Happy Housie // Homemade by Carmona // House by Hoff // Jeweled Interiors // Kaleidoscope Living // Our Fifth House // PMQ for Two // Rain on a Tin Roof // Southern State of Mind // Taryn Whiteaker // This is Our Bliss // Thou Swell // Up To Date Interiors

A huge thank you to all of the sponsors who collaborated with us on this challenge, specifically Home Depot, Jeffrey Court, Liberty Hardware and Mohawk Home. Without their partnership, these bathroom projects would not have made it across the finish line.

And thanks to all of you for supporting the brands that help make This is our Bliss possible!

Looking for more information?

For such a tiny space, I still have so much more to tell you! I will be sharing detailed posts on the following elements:

How to Achieve a High-End Vanity Look with Paint & Hardware for Under $50
Vanity Drawer Liners + Bathroom Organization
DIY “These are the Days” Art

For now, that is all! Thank you, thank you! If you’re still reading, then I so appreciate your time here with me today!

Don’t forget to pin for later:

To see all of my NYNR Challenge posts over the years, click here or the posts below:

• Stairwell Spruce Up – 2023
• Relaxed Formal Dining Room – 2022
• Neutral & Modern Shared Boys’ Bathroom – 2020
• Playful & Pattern-happy Big Boy Room – 2019
• Kitchen Refresh – 2018
• Stylish & Bold Playroom – 2017
• Primary Bedroom – 2016

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