It Started with an 8-Dollar TP Holder (#4 bathroom)

First: It actually wasn't in my plans to do anything to the bathroom between now and the end of the month--there is just too much "bedroom" to do first.

Second: There definitely wasn't time or money in the budget between now and the end of the month to do what I wanted to do to the bathroom even if there wasn't the bedroom to finish up.

Third: Apparently I just can't help myself.

The Story:

Picture it: a glorious weekend afternoon about 2 years ago (I'm guessing--I don't really remember) and I'm sitting there on the toilet (haha) and for the umpteenth time since moving in I notice that one piece of the wall-mounted toilet paper holder is all wiggly and distracting in a "I-must-poke-at-this-now" kind of way. 

I have to investigate to see if this is something I can fix (of course it is), and right away I notice that:

• the toilet paper holder thingy is wiggly because the set screw is missing from the bottom of the wall mount plate (a set screw is a tiny screw that comes up from the bottom and holds the whole thing tight againist the mounting plates on the wall) and
• someone tried to secure the $8 toilet paper holder (and I know how much the exact model cost because I'd bought a new one for my last apartment) to the wall by "gluing" it in place with clear silicone caulk, but
• as I try to (at least) scrape off some of the extra goop that makes the two-bit repair really look two-bit (and remember, I'm sitting down, indisposed, so I'm scraping at this thing with my fingernail), the whole thing pops right off the wall into my hand, taking with it a tennis-ball sized ring of paint and
• leaving two holes in the wall board (not plaster--old 1930s fiber board) because they were not anchored in and the wall board basically turns into particle dust if you look at it wrong, but it doesn't matter in the long run because
• it probably had asbestos in it and I just got lung cancer--yay two-bit fixes and perfectionist curiosity!!

Anywho, this set off a cataclysmic localized event in which a series of events unfolded that started with patching the screw holes, led to buying two 8 oz. samples then 3 quarts of paint in various colors (two near misses to match the existing wall color, the others were "screw it, I'll just repaint" purchases), new cabinet hardware, and ended with new wall trim and towel bars. 

Don't.  Ask.

SO--I forgot to take a few "before" photos so I copied them from the house apartment website here. 

I wish I could tell you the walls look as smooth and nice as they do in those website photos, but the camera hides a lot of faults in bright light.  It's an old house--you know what they look like up close and personal.  Aged and yellowed plastic fixtures, metal fixtures painted over multiple times, mismatched fixtures, partial trims and paneling, wear and tear, cracks and little bulges---meh.  Anyway, I took these about an hour after I got started, though:

I haven't done anything to this room the entire time I've lived here--never even put up shelves because I had A Plan for the Bathroom (it did not involve the colors lavender or mauve) and I wasn't going to touch another room until after the bedroom got done.  The rosy pale purple on the walls is from a previous tenant, as is the matching stained glass frou-frou (and the vinyl blinds) in the window; I don't mind the color, it's just not something I would pick for myself.  Anywho, I matched that wall color and went two shades darker for the cabinet accent color. . . and even though I wouldn't have even looked at these colors left to my own devices, I do have to say I sort of dig that dark "Gothic Amethyst" with its rosy brown undertones.  The trim and lower walls are a slightly tinted white that looks whiter against all those purples than the off-the-shelf white used previously (which had turned yellow-grey from age). 

Three days later: added matching "trim" to the other walls, removed mismatched and cheap-looking/painted-over craptastic plastic and metal fixtures (the towel bar had to be moved anyway--it was on the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROOM from the shower/tub!), applied a layer of patch compound to smooth out wall panel crevasses, plus some other stuff. 

I work on this when I need a quick break from working on the bedroom walls--lol!!  Should be done by next weekend if I keep the scedule/pace I've done since I started.  I love working in tiny rooms sometimes!