Vanishing Act

A few weeks ago (you can see the post here), we added some much needed bathroom storage to our upstairs bath. After debating which route to go, we landed on this from BBB:

Very functional? Check. Compact enough for a small space? Check. Easy to clean? Check? Sticks out like a sore thumb? Check, check, check. 

See what I mean? Even though we went for the brushed silver look to compliment some of the hardware (the choices were either that or black), we still felt as if it were too… there. The hope, instead, is that the shelf itself will fade into the background of the room and allow the spotlight to be on the shelf decor. So, we spray painted it white. Surprise, surprise. I won’t bore you with the spraying details, but let’s just say, all of those spindly rods made for a tougher task than usual. Just keep in mind while spray painting: lots of thin coats is waaaaay better than one or two thick and gloppy coats. Anyway, here’s how it looked painted white:And you can see that when we stick it in the bathroom, the overall effect is a bit less jarring and in-your-face and more subtle and pleasant.

To fill it, I went largely for function, with a few tiny hints of “for show”.Here are the goods shelf by shelf (we’ll work our way up): On the bottom, we have a basket ($7.99 at Ikea) that happens to be the perfect size to fit a few extra rolls of TP. Having this out “on display” has helped to free up some much needed space under the sink for other things that would not look so pretty (in a bathroom-y sort of way) out in the open (ex. cleaning supplies, giant bottles of mouth wash, etc.).Second shelf is home to a few extra towels for guests (and actually Mitch and I as well). We keep the bulk of our “extras” in the laundry room, but it has been nice to keep a few on hand for easy access. Also, rolling them up into cylinder shape adds a bit of sparkle them… we like to think it makes it feel more “hotel-esque” for visiting guests. 🙂 And finally, some top shelf action. We moved some of the things that used to find residency on the counter or atop the toilet over to create a mini-vanity of sorts. Can you spot our switcheroos from here:

To here?

You guessed it- we grabbed the mirror and cotton ball/Q-tip canister and added a basket full ‘o goodies to echo the basket on shelf three.

For some extra (non-mint) color, I popped a few of my nail polishes and some funky emery boards into the basket and called it a day. The contents of that basket will probably change from time to time, but for now, the bright colors add some fun to the room.

So there you have it- a silver to white vanishing act and a few functional items turned decor. Happy Monday, all!

-Leslie