Wow! They were lucky to have a nice sink and tub to begin with. The shelf above the tub really designates the space and makes it seem less like the tub is just floating there. Great redo!

It's a perfectly lovely "before" that could have been easily accessorized, I think.

I liked the before, too. So dramatic!

Great job, it looks much bigger!

Oh why why why cover up that gorgeous wood? I'm not digging the country-chic. I imagine the original with white walls and accents similar to the ones in the final and I'm in heaven.
*sigh* to each hir own I guess.

I don't like chairs in bathrooms. It makes me think of someone being ill or feeling ill and needing to sit down while in the bathroom. But on another note, I love the sink.

I think it looks nicer in the after. Cleaner and more....hmm...."bathroomy" I guess! :)

I would have killed for the before, the after looks so generic shabby chic, even though I like the addition of the shelf.

sink source?

Normally I love white woodwork but in this case I like how the tub stood out against the dark background, so I think I would have worked with that bit of drama. The updates look nice and it is certainly more cheerful, if rather bland.

I hadn't seen a shell toilet seat in so long, I'd forgotten they exist! LOL! I like the atmosphere of the after pic; I'd take down the decorations above the shelf, though, since they don't really seem to do anything.

@Calldoctorbison, I thought the chair was in there just in case one of the owner's guests had a young child who still has to be supervised in the bath. After sitting on the toilet seat for all four years of my daughter's life, I am SO putting a chair in my next bathroom.

i love the clean color palette in the updated bathroom, but i have to admit, i kind of loved the dark wood in the before!

looks great! I dig it. Where did you get the sink? I've been looking for one like that for a while.

Aww, I loved the wainscoting! The after is too... french country, or something. I think ripping out the wallpaper and painting a nice color and yes, replacing that toilet seat, would have been sufficient. I do like the additions of the shelf and furniture though.

I loved the dark wood too. I would have exchanged the toilet seat and painted the walls and added the shelf..
The new paint jobs are nice too but I really don't like the baskets and knick knacks on the wall. The shelf I really like but it should hold something that is actually relevant in the bathroom. I also like the sink with the exposed plumbing.

Definitely brighter. For some reason, it has a laundry room feel to it though. Maybe all those baskets?

Fantastic!

I think I would have gone with clear ir reflective vases rather than baskets, though.

I did not like the before at all. Bathrooms are meant to be clean, which the after conveys beautifully.

Oh why does everyone think that a makeover requires painting wood white to be "fresh". Such gorgeous wood gone! Forever lost in a sea of white. Looks like every other after picture in a magazine.

I think it looks gorgeous! I wish I had great bones like that to start with in my bathroom! It looks very calm and inviting...just waiting for a bubble bath :)

I love white painted wood, always have, even as a child (asked my mom for some white furnitures), so I'm totally ok with the painting. I may have kept the wallpaper though, and I don't like the new floor color. The dark tone would have anchored the room.

And a pillow in a bathroom... I understand the possible need for a chair, but the pillow seems unrealistic (though beautiful).

Love the new sink but I don't love that the silver hardware clashes with the bronze hardware on the bathtub. And not snarky, just curious, what is in the baskets above the tub? The old wainscoting was very pretty, but I do like how fresh and clean the white makes the bathroom feel so I'm a bit torn on that one. Overall you've ended up with a lovely bathroom that I'm sure your guests will enjoy!

OMG they painted the wood. It's just paint people, nobody stole the wood.

It's a perfectly lovely "before" that could have been easily accessorized, I think.

POSTED BY JANET UWS ON 01.24.12 AT 01:10PM

Completely agree with this comment, I don't care if people paint wood or not, I've done it myself, but that wood in the before I wouldn't have touched.

lol, shell toilet seat.

Well done!

I love wainscoting and plan on having some painted white in my own bathroom soon. However, it should be painted when installed new made from cheap pine, NOT when it has such rich beautiful character and patina as in the before picture. The old stuff made with good wood and stained is such a rarity now. What a waste to paint that and also the rest of the room does feel ho-hum cookie cutter like everything else we see now.

Super cute!!! But are they hydrangea's in the baskets above the bath? That would be a little hard to maintain.
I love the sink too.

I can't get on her website, anyone know what paint color that is?? It's so beautiful!

I love chairs in bathrooms, because I like to sit down while I brush my teeth - I guess I'm lazy! Not having enough room for one, we have an IKEA hamper that you can sit on, so it's multi-functional.

I like the after - wood's not sacred, and you can always strip it again.

I like both before and after just fine. The added dresser storage in the after is a great idea. I would personally lose the chair.

the after is nice, but the before had so much character. Sad to see it gone.

Yeah, I would have done a lot less updating if it were my bathroom... I would have even kept the shell toilet lid! The striped wallpaper was yucky, though.

Sweet lil cookie cutter 'after' (albeit the BB tub hardware is makin me antsy).
I'd LOVE to see a 'before' in some actual light - what character!

Well executed, at any rate. Enjoy your new guest bath!

Nice!

They're both really nice, but I think I prefer the before.

The before looks depressing and claustrophobic... like a place to drown yourself. Looks like it belongs in some sad old hotel in Scotland run by a terse old woman who wears holey argyle sweaters and half glasses on a chain around her neck. The after looks like it belongs in a cheery cottage on the east coast. Not exactly digging the baskets on the long shelf or the old wire screens above them, too Bad Magazine Cliche, but that sink makes me want to wash my face. Right now.

Wow--that looks amazing! I love it. :-)

It also helps that someone turned the light on in the after picture.

The before looked like a shared bathroom in a tenement. And the wood is still there, people. It's just been painted white.

I once took a sewing class and questioned whether or not I could do something that was different than the original directions ordered. My teacher said, "These are not pages of The Bible. Make any changes that will work for you."

I've always loved that line.

That before was horrid...the perfect description from gatineauhills. Love the after but then again I love white and bright and cheery.

I would have removed/changed the wallpaper and that's it. The after is generic, boring, bland, safe, martha stewart crap. I can't fathom why someone would take classy timeless rich stained woodwork and paint it white to look like the cheap vinyl paneling they sell at home depot, but that seems to be the go to choice for half of AT readers.

The after looks very nice, but generic, while the before had lots more drama.
Also, I don't think it's necessary to overexpose the photos to make them look more "airy," all it does it blend in the whites and make things look flat. A lot of photos taken by amateurs suffer from this problem, and granted, I'm not saying I'm a pro, just that I am very aware that I've made this mistake and am very conscious of it when others do it.
Just because you can afford a nice DSLR and Photoshop doesn't mean you know how to use them to the best of their advantage.

Love the white chair rail and even the blue above, but that girly frou-frou all over is not chic. Back to the drawing board.

I liked the before. I would have done new wallpaper with a lot of green and bold patterns, better lighting (maybe a small chandelier), and some new accessories. Several gold framed mirrors would really lighten the place up and make it more airy.

After looks like your standard Martha Stewart Living/Shabby Chic nonsense.

The before showed character, the after is just generic. It's a shame that AT puts this sort of cookie cutter stuff up. Where is the innovation? Where is the design?

This is an amazing transformation done very tastefully!
The before is so dark and dated{far from needing just accessories IMHO},
but the after is so bright, fresh and cheery...very well done!
Great job!
I love it!
:)

hmmm....wouldn't all of this commenting be more fun if, along with their THOUGHTFUL comment, the naysayers had to post a photo of the room that they had PAINSTAKINGLY renovated?

I love a good discussion/debate on the merits of just about anything. I love this site because the variety of styles/ideas about home design has pushed my thinking and provided creative sparks for me. But I wish all those who comment could question/challenge/consider each other's work from a place of kindness, if not actual respect. The loaded language in some of these comments is neither kind nor respectful (crap, cookie cutter, nonsense, etc. These clearly violate the first rule of the comment policy, which is to be "honest and fair, yet gracious." Should the wainscoting have been painted? Fair question. "Boring, bland, Martha Stewart crap"? Below the belt. Just sayin.

Painful to see that nice wood painted. I cry for it.

I read Rita@thissortaoldlife.com's comment and saw myself... ouch. Point taken.

Love that sink and the exposed plumbing pipes!

The After is a bit too twee for me, but there's definitely an audience for this kind of prim, faux-Euro decor in places like Dallas or Atlanta.

People. Relax. The before was a miserable, dark, old lady bathroom. The only accessories that go along with that dreadful wood paneling are orange shag bathmats and avocado wallpaper.
The after looks awesome. If that was my bathroom, I'd spend all day long in there.

The after is great. I am still not sure why the before was so dark. It seems like you could have worked with the black in the bathroom but you didn't want to so hey...it looks great but I really like black and white in a bathroom.