Let’s talk about vanity makeovers. This post continues the story of the sink vanity we left primed in a previous update.
We spent a long time sampling paint swatches before settling on a vibrant kelly green we thought would brighten the mostly white room. We bought a quart of Benjamin Moore’s Baby Fern in semi-gloss Natura and applied two coats, hoping the second would save the color. After painting, it was obvious the green was all wrong.
Clara joked that it looked like Kermit the Frog. It was a surprising turn — not the fresh pop of color we’d pictured — so we paused, laughed, and regrouped.
After rifling through our paint stash in the garage, we found the shade that felt right: Silhouette. It’s a moody brown-gray with subtle plum undertones that rarely photographs well but always looks rich in person. We’d used it on several book projects and loved it, so it became our quick fallback. The result was exactly what we wanted — sophisticated and grounded, and a perfect counterpoint to the slate elements in the room.
Rather than a white bathroom with a bright vanity, the space is evolving into a chic black-and-white-inspired bathroom. It’s not truly black, but the deep Silhouette hue gives that dramatic feel. The dark finish pairs especially nicely with the door hardware and hinges, which tie the look together.
While paint was a minor setback, we had a small win with the hardware. A casual trip to Anthropologie turned up discounted faceted knobs — they were marked down to just a few dollars each. Their octagonal shape echoes the angles of the mirror and complements the vanity’s tone, creating a pleasing visual connection in the space.
We also replaced the old wooden toilet paper holder with a simple, cleaner-looking model found on clearance at Lowe’s. It’s a subtle upgrade that improves the overall feel.
The half bathroom has come a long way with these relatively small changes. The lesson here is classic DIY: you win some, you lose some, but staying flexible and adjusting course usually pays off.
There are still a few Phase 1 tasks on the list. The grout needs scrubbing or replacement, and the leaky faucet will be swapped for a new one. The light fixture sits inverted above the mirror — a previous tweak to allow for a larger mirror — and from certain angles it looks like a face, with the light as two beady eyes and the mirror as a mouth. It’s quirky, but we’ll address the fixture and alignment as part of the finishing touches.
Right now the mirror is slightly off-center relative to the light and faucet. If we centered it on the light, it would misalign with the faucet, so for the moment we split the difference to minimize the visual imbalance. It’s a practical compromise until we finalize the placement with the next round of updates.
Beyond grout, lighting, and faucet work, we’ve been considering bigger changes for a later phase — possibilities like grasscloth wallpaper, a tiled accent wall, or a pedestal sink. For now, though, smaller, budget-friendly tweaks are making the half bath feel more welcoming without a full renovation.
If you’re tackling a half-bath update, small thoughtful decisions—like choosing the right paint tone, coordinating hardware, and addressing functional issues such as grout and leaky fixtures—can make a big difference. How are your bathroom projects progressing?