Basement Bathroom Design Board

Since posting my bedroom design board a couple weeks ago, I've moved full-steam ahead on our bedroom. Sometimes it just takes a clear vision of what you'd like to see changed to really inspire you to make those changes!

So, with that concept in mind, I've put together an update to a past tentative plan for our basement bathroom.

I can't believe I'm even posting this picture, it's so disgusting. But hey, all in the name of truth and honesty in blogging, right?

Here's what we're working with:

This bathroom is tiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnny, and while it needs major upgrades to become less-embarassing, we're also not sure how much longer we'll be in this house, so it doesn't make sense to pour big bucks into a quasi-temporary living situation. 

The problems with this bathroom include (and definitely are not limited to):

• Small size means limited storage space
• Only one window, off-center on the wall
• No matter how much it gets scrubbed it never feels clean
• Vanity, shower, and shelving (not shown, to the left of the shower) are all grimy and falling apart
• There's no way to reconfigure the space without major reconstruction
• There are two bedrooms downstairs and usually 4 people using the bathroom

With those problems in mind, this is what I'm thinking to make this bathroom functional and pretty:

Plan for Basement Bathroom by mjchirpich-1 featuring a nail care

In case this board isn't clear, here are the general plans:

• Rip out the tile, shower, vanity with mirror, and not-pictured shelving to the left of the shower
• Replace shower with tile and shower curtain
• Replace vanity with Ikea's Hemnes set (already bought the sink on super sale)
• Replace shelving with some sort of free-standing shelving/furniture piece, like Ikea's Fabrikor; add storage containers like these Container Store bins
• Replace gross green tile with wood-look ceramic tile that matches the laminate flooring in the rest of the basement
• Paint the walls a very light blue
• Add storage between the studs over the toilet; conceal the storage with frames on hinges like above
• Add the three Claire Elsaesser prints (already in our bathroom!) to the frames
• Add rustic nails below the window for hanging towels (already purchase!)
• Remove the hideous green blinds (like, seriously?! Who LIKES those things?!?!) and replace either with simple white or bamboo shades or frost the window
• Style the toilet with a plant, candle, and matches
• Tile the toilet/vanity wall on the lower half; add wood shelf across that whole wall on top of the tile below the mirror

The basic idea is to make the room feel as large as possible, with lots of storage (sneaky storage behind the framed stud dealios, normal storage in the vanity, open storage in the shelving). We want to design the shower so that when not in use, we can just pull the curtain to the side, make the room much larger. And a fresh paint job will do wonders, especially in a clean, light color like the light blue above.

Here's what it's going to take:

Purchase list for bathroom by mjchirpich-1 featuring a nail care

What are your thoughts? How do you make the most of a tiny bathroom on a budget?