the fourth of july weekend gave me a three-day weekend, and a TON of ambition to work on house projects. i had a list that was about a mile long (oh, mr. re-nest was so happy about that!), but there was one space that had been calling out for a decor renewal….my boys’ bathroom (which also functions as our guest bathroom when we have special visitors!)

now, the bathroom didn’t look terrible. it’s painted. it had a really nice shower curtain from west elm. it even has a bath mat + a bath spout cover in the shape of an elephant. and, it had a really awesome shadow box on the wall that i had made with river rocks back well before little mr. re-nest #1 was born. but it was kind of just thrown together. i knew it had more potential.

i do love the color scheme going on in there….white + navy + a teal-ish/seafoam green. i just wanted to bring that more together, while making it feel like a guest bath but also functioning as a boys’ bathroom too. i decided the theme i wanted to weave in was a nautical one…i’m totally crushing on all things nautical.

there was no way i was passing up this piece of perfection!

i started down the decor path several weeks ago on a normal trip to tjmaxx. i was doing my usual browse through the aisles (i never leave there without checking out the home decor), and i came across this totally awesome, totally cute wall hanging that i knew i could use in the bathroom. a cynthia rowley navy blue nautical rope wall hanging that spells out “splash.” i snatched it. then, my next find came a couple of weeks later as i was browsing through my instagram feed.

i happened across a post by an adorable shop i follow called hello sunshine home decor, out of jacksonville, florida. tammy makes some adorable wall art, and that day, she was featuring and selling a piece of string art she created. which just so happened to feature a whale. (could it be more perfect?!?) it was perfection. i knew i had to have it for the bathroom. i snatched it up.

then, i had to change out that shadow box with the river rocks. i got my little hands on it, and started pulling out the rocks (which left mounds of dried hot glue stuck to the fabric background). hot glue was not comin’ off, so i decided to improvise. i set up a design in silhouette studio with just anchors (surprise!) and put together a pretty easy little print that fit perfectly in the 12″ x 12″ shadow box (covering those horribly awful clumps of hot glue!)

then in perfect “me” fashion, i realized i had to have something to hang over the toilet….there was just a blank wall. a. blank. wall. so i started getting a little creative….enter an extra white wood frame, a roll of spare cork + my new adhesive vinyl, which i used to whip up this super easy, super cute frame with a very necessary set of rules for boys!

okay, now my final touch, i have to totally give props to both my sister + sherry from young house love for the inspiration. it’s simple really. if you’re looking to change something up in your home from a decor standpoint, the best, first place to start is to shop your own home. walk around. put a new set of glasses on + see each room differently. look at that vase, that rug, that candle, and consider what it would look like in a totally different room in your house. the moral: you don’t necessarily have to run to home goods or tjmaxx or target (or online) when you’re itching to change up a room. and did i get schooled on this idea….i had a lovely 3′ x 5′ pottery barn kids rug from little mr. re-nest #1’s nursery that was just rolled up in our spare bedroom. i had intentions of trying to sell it on varage sale. but i just couldn’t bring myself to do it. maybe it was nostalgia with a twist of hoarding, but it has been non-functional for over two years now. until this weekend.

i was walking through the bathroom, after hanging up my adorable new whale string art, and the color of that adorable little whale struck me. and then i remembered that rug. and then i unearthed it from it’s plastic bag, and wouldn’t you know it…it fits perfectly in the bathroom. no joke! something i was going to part with now has a new, lovely place in our nest!

the most glorious find from this refresh! never underestimate what you already have around the house!

okay, so the title of this is “on a budget” so i’m guessing you’re wondering just how much this stuff cost….well, i can honestly say that this little refresh (which has totally refreshed my whole perspective on this bathroom) was done for under $100. in fact, i’d say it was safely done for under $75. and, that includes the new light fixture glass globes i scored at lowes. on clearance. (shazamm!) 

so….what do you think? i am kind of embarrassed to say that i feel like my life is a little more complete now that i like this bathroom…and i’ve warned mr. re-nest that the master bath is next!