Amber Bottle House: What Half-Baths Are Meant For...

...Besides the obvious of course.

They are perfect for trying out new or bolder decorating ideas: they're generally pretty small, so a more saturated color can be used without giving the color-phobic, beige-lover a scare. They're also small enough that it's easy to change the look frequently.

I tend to hover in the grays, blues, and beiges, so when we moved in, I wanted to challenge my comfort zone by painting the half-bath something different: Benjamin Moore "Hawthorne Yellow." Ok, so the color may not seem that different to you, but it was a big step for me.

We changed out the light fixture and painted the room the creamy yellow right away (day 2 in The Amber Bottle House, I believe).

I'm a big fan of the antique-style vanity, which was fortunately already in place when we moved in.

I found hand towels at TJ Maxx that were the right yellow with a gray background. Since towels are small and easy to change, I chose something trendier than I normally would.

My mom sewed a valance with yellow seersucker we found at Hamrick's.

I searched and searched for something less trendy to hang above the toilet. Finally I found this at Kirkland's for around $12:

And I was happy with the look... for a month or two. Then I got antsy.

I found these two canvas prints at my usual antique store:

Are they antique? No. Did they say "Made in China" on the back? Maybe. Do I care? No.

I bought them for the living room because I thought the shades of blue would work well in the living room, but I realized the touches of yellow would look nice in the yellow bathroom.