We'll be the first to admit: the bathroom was the last room on our minds. Not because it's not important; trust us, it's vitally important. Especially when you're living on the road full-time for the year. But it was also the toughest to transform. We didn't want to mess with a working toilet. We didn't want to take down the formica walls. We didn't want to mess with an already very functioning layout. So we opted instead for easy upgrades that would bring organization to the space and a little personality.

Organization & Storage

These two BYGEL rails are above the toilet.

We didn't have a ton of storage space in the bathroom, but when we did finally add it in, it made all the difference. Above the toilet there was a bunch of empty and seemingly "unusable" space. We added two BYGEL rails from Ikea and various storage cups and baskets. We use this space to store toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, toothpaste -- you name it, we probably store it there. Great news: this system stays put, too. We haven't lost any toiletries or baskets to bumps in the road. A huge plus for full-time RVers.

Inside the medicine cabinet, I purchased some organizational cubbies for makeup, toiletries, etc. My mom gave me a nice little travel curio for my jewelry for Christmas, too. It's tiny, but perfect! I didn't bring much jewelry along, anyway. Underneath the sink we store extra towels and medicine / first aid supplies. We also keep my hair styling tools and Carson's electric trimmer there, too. And the final touch: a couple of sturdy bathroom towel hooks on the back of the bathroom door -- one for each of us.

Clearly this is MEL'S medicine cabinet. Carson's stuff = nowhere to be found...

Cosmetic Upgrades

We of course painted the bathroom white to match the rest of the trailer. Where we had a little trouble seeing eye to eye is the bathroom walls. They were originally a sort of dated, yet charming white with gold flecks. We both kind of liked it, and yet both kind of agreed it dated the space. We compromised and I eventually painted two walls and part of the ceiling with Rustoleum Tub & Tile paint (see previous DIY post for the full details).

We left the original stainless steel sink (we actually really liked it; wished the kitchen sink was stainless, too!), but got new handles. Ours is a cheap set for "mobile homes" from Menards, but we like it! We also carried through elements from the kitchen into the bathroom: same featherweight concrete countertops and wooden backsplash. Finally, we added a decorative porthole mirror from Target to the medicine cabinet

NEW PURCHASES

Our new Oxygenics shower head -- see that "stop" button?!

We didn't overhaul much in the bathroom, but we did purchase a new shower head and matching handles. The old ones were just that: old. Plus there's something kind of gross about showering with someone's near 50 year-old shower head? We decided to go for a new model, and we're super glad we did. Showering in Elsie is actually one of the great surprises on the trip (in a good way!) and that's thanks to our Oxygenics Shower Head. We have great water pressure and flow, and the shower head has a "stop" button to pause flow of water without turning the shower off. This is a important because we have to empty our 18-gallon external holding tank when we don't have a sewer hookup, which is 90% of the time. So saving water means saving stops to the dump station. The new handles we got match the shower head and they are super lightweight, too.

So there you have it: Elsie's bathroom. Proof that the little updates and projects all add up. What do you think? What have you done to your small space bathroom that works?

Carson, just hanging out in front of the bathroom. Plus it's a good shot of our towel hooks on the door. Also c/o Ikea.