Hello Lovely Bathroom Refresh: DIY Herbarium

We all have a room at home that feels incomplete, and when you’re a slowwwww decorator like moi, well, the unfinished business can stretch long. Here’s a bathroom refresh where I shopped my house and yard. Yep. TOTALLY FREE feels liberating and gratifying! You’ve heard it a thousand times, but it’s true: infusing a room with a bit of earthy nature brings it to life.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Hello Lovely Bathroom Refresh: DIY Herbarium

Here’s an easy DIY herbarium I made and framed for our bath along with the story of the bath’s transformation (now that DIY wasn’t easy!) New here? I’m Michele, and I’m passionate about creativity. My husband and I are emptynesters and real life renovators in Chicagoland. We moved into a 1990s Georgian in 2022, reimagining our primary bathroom in 2023.

Onward with my first rendezvous with the beauty of preserved botanicals under glass!

Simple DIY Herbarium for a Bath Refresh

My video isn’t a step by step tutorial. I wanted you to see my gathered specimens up close and a glimpse of our property on the edge of a forest preserve.

I actually collected enough stems to create four framed pieces. Here’s one of them on a shelf in the bath:

After gathering an assorted lot of botanica growing wild out back, I pressed them.

No fancy flower press here. I sandwiched them in paper towels, weighted them down with heavy books, and allowed to dry for two weeks. Then I arranged them on beautiful handmade Lokta paper (made in Nepal) collected years ago.

Arranging them was fun!

I intended to handstitch them with linen thread to the paper to secure them for a unique look without glue. Then I quickly realized this was beyond my skill set (dried specimens are fragile!) and opted for a bit of craft glue.

The inner frame is a simple, inexpensive, white 12×16 Ribba from IKEA. I commissioned my husband to build a larger wood frame from salvaged maple flooring to surround the readymade frame. This was my first attempt at hacking an IKEA frame and won’t be my last!

I painted the maple frame Sherwin-Williams Eider White (satin).

Ready-made IKEA Ribba frames may be discontinued in this size…Find inexpensive white frames the same size from Amazon HERE.

As for the paper, check Etsy for beautiful examples or try your hand at making your own! While I have made handmade paper in the past, I now enjoy hunting for beautiful examples instead! Hahahaha. BONUS TIP: Choose a handmade paper for your base that has plenty of natural specks in it. This gives the composition a cohesive look and adds texture to the piece.

Psst. Humidity is obviously not great for art with real botanicals. One option is to take a photo of your herbarium to create a print to frame for a humid area like the bath. However, since I didn’t spend hundreds of dollars, I’m okay with assuming the risk.

Resources for Botanical Art

If you have shopped for vintage herbarium studies or even botanical prints, then you know how expensive they are. Here are examples to get the look:

Hello Lovely’s DIY Bath: Before & After

Our primary bath has come a long way. And yes, we added this very old arched window in the shower in order to both bring in light from the window and for timeless architectural interest.

There’s a wonderful view of our backyard and the forest preserve we border from the windows.

Very serene, tranquil, and light in here. Walls are painted Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray. But where did it begin?

Who doesn’t love a sweet transformation?

From dated and dark brown tile and granite to demo…

of the floor tile then the wall tiles.

Not terribly fun for these intermediate DIY renovators (in case you were thinking it sounds exciting to toss a Jacuzzi from a third story window or release pent up aggressions with a sledge and attitude).

But eventually things truly can come back together.

and finally something a bit coastal and classic.

Vintage clawfoot tubs are my favorite for bubble baths. Cast iron means the water stays warm a long time. Psst…the other day, I mentioned this muslin robe (Loom.ist) from AwareHouseShop, and it’s yummy.

I didn’t love the idea of downward vanity lights since that type of light is less flattering than sconces on either side of the mirror to light the face. There wasn’t enough space to fit sconces without a whole lot more fuss. However, our medicine cabinets have built-in lighting all the way around the mirrors so it all worked out.

And I love that I designed the new shower to accommodate the existing custom glass shower door since that can be a big ticket item. Score!

More Details from Our Bathroom DIY Renovation

Where there was once a glass half wall at the end of the shower…

there is now a tiled wall with the aforementioned window. I just love this custom look that won’t likely look out of place 10 years from now.

It’s as if we went from the 1990s to the 1920s.

We designed the custom shower in the same footprint as the original…mainly since we decided not to modify the ceiling soffit (potential surprises and headache!).

New bathmats and towels were in order with all of the new, and I’m so crazy about options from Cozy Earth.

It was a challenge to find the most basic, quality, cushiony bath mat until I landed on this one from Cozy Earth:

Definitely check them out if you aren’t familiar with the brand.

Here’s a glimpse of the bath from just outside the pocket door, and it truly is a dramatic change in spite of the fact that we left light fixtures in their original places. We did have to modify the plumbing a bit to line up properly with the vanities and tub.

So happy to be living with carrera marble again after so long with dark counters that felt dirty.

Here’s a before shot where you can see the soffit over the tub area. It’s not my favorite, but it’s one of those compromises you make with so many changes to make.

And I love how the polished nickel faucets are similar to the Perrin & Rowe kitchen faucet we chose for the farm sink but way less expensive. You can see detail of it here:

Before & After Botanical Art Decor

Here’s where that ledge began…

And now it is a more charming view. It’s still not done. This area needs more texture…maybe shiplap, tile, or applied trim next.

But much better!

Need a quick refresh idea? Bath linens!

Thanks so much for visiting! Find more savvy ideas from Cindy Hattersley, Mary Ann (Classic Casual Home), and Annie (Most Lovely Things) for inspiring bath goodness.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

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