And we are back! It’s been a little over three months since we broke out our tiny, builder-grade primary bathroom and our daughter’s bathroom for a much-needed update. Finally I’m so happy to report that the bathrooms are complete!
Last time you heard from me, we just did the demo, and I shared my rough design plans for both locations. Something I failed to mention in my previous post – I’m an interior design school dropout. I was so Close to Savannah College of Art and Design. Loved the city, loved the school, but as a small-town girl from Oregon, it was too far from home for me. I settled at Oregon State University. However, by my second term and starting the Kitchen and Bathroom Planning course, I hated it. Really-too many numbers for me! AutoCAD-woof! Barely getting through there, I ended up in the photography department, and the rest is history. It’s quite funny and full circle that after working as a wedding photographer for 11 years I now photograph interiors. All this to say, I mostly just enjoy design—becoming a designer is not my goal. But, it was definitely fun to play it in my own home for a few months! (I still hate numbers. Thanks, Emily and Gretchen, for all your math during this process, especially with tile order!)
Back to this.. As a refresher, this is where we started.
The bathroom was boring, dark, dull and very sad.
Medicine cabinet , Pride , tile , checkered towels , striped towels
And here is the mood board we created for the space.
I photographed The Carly in the spring and enjoyed attending the EHD team’s retreat there. I’m so inspired by all its design choices max humfrey And Curtis, the owner, did it throughout the property — especially in the bathrooms. Each had its own personality with paneling and beautiful tile.
While our home’s style (and budget!) is definitely different from The Carly’s, it was fun to bring that inspiration into our bathroom with the paneling and bold tile choices. Plus, ever since we paneled our basement, I’ve become obsessed with the look – now I want to either panel or wallpaper every room in the house. It adds much more warmth and texture than painted drywall.
For our basement, we used Metre’s individual planks, but this time, since space was at a premium and every inch counted, we went with panel sheets instead. This was a very cost-effective way to achieve the look we wanted. In total, we were able to panel both our bathroom and the girls’ bathroom with about $750 of materials.
demo
As I mentioned in my previous post, we didn’t have the budget or honestly the space to expand the overall footprint of the bathroom. we but Were Able to enlarge the shower area, which felt like a huge win. There were a lot of exciting moments throughout the rebuild, but seeing that header come down and the wall open up was easily one of my favorites. The shower is now almost double the size, and it completely changes how open and spacious the entire room feels.
tile and grout
Once the demo and rough plumbing was completed and the paneling was ready, it was time to install the tile. Fireclay was incredibly kind to gift us most beautiful blue square tileThis is exactly what I was looking for. We went with 2×2 tile on the floor and 4×4 tile on the shower walls. I was leaning toward a warm, neutral gray grout that would complement the paint color we chose, but after an afternoon bringing the grout deck to the River House and getting Emily and Gretchen’s input, we ultimately chose Alabaster. I had a lot of creative freedom on this project, but I’m very grateful for M’s perspective on it – once the white grout went in, the tiles popped out perfectly in a way I didn’t expect. Yes, it’s white grout, and yes, as a clean thing, I’m nervous about keeping it pristine. But honestly, it’s not about how much I like this look. I just have to be diligent about cleaning the grout and never wear shoes in the bathroom.
Okay, okay, enough blabbering. I guess it’s time for the final reveal!
exposure!
wall color , tile , shower fixtures Shower Doors | striped towel , Toilet , Pride , basket , white towels
art (old) | frames , planter , shower fixtures
tile , bath mat , basket , white towels
Medicine Cabinet and Vanity
i absolutely love this prideI was very impressed when it arrived, and we opened it up- the quality is incredible and honestly feels custom. I’m not usually attracted to black countertops, but when I saw this one on AllModern, I knew it would be perfect for our space. The veining adds just the right amount of personality and gives it a luxurious, designer feel. I wasn’t specifically looking for a double-sink vanity — especially since our space is small and I didn’t want to lose valuable counter space — but I was pleasantly surprised by how spacious it still felt, and how much I enjoy having my own little area.
Tap , striped hand towel Toothbrush Holder (Unavailable)
One of the few things I really liked about our bathroom First The renovation was medicine cabinet storage – I knew I didn’t want to lose that. when we found this cabinetIt seemed like a perfect match for the new vanity. They’re not from the same line at AllModern, but the white oak finish is an identical match, making them look completely cohesive.
vanity light , Medicine cabinet , Pride , Tap
Technically, the cabinet is designed to be wall mounted, but due to our layout and the overhead lighting we chose, our contractor recessed it into the wall a bit. I like the light black trim around the edge and the little wood shelf below.
skylight
As you know, M is a big girlie—and so are we. We already have a large one in our kitchen and another one at the top of our stairs, and we’re very grateful that the previous owners installed them. When we started the remodel, skylights weren’t at the top of the list, but we were definitely looking forward to adding them to the bathroom, knowing they’d make a big impact — especially in the girls’ bathroom, which we’ll reveal next week. The installation took a bit of a toll due to installer availability – as you can imagine, summer in Oregon is a busy time for skylights. By the time they went inside, the bathroom was almost complete. Since we didn’t want to make any major structural changes, we opted for a small skylight above the vanity area. even with the bus a small skylight And in our current window, the difference was dramatic. Thank you very much to Velux!
light fixture
If you remember from my moodboard, I originally planned to place two lights next to the medicine cabinet. However, once all the final measurements were taken (again, I’m not really a numbers person – oops!), it became clear that the side-mounted lights were not going to fit. So, we opted for a fixture above the mirror, and I couldn’t be happier with both its looks and the light it produces. On that note, I’m a big believer that every light switch should be on a dimmer – even in the bathroom. So yes, it’s dimmable, and I absolutely love it. Especially during these dark winter mornings when waking up feels so difficult.
Worth noting because I know this was a hot topic in the River House game room comments last week, I photoshopped in the outlet behind our vanity. I promise, I have no intention of betraying anyone! We didn’t really think much about ordering beautiful outlets until it was too late. The plates we installed are quite large and white and don’t really match with the overall ambiance of the space. We didn’t realize this until things were finished – again, this is my first time designing a bathroom, so there were definitely some misses. Lastly, in the pictures, they were in some vanity style which caught your attention a lot. Ideally, we should have placed an outlet on the wall to the right of the sink, but due to the new pocket door placement, this was not possible. All this to say, sorry if it’s disappointing not to see them, they weren’t very pretty!
Here’s the view from our bedroom to the bathroom. We definitely wanted the bathroom to feel like one kelly ventura wallpaper We chose for our bedroom.
Here are some very exciting before and after facts:
And that’s a wrap on our now builder-grade primary bathroom! thank you very much to most modern For beautiful bathroom fixtures that really bring everything together. And thanks so much to Emily, too – for your guidance, and for allowing me to take the reins. And thanks to the hard work of Ken (M’s brother), Nick and Ben Ahead,
Come back next week for a fun little reveal from my daughter’s bathroom!
*By Design and Photo Caitlin Green
