Last week, I shared the before pics of our house. Arguably the most dated room was the tiny powder bath - Between the brown golfer wallpaper, the wood toiled seat, and the ancient utilitarian sink, I knew I had my work cut out for me.
This teeny tiny bathroom is attached to our utility room, which is just off the kitchen. Mark tried to convince me to rip out the bathroom and enlarge the utility room, but I knew I wanted keep it. Not only does an additional 1/2 bath provide us with a bit of resale value, but I also know that the kitchen is the heart of the home. True story, when we have friends over to our house now, the majority of them end up in the kitchen. Having this little bathroom is super convenient, not only for guests, but for us as well when we are cooking, etc. So I won, and it stayed.
You can barely see, but the entire utility room and bath had the same standard 12x12 ceramic tile that had been used in the kitchen. Yuck yuck yuck! I will do a post on our kitchen later, but for the sake of this makeover story, I will say that we ripped that all out and went with a beautiful hardwood with a custom gray stain. Again, Bryan helped us with this project, and we saw several samples before choosing "the one". We decided to carry the hardwood into the laundry and the teeny bath (continuity makes a space appear larger), which went a long way in terms of sprucing up the space. Next, we had the vanity cabinet painted a glossy black and added brass hardware (same hardware as in our kitchen). Finally, we replaced the nasty wood toilet - out with the old!
By this point we lacked the energy to complete the transformation - the kitchen and living spaces made up the bulk of our "phase 1" project. We lived with the bath in a state of limbo for about 1 year. We had other things to focus on, like this small thing called OUR WEDDING! When we arrived home from our honeymoon, I was newly refreshed and inspired to dive back into this tiny space. I was also suffering from a little bit of post-wedding-boredom. Full disclosure: I got so sick of looking at the linoleum counter top, I attempted to rip it out myself... only to come to a screeching halt when I realized I had no idea what I was doing! A quick call to Bryan later, we were on our way again.
(I didn't get very far on my own, trust me.)
One of my favorite ways to save a bit on countertops is to visit the remnant section of your local slab yard where you can choose beautiful pieces at discounted prices, provided that they fit within your size constraints. We chose a white Carrara marble and had it cut to fit my favorite sink ever. Cool story here - the store I work for, 30A Home, is currently in the midst of a massive remodel - we are taking over an entire corner property in Oklahoma City that was once a legal office. The former owner apparently had quite thing for wet bars and included one in several offices in the building. I ended up rescuing two of these brass sinks from certain death-by-dumpster.
(before)
(after a little Brasso + Elbow Grease)
I polished my new treasure up with some brasso and had Bryan undermount it. We selected this hardware for the simple fact that it felt petite and perfectly in scale with the small little sink.
Finally, I replaced the dated sconce with Aerin's Lynn Wall Light in antique brass and had it mounted on top of the mirror. This light initially got a "Gross! Flowers?" reaction from the man in my house, but I ordered it anyway, and he actually liked it much better in person - better to ask for forgiveness than permission! It looks perfect, and I love how the little glass flowers reflect in the mirror behind it and throw sparkle all around the room.
Xx
Ivy
SOURCES:
Grasscloth: Schumacher, Haruki Sisal in Lavender
Sink Hardware: Kingston Brass
Sink: vintage, similar here
Cabinet hardware: Rejuvenation
Hand towel: Etsy
Tissue holder: Bebe's, Oklahoma City
Framed charcoal sketch: vintage, similar here
Watercolor: Picked up in the Loire Valley on our honeymoon from a charming French gentleman
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