I discovered something interesting about myself after we moved in our house. It happened when I became a little unmotivated to hang anything on the walls or really get to work on any decorating projects, which was very confusing because we had this beautiful new house and I had become “lazy” in my decorating efforts. In the past, this had been my most favorite thing to do and most always the first order of business when moving into a new place.
Here was my realization…all of the other apartments or houses I/we had lived were dated or in need of some love. That fact alone bothered me enough to get moving on making a not-so-desirable room, more appealing. In our last house, the kitchen was so ugly. Dark, dated, 80’s cabinets with brass pulls and ivy wallpaper just about sent me over the edge. I got to work on that kitchen the weekend after we moved in.
So, this is what happened to the powder room. It wasn’t bothering me enough to give me any motivation to work on it. It’s located right behind the kitchen. It’s fine by anyone’s standards, but it’s plain with no real elements of design. It’s got a builder-grade sink, toilet, mirror and light fixture = boring! This bathroom also gets a TON of use. After one of our recent get-together’s, I saw that there was a line forming in the kitchen for the bathroom. I knew then that it was time to give this room a little attention. Here are a couple of pics of the bathroom in it’s current state. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the worst pics ever!
Another reason that I became motivated to do something with this bathroom is that my sister gave me this pedestal sink! She was in the process of replacing the sink in her 1940’s bathroom and this one did not fit, so I became the lucky beneficiary! Yay!
This sink inspired me to start a collection of inspiration pictures on Pinterest. Here are a few so you can see where I’m going with my design inspiration.
Confession…if I could completely transform my bathroom into everything you see here, I would! It’s perfection. To start, I have the exact same sink, so I’m clearly on my way, right???
I really like the combination of white subway tile on the bottom with a dark wallpaper above. It’s also a nice mix of vintage and modern design.
Be still my heart. Love the wallpaper, love the mirror, love the lighting. Done.
Walls
At first, I was thinking some kind of paneling on the walls like shiplap or judges panel trim like this..
But, now I think I might be a little partial to subway tile with the darker grout. All of the inspiration pics I have above have subway tile. I’d love to here your opinions about this!
Now on to wallpaper. Although I do know how to tile (my one and only home improvement skill besides painting, lol) I do not know how to install wallpaper. I do have a ton of experience taking it down and during that process I vowed that I would never, ever under any circumstances put wallpaper in a house! Oops! I am loving the more updated wallpaper designs and I am willing to eat my words and give it a try. Here are a few samples that I’m thinking about.
I also love this Eventail Wallpaper from Anthropologie.
Lighting
This one’s a little trickier for me. I have a few things I’ve picked out, but I could go in so many different directions with lighting, and each one takes the room in a new direction. Milk glass lighting lends to a more vintage vibe, while matte black gives a more modern feel.
Vintage
Modern/Vintage
Brass
Mirrors
After looking through lots and lots of pictures, I know that I want a round mirror, hands-down. I especially like something with a small hook or hardware like this…
Or this..
Ok so, here we are. I have lots of inspiration, I just need to make some decisions on lighting and wallpaper. Please, please, please share your opinions! I’d love to hear from you.
Hopefully all of this research will help me to actually roll up my sleeves and get started on this project! Cross your fingers for me!
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