The long awaited Bathroom Reno is finally done!  Why are bathroom Reno’s always long awaited anyhow?  Our 1980’s small builder bathroom has had a couple of upgrades over the years but it has never been completely to my taste, although I’m pretty good at making something out of nothing. 

I started by peeling the awful wallpaper that was so cool in the 90’s, and let me tell you it was a beast!  It took me almost 3 weeks to get it down, working in small bits of time.  It just wouldn’t come off.  Using a paper tiger and wallpaper stripper it still would only come off inch by inch.  Then patching the walls and scrubbing the glue off took forever.  This job was not for the faint of heart.

And then of course there was the big hole that appeared from where the antique towel bar had to be supported by mollies.  That was fun to patch!

Things I knew when I started this project.

1. Encaustic Tile for the floor.

2. A wood vanity with dovetailed drawers that was comfort height.

3. Marble countertop.

4. New elongated tall toilet.

5.  Shower tile to the ceiling with a niche’ for shampoo and soap.

6. New shower head and faucet positioned at 81″ so I would no longer have to duck under    the shower head.

7. Architecture (panel molding)

After that was all done I went shopping.  Shopping on-line just doesn’t work for me. When it really matters I need to touch and feel.  I wanted the floor to make a statement but Encaustic Tile was just more than I wanted to spend. I went to see my flooring specialist who knows my taste which is “the cruddier and older looking the better I like it kind of taste”.  He was able to show me a porcelain tile that looks like Encaustic in just a few minutes.  

The Floor tile is on the right the small tile next to the paint deck is the tub surround.  I wanted the tub surround to be neutral and not make too big of a statement because this bathroom is so small.  

After weeks of searching for the vanity I finally decided on one from Wayfair (not a sponsored post).   Everything I was finding at the big box stores was made of chipboard which was shocking to me.  I then went and priced a custom vanity at a cabinet source of mine. I wanted something that was furniture grade with dovetailed drawers and solid wood construction.  When I compared pricing I found the one I had been looking at, at Wayfair was the better buy.  I had ordered it in black, but when I received it, it was white.  After a phone call we came to terms and I decided to keep the white because I didn’t want the hassle of sending it back and I knew I could paint it if it absolutely didn’t work.  I felt that they were fare to work with.  I know, the window is on the hit list.  Yikes!

We decided to leave the demo and tiling to the professionals, as well as the plumbing. That left the architectural stuff to us.  In planning out the panel mold I started on the toilet/vanity wall.  Framing in the wall space above those two fixtures was key.  I also knew I wanted to reuse my wall shelf over the toilet so that had to be taken into consideration.  I used Frog Tape to plan out all the “Panels”.  This allowed me to get a visual. 

For the most part I was able to cut the vertical pieces of molding on the miter saw in an assembly line fashion but the horizontal “sticks” had to be cut according to the width of the individual panel.  All the trim molding came from our local custom trim shop.  I highly recommend seeking out a company like this because you can get moldings that you won’t find at a big box store and the cost is not that much more.  After attaching the molding with the brad nailer to the drywall I caulked and filled, I primed everything then I painted the whole thing including the walls with a Satin Finish latex paint.  I wanted the drywall to look like wood panels.

I decided early on to let this bathroom evolve. Although I had a very good vision in my head.  I didn’t want to over plan the furnishings.  The vanity is pretty contemporary as are the faucets which was a conscious decision but that’s not where I am as far as design, so I had to try to figure out a way to marry the two.  In the end I just decided to respectfully ignore the vanity and faucets and work with the things I love.  I replaced the square chrome knobs with unlacquered brass and started layering in the furnishings.

Shopping my home, I went in search of a platter for one of the architectural panels and came across the black and white Korean Transferware pattern that my mom collected. I had totally forgotten that I had it.  This isn’t one of my favorite patterns but when placed on this paint color, it started to play the music and the bathroom started to take shape.

 I brought up more Transferware pieces plus the Welcome/3417 sign that hung in my parents front yard, and a couple of other items and this bathroom is a knock out.  

The only accessories I purchased for this room are the two white wall brackets from a local shop, the two Audubon prints from Amazon.  I also scored these white Calvin Klein towels at Costco.  After getting the bathroom done I realized I didn’t have a place for towels to hang.  The two panels were too narrow for traditional towel bars.  I found these iron handles at a local shop and they were perfect for hand towels.

This crazy table I picked up at an antique shop in Columbus, NE for $22.00.  It is the surprise behind the door!

The toile drapes I had hanging in my bedroom are now the shower curtain in the bath and I’m thrilled with the way it turned out.  There is a lot of my parents in this bathroom and I know they would have loved it too, and approved of it being way over the top.

So what do you think?  Way over the top?  Lovely? Or as my mom would say “Just the right amount of too much”!