one room challenge - the bathroom reveal

The moment of truth has arrived! After six weeks (catch weeks 1 - 5 here) of hard work, several changes and more than a few cocktails, I'm proud to report that I have one completed bathroom ready to reveal.

I'm one to rip open my presents, I've never been able to gently unwrap anything, so I won't waste time with a lot of chit chat - let's get to the good stuff.

As a reminder, the plan was to make over my sister's guest bathroom. A room that had begun the construction process long ago but then stalled and became a dumping ground for other projects. Our inspiration for the space was simple and classic. Blue and White with some gray thrown in for good measure.

Here is the painful reminder of where we began. So grateful to not look at this picture any longer. Instead, let's look at...

the after. MUCH better. Let's be honest, there was nowhere to go but up with that before situation. Simply removing the multiple vacuums (why are there so many vacuums Rachel?) was a good start but my multi-talented uncle Rodger was willing to go a few steps further with me and we demoed the whole thing. And when I say "we" I mean he did it and then would call me and give me updates.

That horrible faux marble tub was removed and a new soaker tub was installed. And since the tub is just a hair shorter than the room (poor planning condo people) we moved the extra 'space' to the other end of the tub.

This gives room for shampoos and other goodies for all of your bathing needs.

The sink wall had a light/builtin medicine cabinet combo that we promptly ripped out. That horrible lighting was not doing anyone any favors.

Since this is a guest bathroom, storage isn't as important so a medicine cabinet was nixed for a fab oval mirror and pedestal sink. The oval mirror is the perfect height to accentuate the height of the room and breaks up all of the squares and rectangles that surround it. This room is NOT big, so it is wise to reinforce the positive, the vaulted ceiling, rather than wallow on the negative. And although our original sink choice didn't work out, I think this one works perfectly and offers a lot of counter space for a pedestal.

One of my favorite details is that the gooseneck in the sconce that we found at my dream estate sale repeats in the gooseneck of the sink faucet. Its all about the details, especially in a small space.

Sherwin Williams was generous enough to provide paint for the room and I am loving the color we choose for the bathroom, Passive. This color rivals the very popular Gray Owl (BM), which I've also used, but Passive is a bit crisper to me and looks excellent with blue.

The floor is also a massive improvement, especially considering we didn't have one before.

Another favorite trick of mine for small bathrooms - since you don't have much square footage to cover, go for nicer flooring. This marble basket weave is certainly more expensive but since we have so (very) little floor to cover, the price was small. Oh, and it looks damn good.

Another place to get a bit creative was with the lighting. Every bathroom needs good lighting, so why not have some fun with it?! Bathroom lighting is such a big yawn that I like to choose things that weren't necessarily intended for bathroom use (but can hold up to bathroom elements - wait, that sounds gross.) The lantern we hung was found at my favorite antique store and was dirt cheap...because it wasn't electrified. It was an easy fix to take it to a local lighting store who not only electrified it for us but also painted the new parts to give them the same patina to match the lantern.

It looks great during the day.

And smashing at night.

I also decided the hall'ish area outside of the bathroom needed to be spruced as well. My sister picked yellow originally, and then apparently thought better of it, as she never finished painting. 

Sherwin Williams Loyal Blue, went in the hallway and we were able to hang that wonderful pagoda shelf I found. That wonderful pagoda shelf that I bought when I was foolish enough to imagine it would fit in the bathroom. Silly girl. But the size is just right for the hall.

The needlepoint is from Furbish and is perfect for a long running inside joke my sister and I have. It makes me laugh out loud each and every time I see it.

We had a bit of extra fabric leftover from the shower curtain so I recovered some old stools to sit underneath the shelf. Trimmed out in hot pink. Of course.

So that my friends is my sister's new and improved bathroom! And I for one am spent!

A huge thank you to Linda for inviting me to play along on this crazy challenge. As always, I had a great time my dear. Thank you to Sherwin Williams for providing paint for this project. Thanks to my Uncle Rodger for going above and beyond, and to George for your excellent tile work. If you are in the St. Louis area, I'll be happy to share their information. Thanks to my sister and my mom who not only let me take charge (per usual), but also pitched in to help in a million different ways. And my biggest thanks to all of YOU for following along (and thank you to Carrie for not running in fear when I met you at the height of my ORC sweaty stress).

Now carve out some quality time to feast your eyes on the best eye candy on the internet today and check out each and every one of the amazing participants. I was lucky to be in their company.

Abby M. Interiors 

Because it’s Awesome 

Bijou & Boheme 

Calling It Home 

Chez V 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Copy Cat Chic 

The Decorista 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room

The Glam Pad 

Mimosa Lane 

My Notting Hill 

The Pink Pagoda 

Simple Details 

My Sweet Savannah 

Verandah House

Have a space that you would like to change? Contact me and lets create together!