Hello again! I know it’s been a while since I’ve shared anything here, and I have to admit it feels a little strange sitting down to write a blog post again. But I’ve missed sharing our home projects, and this little bathroom makeover seemed like the perfect place to start again.
I have a before photo somewhere, but I don’t feel like I need to bore you with it. This giant space had our side-by-side washer and dryer, a window, a dated vanity, and a full shower and tub, with a toilet facing away from the door. Ugh, the toilet facing away from the door was a weird one for me. What can I say? I like to see the door when I go potty.
I never realized how common laundry room/bathroom combos were until we moved to New England. I mean, I understand that sometimes you have to do what you have to do space-wise, but honestly, in this area of our home we have a ton of extra space. The original room had lots of floor space and an empty, unfinished area behind it. So I had dreams of a cute little half bath and a bigger, separate laundry room.
After removing the back side of the laundry room walls, we started framing up the new space. I actually considered saving the original hardwood floors, and we even sanded them a little, but they were just in too rough of shape. So tile became the new plan. Brian installed the floor tile, and while it’s not perfect, I’m happy enough with it. After that, the sheetrock went up, and since we already have wainscoting in our dining room and entryway, I thought it would be a cute addition in here too.
So what’s going to be on the other side of the wall? For a while, we had the same washer and dryer stacked there, but they’ve since been moved into the main future laundry room space. I plan to turn that extra area into a large storage closet, and I’m so excited about it. The laundry room is currently one of the last unfinished spaces in our house.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to turn an antique dresser into a bathroom vanity. It never worked in our other houses for one reason or another, but luckily Maine has an abundance of antique shops, and I found this one nearby. The finish was very reddish in color and starting to crack, so I refinished it in Minwax English Chestnut and added several coats of polyurethane to make it as water-resistant as possible.
It took a long time to find a sink that would fit the dresser top and still leave enough room for a faucet. I’m not a big fan of vessel sinks, but luckily I found this one at Wayfair and it worked perfectly. Having the sink hole cut was very stressful because there was absolutely no room for error, but thankfully it all worked out.
I was able to reuse the original hardware on the dresser and spray-painted it gold. Brian cut notches out of the first and second drawers so the insides are U-shaped to fit around the plumbing. I love having actual bathroom drawers—they hold so much stuff.
Anytime we have a home project, there is always a kitty by our side watching or “helping.” I absolutely love this wallpaper. I don’t even remember where I first discovered it, but it ended up inspiring the entire bathroom. I bought it, and then it sat in the house along with the unaltered antique dresser for six months!
It’s peel-and-stick wallpaper, and to me, peel-and-stick is trickier to install than regular pasted wallpaper. I feel like we always say bad words when we install wallpaper, but we say even more of them with peel-and-stick. You can’t slide it around, and somehow it always manages to stick to itself.
I painted the lower part of the walls Benjamin Moore October Mist, and it blends perfectly with the wallpaper. I got lucky on that one. I know my last kitchen blog post shows a white kitchen with open shelving, but it’s all October Mist now and those shelves are gone. I really need to update the kitchen on the blog!
And here is the grand bathroom reveal! I do wish I had painted the ceiling October Mist as well, and I still might one day soon. I found this little side table at a thrift store for $5 and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Early on, I knew I wanted a cute side table with a lamp, so we made sure to leave enough space for it when framing the walls and had an outlet installed in the perfect spot.
The little basket was another thrift-store find, and it’s the perfect size for holding toilet paper. The toilet is a newer design that goes straight down to the floor, which is supposed to make it easier to keep clean.
I love it when a space just starts coming together, and that’s exactly what happened with this bathroom. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t rushed, but suddenly I started finding all the finishing touches I needed to complete the space. The gold bee wall decoration was such a fun addition to the front of the door, and this mirror was an affordable find that worked perfectly.
The Mackenzie-Childs tissue holder was another piece that just seemed to fit. Visually, it works so well in here… and the flowers are from my garden!
I love the side table with the bee lamp on it and the soft, gentle glow it gives the bathroom. Most of the time, I just have the lamp on and leave the main lights off. The vintage bee book was another random thrift store find, and the flower-shaped table knob is from Etsy. We installed a brass double light above the mirror, but since it’s such a small bathroom, it’s hard to get a good photo of it.
I also found a slim-profile cabinet to hang above the toilet and painted it the same color as the table, Benjamin Moore Greenbriar Beige.
We’re currently rebuilding the hallway walls outside the bathroom, and hopefully we’ll be finishing our laundry room this winter. Right now, we’re wrapping up outdoor projects, and oh boy, have we made a lot of changes! I’ve just been so busy. We have four cats, I’ve started teaching Pilates classes, and life has been full—but more updates will be coming to the blog soon.
Thanks so much for reading about my charming little half bath. I love it so much! I’ll have all available shopping links listed below.
SHOP LINKS
Wallpaper – Toilet – Sink – Mirror – Faucet – Flower Furniture Knob – Tissue Holder – Towel Ring & Toilet Paper Holder – Rug – Liquid Soap Dispenser – Wall Cabinet – Brass Butterfly – Gold Hangable Bee – Vanity Light
THRIFTED– Antique Dresser – Side Table – Vintage Bee Book – Basket – Soap Dish
WALL COLOR– Benjamin Moore October Mist TABLE & CABINET– Benjamin Moore Greenbriar Beige STAIN COLOR – Minwax English Chestnut
Anthropologie Bee Lamp – Sold Out