For the past few weeks we've been working on our first room makeover in our new house; the powder room. I'm so excited to show you some before and after photos of this space. When we moved into this ol' home of ours two months ago it looked like this.
Some of you may recall from the house tour ( and yes, I know I still owe you part 2!) that this powder room sits right off our kitchen. I mean RIGHT off our kitchen. Of course, it wouldn't be my preference to have a toilet just a few steps from where I cook, but from my understanding this use to be the pantry and was really the only place they could squeeze a bathroom into.
As with most of the rooms in this house, it felt dull and outdated (and I mean in a 90's kind of way not in a 108 year old historical way). Over the past few weeks, we freshened and brightened it up. Added some more charm and personality to it, while still making it fit in with our old house style. It's the main bathroom that guests will use (Remember what it was like to have a house full of guests? Yeah, me neither. Darn pandemic!) and one of the first rooms you see when you enter through our back porch. I'm so happy with how it came out that I don't even close the door on it anymore. Here's what it looks like now!
As you can see, we worked with a lot of things we already had, like that gorgeous antique mirror and pedastal sink.
One of the first things we did was to remove the hand-painted leaf trim that bordered the entire room. My hubby REALLY had a major distaste for it and the funny thing is we discovered a whole bunch of extra pieces of it stored away in the basement. So if this home decor trend ever makes it full circle, we'll be set!😂
To up the charm factor and as a nod to what millwork was popular in the early 1900's, I had my heart set on adding beadboard to this room. After coming across this gorgeous green-grey(ish) wainscoting in Studio McGee's guest room, I knew this was the route I was going to take. Actually, their bathroom was pretty much the entire inspiration for our powder room.
Paint color is Pigeon by Farrow & Ball that I had color matched at Sherwin Williams and I can't even put into words how GORGEOUS this shade is!! I'm so obsessed I could talk about it all day! 🤣 It's a little bit of a softer color in person than how it's showing in my pictures. The top of the wall is my go-to paint color, White Dove by Benjamin Moore. I never tire of it.
The window and door trim I ended up also painting in White Dove but in a semi-gloss finish. I did play around with the idea of painting the trim the same color as the beadboard, but in the end I really liked how the uniform color brought in a clean, fresh look to the room.
We didn't intend on changing out the high-back toilet but a leaky pipe led us down that path. I do like that the modern toilet takes up less real-estate. I switched out the brass toilet paper stand for one we had in our upstairs bathroom.
The old faucet was obnoxious and sprayed everywhere. Sticking with the vintage theme, we replaced it with this polished chrome faucet.
SOURCES ARE LISTED BELOW
I wish I could capture a better view of how nicely this botanical art work compliments the beadboard color, but you have to be a bit of a contortionist to photograph this small room😅 I picked it up last month at an antique warehouse sale and originally had plans to hang it in the sitting room, but once I started painting I knew this is where it was meant to be. I'm so in love with the scalloped picture mat in this!
Here's a view from the other side of the room. Originally, there was a brass towel ring hanging super,super low on that narrow door wall. Like at the height of a leprechaun. It was weird. We replaced it with a chrome ring and raised it to normal height.
I'm still debating on if I should put the brass sconces back up on the side of the mirror. I do like them but I'm really aiming for simplicity in here. Plus, without the candlesticks in here, it's one less thing to dust! What do you guys think? Leave it as is or add the sconces back?
The old stool we picked up at a pop-up barn sale one day while walking around down town. It's the perfect height to help my little wash her hands (or just to obnoxiously play in the sink!)
As you can see, we also kept the lighting in here. I'm not a fan of all the fixtures in this home, but this one passes the test for me. The ceiling was done by the previous owners and I love the subtle texture it brings to the room.
Let's take another look at a before and after, shall we?
It's so nice to have a space in here that feels more like our style, even if it's only the bathroom!
I have to say it's fun but also challenging trying to add our own touch while attempting to respect the history of this ol' lady. I don't want to goof it up, so I hope I have done her justice with our first room makeover!
Sources Below
Paint Colors:
Beadboard - Pigeon by Farrow & Ball
Upper Wall - White Dove by Benjamin Moore
Waste Basket
Hand Towel
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