Welcome to our modern, eclectic, powder bath! First and foremost I have to put in the disclaimer that this was actually almost all Joe’s idea and vision. I feel like I was more there for moral support than anything! Obviously, I didn’t hold back on my two cents and he let me finish the styling of it, but really, he knew what he wanted and went for it! I’ll walk you through everything but I just had to make that known because I really am so proud. I think for each reveal I’ll be highlighting the home reno tip we learned from doing that specific space. Whether it’s with the original planning, the demo, the reno, the decor, whatever, there’s always a lesson to be learned.
The Before
As most of you know, our house was a complete gut so when I show a before picture it’s just giving you an idea of where in the house we’re talking. Towards the back of the house were the old kitchen and a hallway leading to the basement. We moved the kitchen with the redesign of the layout and now our laundry is to the left, and the bathroom went in down the hall to the right. Shown below!
Because of how everything was laid out prior and how everything was getting reconstructed and rebuilt it ended up being a fairly wide bathroom, which was kind of nice. It did take away a foot or so from the kitchen but we aren’t noticing or missing that foot now. Instead, I had more room to decorate (enter tall palm leaves) which was a-okay with me!
The Vision
The tile we knew we wanted from the beginning kind of set the thing in motion. The basis of a modern eclectic powder bath. We found a lot of inspirational pictures on Houzz that made us want to go with the black and white “floral” style tile. Yes, it was (still somewhat is) super trendy in the “modern farmhouse” style bathroom/home. Obviously that wasn’t really Joe’s vibe or the direction our house was going in. He really pushed for a modern direction and I was all for it, but somewhere along the way it somehow became “his” room…
We knew at least one of the bathrooms had to have brass fixtures. So, when he found the pedestal, standalone basin sink that was it, everything just seemed to flow. Naturally, you pick brass accents (mirror, lighting etc.) It started to evolve into an art-deco meets Vegas-themed vision. Joe wanted to make it funky (he never called it “swanky” and wanted me to let you all know that) but I know that’s what he was going for. Everything went great from reno to install. Since the contractors were painting anyways we did the black for the interim. All the big things went in and then we took a little hiatus to plan the decor, details, and finishes.
A Home Decor Tip: Go With the Flow
Since we were getting weird with it, the first instinct was to install wallpaper. We are newbies at the wallpaper thing having only lived in old houses with plaster walls. Let’s just say we’re going to have to do the wallpaper thing in another room. We tried…hard, and failed…hard. I could probably get into a whole separate post about what not to do when hanging wallpaper. Like chose extremely sensitive, fragile wallpaper that should have only been done by a professional. Or pick a wallpaper that would probably never work in general in such tight spaces.
Sometimes, things are out of your control completely, sometimes they just don’t go as planned. I think the latter can be more disappointing because you feel like you didn’t prepare or execute correctly. However, it’s the name of the game in home renovation.
So after having adorned almost the whole room (except the back wall) with (really cool) wallpaper, we knew we couldn’t keep it. So, we hit ourselves a few times and realized we needed to go with plan B. Ship-lap. We mentioned this a few times before the wallpaper idea. We actually figured the wallpaper would be easier. And it probably would have been if it worked but now we are doing two “finishes” and let me just say poor Joe. He worked his butt off in this very small room. Anyways, so we set to figuring out how we could one, cover the wallpaper, and two, still execute the modern eclectic powder bath we envisioned.
The Reveal
Viola! It’s unique, different, well done, and yes, a modern eclectic powder bath. With the addition of ship-lap, adorned with pretty crown molding on the corners and ceilings, painted black, you have the coolest moody vibes. And, that accent wall though. So cool right!? He actually used leftover ship-lap to make the patterned brick-like wall. Since we never wallpapered that section the spaces allowed the pre-painted black wall to be seen through. Looking in the mirror is so fun!!
The Little Details
I saw these floating brass and glass shelves that were perfect for soap and mouthwash (I’ve always wanted to put a pretty mouthwash dispenser in my public bathroom haha!) This brass soap dish and soap dispenser worked perfectly.
This Magnolia Basket from Target was one of the first pieces of decor I bought for the room.
A brass towel ring to balance out the other side of the mirror.
This vintage-looking mirror that Joe found was too cool not to put in. The light fixture we found matched the mirror perfectly.
This vase from target held the palm branches well and offset the serious white black and gold theme with some more neutral tones. These are the palm leaf stems I found at Target.
We needed a standing toilet paper holder due to the width of the room.
If you don’t have Poo-Pourri for your guest bathrooms you’re missing out!! It not only makes your guest feel more comfortable but your bathroom will smell so good!
Phew! We did it! Finally finished a room. Of course, it’s already on to the next (or 3) for us. However, I want to hear what you guys think of our swanky bathroom!! A little too much for you?! If you have any questions we are always happy to answer. DM or drop a comment below. I also want to know if you like the “home reno tip” theme for each room reveal. Do you have any major lessons you can share and we can tell each other it will all be fine and to keep going and trying and DIY-ing. Share your wallpaper woes so I’m not alone!!
Anyways, looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Love you guys and as always, thanks for listening/reading… whatever.
Xx Liv
