"Cottage Style Bathroom"

“Remodeling or redecorating a bathroom can pay off right from the start. Your home will be more comfortable and you’ll add value to the property,” says experts on about.com.

But knowing exactly what you want to ultimately accomplish is your first goal when recreating in your bathroom space.

If you’ve been following Jo’s School-House-Cottage-Retreat posts, you know that she came home to a brand new bedroom that she has thoroughly been enjoying. But, what you may not know is that we began taking preparation steps in the bathroom area at the same time, utilizing Jo’s wish list that she had previously discussed regarding changes she would like to see in her main bathroom.

Large cabinet vanity area

First of all, Jo had a massive bathroom cabinet vanity in a small space. Even though it may be a dream to have twelve drawers and two large under sink storage areas, it was more than Jo needed and it took up too much precious square footage. Also, the vanity depth actually extended to 24 inches into the galley style room.

24 inch deep vanity space

Jo had been dreaming and pulling magazine pics (an excellent way to get started on a make-over) and knew she liked the new look in open vanities. She felt it would also open up the room to which I wholeheartedly agreed.

Pulling out the existing vanity would require replacing the vinyl linoleum. And trading in the 1980′s wallpaper for a fresh look, brought in options for the walls.  With Jo’s tastes in mind, I tackled the daunting tasks at hand, while Jo was out ‘playing’ in the sun.

1980's wall paper and style

BEFORE: Blue-green color scheme

Unfortunately, I did not take my camera with me the day of the demo so that fun aspect you will just have to imagine. But, let me say that having a team on hand is critical. With our competent plumber, Greg Garret, our master carpenter, Tim Sheeran and my all-around-efficient husband, we had the project underway and making strides to a new look in no time.

Keeping the ‘cottage look’ going but bringing in a touch of modern spa, I  chose bead board to cover the walls, white tile for the flooring,  cherry stained wood and white tile top for the custom vanity, white woodwork for all the trim and wall cabinets, the soft yellow from our original color palette and shiny chrome for the hardware and fixtures. The combination is becoming stunning!

Here are a few peek photos even though we don’t have all the accessories in place yet.

White Porcelain Tile Flooring

This is the finished pretty white porcelain tile flooring (with vanity in process of being stained and cabinet doors yet to be hung).

Finished white cabinet door with hardware

I had the beaded board inserted into the existing cabinet doors to bring the same look to the entire room. Then painted them all with a fresh coat of pure white. The chrome and white hardware adds the perfect touch.

White satin stripe shower curtain

The white satin strip shower curtain with new chrome rod and chrome and white bead shower hooks brings in a luxurious spa feeling.

Vanity Daisy Fresh with shiny chrome and crystal accessories

Kohler faucets in shiny chrome and vintage look porcelain

Today, Jo and I spent the afternoon sorting through all the boxes of ‘stuff’ that came out of the bathroom before the renovation started. After editing out ‘rarely used’ to ‘never used’ items, we had a party putting back the ‘often used’ items into new areas including an old galvanized tub that once bathed three little girls, chrome containers and of course, our cabinets on the wall. Organization in the bathroom is organization at it’s best.

Even though we don’t have a single item from Pottery Barn…yet, I would call the “look” we have going so far very much right out of their catalog! It’s fresh yellow and white, clean and open, with fun modern spa touches sprouting in the room. And above all, it feels spacious – the main goal we hoped to accomplish when we started.

We have more accessories to get into place which we will add in the next few weeks – like mirrors, an antique shelf to house an antique shaving accessory collection, soft plush rugs and towels and other important items to make this bathroom makeover far from ordinary. In fact, it is sure to become Jo’s Personal Haven!

(Stay tuned for more photos.)