One Room Challenge Project Reveal // Guest Bath Redux

 A mere six weeks ago, our guest bathroom bore the band-aid paint job of a hasty, make-do-till-we-can-do-it-right make-over. Today, it is a peaceful, modern retreat nearly fit for a master en suite. Friends, today I'm happily sharing my results for the One Room Challenge, a six-week, semi-annual makeover event that takes the blogosphere by storm. This round, I threw my hat into the ring as a linking participant and while it certainly was every bit the race-to-the-finish line challenge it was always intended to be, the community spirit of this event has admittingly been one of the best blogging related experiences I've had yet. So before I pull back the curtain on my own effort, please let me extend a warm word of thanks to Linda of Calling it Home for hosting and encouraging design minded bloggers like myself to join in amongst the core group of heavyweight designers who shared their reveals yesterday. What a thrill to be sitting here, typing up this post with yet another room finally completed at Holtwood House.  

Over the last three years, our home has slowly transitioned away from dated mid-century finishes and bad 1980's upgrades, to a more modern California ranch-style, with desert and coastal influences.  In the early days following our move, we took the the guest bathroom and upgraded it a bit with some paint and accessories. It was never meant to be a forever solution, but the whimsical striped pattern we had painted on the walls served us well for the last couple of years while we focused on other areas of the house. The One Room Challenge upgrade I'm revealing today brings our plan full circle. We inexpensively remade this space with V-groove paneled walls, concrete counters, paint, hardware, artwork and accessories.

We achieved our objective of 'desert, modern, luxe' through a creamy and earthy mix of color and texture. The clay-like tone of the concrete countertop really drove the direction for some of the more earthier elements like the cactus pottery, Nate Berkus bath rug, curtain trim and the tweed upholstery on the stool. The creamy undertones of Benjamin Moore's White Dove on the paneling and walls brightened up the space and made it feel fresh, while blending nicely with the older tile we have yet to replace. Our hope is that the mix of hardware and fixture metals will also whether design trends as far as these things go. I'll probably always be partial to the warmth of brass, but the coolness of chrome always feels new and modern.

One of the most refreshing changes in this space has everything to do with the panels draped on the sides of the tub. The old shower doors were aged, mismatched and dirty. We were so concerned about exposing the dated square tile behind the tub, that we had kept them there, thinking we'd eventually replace them when we installed new tile. Problem solved - doors were removed and the tile was not as hopeless as we always assumed it was. It's not the subway tile I had my heart set on, but it's in good condition and cleaned up just fine. We hung the paneling high and gave the narrow room some much needed height. 

I think all of the different elements play together cohesively, but there are a couple of individual details that I wanted to highlight. The little vanity stool was a Home Goods find made over with some multi-toned tweed fabric fished out of the discount bin at my local upholstery shop. In person, the undertones read gray-green and compliment my favorite vanity color nicely. I sprayed an inexpensive chrome robe hook from Home Depot gold to match the cabinet hardware. I opted not to install a towel rack in the room, but the hook now offers a place for visiting guests to hang a towel if needed. I skipped the spray paint and applied gold leaf to our two factory-grade IKEA mirrors and then roughed them up a bit with a scouring pad to help give them a bit of a patina. I love the dichotomy of 'aged' metal against the pristine paneling.

So before I close this chapter on the One Room Challenge Guest Bath Redux, one more quick look back on where it all began:

A big thank you again to Linda and to all of you who took time to drop me a note throughout these last 6 weeks. What an adventure. I also can not forget to thank my Pops who spent quite a bit of time helping me panel and paint and of course The Mister, who always indulges me in all my design imaginations. 

You can read about my plan and weekly progress here:

Week 1 - The Plan

Week 2 - Paneled Walls

Week 3- Small Wins

Week 4 - Color Palette + Vanity Reveal

Week 5 - Loose Ends

 Please be sure to pop on over to Calling it Home and congratulate all of the talented, hardworking participants linking up today with their big reveals.  

SHARE: