One Room Challenge
I have decided to join the One Room Challenge this fall as a guest blogger. It's very exciting and a little nerve wracking! One Room Challenge is going into its 13th season and it's a great opportunity for designers that blog (hello! that's me!) to publish a project in a structured, collegial manner. I hadn't participated in previous seasons because I was either too far along on a project or I didn't have a full room redo to share that would fit into the 6 week time frame. So, without further ado, let's find out about this ONE ROOM!
If jaundice were a bathroom... Also, the carpet... Eeeewww!
The Room
The room I have chosen to use for the challenge is the guest room in our new house. I am actually going to be undertaking most of the demolition myself and rebuilding the vanity. I made all of the design decisions and have hired all of the trade professionals for the project. It is approximately 8 ft x 6 ft and has a traditional ranch home layout with a tub/shower combo. All of the fixtures, finishes, and furnishings are original to the space. Yellow tile surrounds the room at 36"-42" above the finished floor. As was the style in 1968, all of the plumbing receptacles are yellow - tub, sink, and toilet. I imagine that there was even yellow toilet paper to match when there was such a product available. I lovingly call it the "jaundice room"... It's just sooooooooo yellow!
Bathroom Floor Plan
The Concept: Not Yellow!
As lovely a color as yellow can be, I think it's time for a change in this bathroom! The concept for the whole home is "Mid-century Southern". It's a little Mid-Century Modern, a little Southern prep, and a little coastal. I have a pretty extensive collection of vintage Mid-Century Modern furniture and accessories, so I knew that I wanted to build on that. Our house was built in 1968, and while not the ultra-hip "atomic" style rancher, it is a ranch style home with some Scandinavian influence in its design. However, I knew I didn't want a time capsule home. I also knew that I wanted custom drapery and soft goods to give a more sophisticated look. Another "must have" for us is a coastal feel. Not necessarily an in-your-face beachy theme using loads of seagulls and starfish, but subtle hints using texture and color.
Just before I started planning the concept for this house, I toured all of the homes in Winter Park on our local Parade of Homes. One home really stood out for me, not necessarily because I wanted to repeat the style, but because of the designer's eye for detail. I absolutely fell in love with the powder room, which had a large scale wall paper from Schumacher and plenty of in-your-face retro/glam details. I have always loved bold details in small spaces because they don't get lost and you have the opportunity to see them up close.
From that excursion I knew that I had to include a bold wallpaper pattern and a few retro-glam-tastic details in our guest bath. However, I knew that I needed to still make the bathroom look like it belonged to the same house as my "Mid-Century Southern" style. So, I started looking for a wallpaper with a bold print, but softer hues. I also wanted something that connected us to our new city: Winter Park, FL.
Guest Bath Mid-Century Southern
The Materials
Wall Covering
After a long session in the wall coverings room of my local textile showroom, I finally found the perfect wall paper. Plume by Dwell Studios is a stylized peacock pattern offered in several colorways, one of which is a light spa blue. JACKPOT. In case you're not aware, the peacock is the symbol for Winter Park. The color and theme were perfection!
Vanity
I selected a white shaker style vanity. That may seem boring, but it is a classic... Plus, I'm going to jazz it up with some glam hardware from Worlds Away. Since we only have 60" of counter top, we're going to keep the single sink. I plan to get a light gray or white quartz or marble remnant from a local slab yard. Remnants are a great resource for small vanities if you're not married to one particular type of stone. For the mirror, I looked again to Worlds Away for a white lacquered mirror with clipped corners. I plan to orient the mirror horizontally to balance with the vanity cabinet below and lighting above.
Lighting
Currently, the lighting is a seven-light single bar piece. I plan to keep this style since it is consistent with the type of lighting used during period, but we are updating the look with a fixture that has a globe style shade and traditional mid-century shapes. The overall look will be retro Hollywood glam!
Hardware
For the plumbing fixtures and other hardware I am using the Delta Trinsic line in champagne bronze. The metals all will be gold tones except for the shower and tub fixtures. Those will remain in traditional silver tones.
Tile and Tub
The tub, tile surround, and wall tile will be re-glazed in white. I tend to save things when I can. It's economical, but even more importantly, it keeps waste out of the landfills. Yeah, I may like pretty things, but I'm still a big 'ol tree hugger.
Flooring
We hit the jackpot here! The floor was covered in carpet when we bought the house. Yes, you read that correctly, carpet in the bathroom. Yuck. However, the original flooring is a beautiful gray and beige terrazzo, which was restored during our initial floor restoration process.
3D Rendering Via Chief Architect
The Timeline
The order of events will occur like this:
- Demolition: remove tiles that need to be removed to accommodate the new vanity, remove old vanity and counter, remove mirror, remove any damaged dry wall, remove plumbing fixtures, remove old closet doors, remove lighting, and remove trim
- Rebuild: replace exterior door, re-build vanity, install new closet doors, put up new trim, repair any damaged drywall, hang wall paper, install counters, replace toilet, install plumbing fixtures, and re-glaze tub and tile
- Finishing touches: hang new lighting, install door and drawer hardware, hang new shower curtain, put down new rugs, additional styling, and photography
Hopefully, this can all be done and blogged in 6-weeks! I can't wait to see the results and share them with you!
You can access all of the ORC guest bloggers, including me, through this link.
