Respecting the Bones: A Primary Bath Redesign
This bathroom design has been a long time coming! It has taken about a year to complete this bathroom, mainly because we chose to take it slow, and to keep it as cost effective & DIY as possible. This room particularly, has taught me to step away from the sledge hammer, and instead focus on refurbishment. This bathroom is an argument for NOT pulling everything out, redoing all the woodwork, and changing the entire feel of the interior - instead, work with the original details and update the space in a harmonious way.
The goods:
color scheme:
A fresh coat of paint is truly the best place to start when updating a space. I am personally a big advocate for “darker” colors on the woodwork in a bathroom due to the grime that naturally occurs in that particular space. I LOVE this particular shade of green. The color is COPPER PATINA by BEHR in full saturation. It is the loveliest deep, cool, blue-green (think sage green, but on the shadowed side of the sage leaf) - the color both soothes & invigorates.
Tie in all in
On the walls I chose to echo the rose adobe tones from our living room, and used the remainder of the pot of SUNSET DRIVE by BEHR leftover from the living room. This warm color really rounded out the sunset vibes in this bathroom that mostly sits in shadow all day. The color also tied in very nicely to the very pale rose color we used in the on-suite Primary bedroom, PAPER HEART by BEHR. My goal was for the rooms to feel cohesive, but unique at the same time.
Where it began
Why a sunset color scheme? One of the first things that struck me about this bathroom when I first walked in, was the lovely rose-tone tiles on the floor. They are likely not original, but added by a previous owner probably around 2000. I love them, and proceeded to let those tiles dictate my entire thinking on the space. The grays & gray-whites throughout the house clashed to much with this soft warm rose tile, that I felt the whole color scheme had to go warmer.
What stays and what goes:
There is a mentality that exists in home-ownership, that things like cabinets, and fixtures HAVE TO GO in a bathroom redesign. However, I don’t see why you have to throw out perfectly good wood cabinets if they are perfectly functional - give them a fresh coat of paint, and some new knobs and you are good for another decade at least. Cabinets, trim, even flooring can become part of the character of a home that adds to its charm over the decades. So my rule is: if its functional & durable, find away to keep it. Who knows, in 50yrs, future owners of your home will thank you for the charm that you preserved.
This perspective also saves you sssoooo much money! The cost of refinishing or painting old cabinets is 2-4 times less than replacing with new cabinets. Automatically ripping out old cabinets also is many times, a waste of perfectly good materials - older cabinets are usually solid wood, a functional & durable material that should last many decades. Investing the effort into preserving these quality elements, saves you money & saves waste. So remove the trim, give it a fresh coat of paint, and update those knobs and embrace these vintage pieces!
the hardware
Did you notice these charming little details? They are my special touch in this house. These are brass magnolia flower knobs are my little secret find, that I’m sharing with you below. I love little charming details in homes, that feel like a tiny surprises waiting to be found & enjoyed. This home is in the southern USA, so it felt fitting that the magnolia become the darling little touch of whimsy here.
On a more practical note, they are also very well made, with rounded edges (no more poky knobs!), and with a good hand feel. They are also through a wholesale supplier, so the price is excellent.
