Beach House Bathroom Reveal!

This post has been a long time coming, mostly because I don’t like to rush into buying things when I am doing a room.  Settling for something just to get the room done, ultimately ends with regret.   So, finally I have “found” the finishing touches!

This post has lots of photos as well as the rationale behind what we did.

If you missed the bathroom progress post, you can see it here:

And now the reveal …

We kept all of the main elements neutral, sticking to whites and grays. A hint of color was brought in on the upper walls and in the accessories.

The skylight really transformed the space, infusing it with light and instantly making the space feel larger.

On the floor we used marble mosaic hexagon tiles from Lowe’s.  I love the mixed textures in the tiles.  Not only are they interesting to look at but the interspersed rough textured ones keep the floor from becoming slippery.

On the bathtub/shower walls we used standard size white subway tiles that we purchased from Garden State Tile.  I found that the subway tiles at Lowe’s and Home Depot are NOT true white, despite their “bright white” and “snow white” names.  I am so glad I brought a few home and put them next to the bathtub.  It was then that I discovered the pink, beige-y undertones.  It was well worth the extra cost to get really white tiles.  We used the same medium gray grout on the walls and the floor.

We added a niche, using a square foot section of the floor tile for the back wall to make a visual connection between the wall and floor  For the bottom ledge, we used a piece of the marble door threshold.  This adds just the right amount of depth so shampoo and soap bottles are secure.

To add some texture and a coastal vibe, we did shiplap on one entire wall, and partial shiplap on the other walls.  We used Sherwin Williams “extra white” semigloss paint on all the shiplap and trim.

The 60 inch vanity was a $250 Craig’s List score.  A light sanding, one coat of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore “Coventry Gray”, along with new hardware, was all that it took to revive it.

The marble vanity top from Home Depot was the ONE splurge for this bathroom … made possible by scrimping on the vanity.

The oval mirrors are from Home Goods – an excellent source by the way for inexpensive mirrors, compared to the $100+ mirrors that are sold in the bathroom section of the big box stores.  I couldn’t find two in the same color but that was no problem.  I simply painted them using the same Coventry Gray as the vanity and then distressed them a bit to add some rusticity.

The inexpensive lights are from Lowe’s.  Originally galvanized metal, we gave them a spraying of satin white on the shade portion and Rustoleum metallic gold on the stem and base.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, I really wanted to try mixing the metal finishes.  So we went with stainless steel faucets on the sinks, tub and shower, but brass finishes on the cabinet hardware, lights and towel hooks.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the brass finishes are not all the same – some are shiny and some are brushed.  Basically, it’s what I could find in the styles that appealed to me.  It all seems to blend though so I am okay with it.

On the vanity top, I used a small mirrored tray from Home Goods to corral some bathroom essentials.  The milk glass pieces are all thrifted.  The soap dish is actually an old ashtray and fits a bar of soap perfectly!

We added a shelf above the new pocket door for storage and display.  The large vanity holds all the day to day supplies, while the shelf provides an opportunity to add texture and color … and hold a month’s supply of toilet paper!

I like this little camp stool that I thrifted awhile back.  I love mixing high and low end finishes – marrying shiny marble with rustic wood.  This little stool adds the rustic element I needed. Plus, I think every room needs some raw wood to ground it.

The other natural wood elements are the wicker hamper, baskets on the shelf and a small carved piece of wall art.

The carved sailboat wall art gives a nod to the coastal setting of this home without screaming beachy.  It was the final piece that we brought into the room.

And the hidden inscription on the back makes it all the more special.

As for the accent color,  I considered going with blues but in the end went with a pop of coral.  This is the accent color used throughout this beach house, so the idea of continuing it in the bathroom appealed to me.

Because the window looks out directly on the rear entrance, the lower portion needs to stay covered.  I used a simple tension rod and some clip on rings to hang a cafe curtain.

I made the curtain by cutting around the holes of an old faded tablecloth.  I really like the boho vibe of the fringed edge.

The coral towels are from Target.com.  They are a nice dark shade of coral and have a fringed edge as well. And they are reversible.  Love these.

The hand towel is a vintage kitchen towel.  The colors were right so I am using it in the bathroom. Incidentally, kitchen towels make great hand towels because of the variety of patterns that are available.

Originally, I thought I would do some sort of vintage oriental rug that would incorporate all of the colors in the bathroom.  But, this bathroom is on the small side and I really love the floor tiles.  Soooo…. why cover them up when they are so pretty!

We did a lot of mixing in this bathroom with colors, finishes and textures.  Each time I added a new finish I had second thoughts …  “I am way out on a limb here.  I better go back to what is tried and true”.  But I pushed myself to keep going with my gut.  Really, the key to making it all work is BALANCE and REPETITION.   For example, the coral color was repeated around the room in the curtain, towels, candle and hand towel above the vanity.  If the only coral item had been the curtain, it would have looked out of place.  And, if all the coral items were on one side of the room, the room  would have felt unbalanced.

Here’s how the other colors and finishes were repeated and balanced in the room:

• Pale turquoise blue – upper walls, hand towels, mason jar of bath salts, vintage towel
• Gray – vanity base, marble top, mirrors, marble floor, gray grout in shower area
• Brass finishes – cabinet hardware, light fixtures, towel hooks, plant container
• Natural elements – camp stool, carved wall art, wicker hamper, wicker baskets

I will follow up with another post with a detailed source list, costs and my tips for getting a high end bathroom on a budget.  Thanks for following along!