I vaguely remember brazenly declaring that Hubs and I would be gutting the main bathroom this summer. As in, the summer happening right now. Life got in the way of my grand plans: the townhouse took longer to sell than we planned, the unpacking took longer than we planned, the kitchen makeover took longer than we planned, the snow melting took longer than we planned. Flaked out on the sofa watching Game of Thrones one night in the spring, we decided to put off the bathroom reno until next spring. I’m so happy I took the time to spruce up the room because it made it so much easier to make that very wise choice.
Frankly, I’m relieved. I rushed planning the townhouse bathroom renovation and there are so many things we ended up not liking about the space. With some more planning and more reflection, I hope that this time around I can design the perfect bathroom for us. I’m not going to dawdle though, so I started a new Pinterest Board to collect my thoughts and I think I have a pretty good rough sketch of how I’d like the space to look.
This bathroom with walnut cabinets and teal shower tile inspired the tentative plan forming in my head.
And, just for reference, this is our space right now (after the spruce):
We don’t want to change the footprint of the room (whew – major savings and so much less hair pulling) and I even like the size and layout of our vanity with the tall cupboard to the left. But I absolutely want a floating vanity because I’m really into the look, which feels very mid-century inspired, plus it would make cleaning under it a breeze. It needs to be taller – ours is painfully low. I’m thinking that a warm, walnut stained wood will look great with the existing hardwood flooring throughout the house but if we move forward with concrete flooring in the house (and grey flooring in the bathroom, specifically), I think I’ll appreciate the visual warmth of the wood.
Amanda’s vanity has such gorgeous grain, it would make anyone pine for wood (haha). I want something with lots of grain too (hear that? That’s Hubby cheering). I have started to really appreciate wood and anytime we’re at the lumber yard picking out something for a project (like the floating credenza top), I jokingly growl “graiiiiiins,” like a zombie.
Like my first inspiration picture, I love the idea of white walls and turquoise tile. Once we remove the shower portal and install a modern white bathtub, turquoise tile will look great. I think a classic shape will lend the bold colour choice some longevity.
I am tempted to do something quirky and vintage, though, like tile the entire bathroom in subway tile – but do the bottom half aqua and the top half white (like the photo bottom right in the collage above, and the very retro-looking space below)…
I’m tile shopping now and leaving myself open to possibilities because I might stumble across something that I didn’t even know to look for! The floor will be grey, I think. I’m fighting the urge to make it turquoise too. Slate or ceramic tile would be okay, but this room would also be a good space to try out concrete before making a bit commitment. I’m drawn to grey for its dirt-disguising properties, plus I’m just really liking grey as a cool neutral to pair with aqua. I’m using it all over the house and it’s helping me pull together a cohesive look, while also doing the important work of tempering the bright aqua and providing contrast to the white-white-white walls.
I’m very far away from choosing accessories, but I do know I’d prefer chrome or brushed nickel finishes (probably chrome). I’m really drawn to a pair of round mirrors over two sinks. And there’s this recycled glass solid surface counter I found – it’s white with flecks of what looks like beach glass. It’s a good contender, but it’s pricey. Now that I have formulated a rough plan (which is subject to change), I feel more prepared to start pricing out and sourcing what we need. Here’s to a bathroom I won’t grow tired of the second it’s finished…
While I’m on the subject of bathrooms, I’m going to share my thoughts on the townhouse bathroom soon – what worked, what didn’t, what regrets I have, and what I miss dearly about the space.
I really like the floating vanity you want for the bathroom. The only problem I would have with the vanity is that maybe creepy crawling things might cultivate under there after a while.
Oh gross. I am definitely a neat freak and clean way too much. I think I'll be able to keep it tidy. Our townhouse vanity had legs like a dresser and that was a nightmare to clean under because it was fairly low to the ground but accumulated a lot of gross stuff.
I love where you're going with this. Modern, spa-like bathrooms always seem to draw me in. Gray + aqua have been on my mind lately too. So much so that I've ordered an aqua couch cover!
An aqua couch cover sounds lovely (and right up my alley). I'm so excited for you!! I'm hoping the bathroom ends up with a spa-like feel – that's such a good way to put it.
I really like the idea of grey floors for the bathroom. They are going to look so amazing with aqua 🙂 I can't wait to see the project taking off
Thanks for your vote of confidence! I'm hoping that grey and aqua will be a classic combo I won't regret. Aqua is always my favorite, but grey and I are recent friends.
Tanya, is the "portal" a tub shower that your going to redo as a shower?
The portal is a tub shower, yes. We've considered forgoing the tub and just doing a walk-in shower but I absolutely hate the glass on the portal and a walk-in shower would have more glass. I'd like to go back to a tub and shower but with tile surround and shower curtain. Very traditional, but I miss a shower curtain, which is totally weird. We had that at the townhouse and had no complaints – other than my boring choice of tile.
I loveeeeeee glass tile (like in the first pic)…..make it turquoise or aqua and I'm obsessed. I know exactly the recycled glass counter top you are speaking of, I saw it on some redecorating show and it's very nice. I think grey is the new beige. When I moved into this house about 15 years ago beige was the IT color to paint everything…and now my house is full of it and I'm sick of it lol. I keep thinking about light greys for walls and charcoal, turquoise and silver/chrome as accents. You also have me thinking about just painting some rooms white and letting the accessories add the color.
White is my way to avoid something going out of style. I know exactly what you mean about beige being so "it" awhile ago and now that grey has taken it's place it doesn't look as fresh. Which is a shame, because beige is awesome. But white is classic, I think, and easily updated/freshened up/changed around with minimal effort. Everyone says painting a room is so easy, blah blah blah, but it's a pain in the ass for me and I'd rather just hang something different than get out the drop cloths. I'm going on seven years of white walls, after doing every colour in the book, and I'm still loving them. I never tire of it, plus it makes my dimmer rooms seems brighter. I wasn't into grey until my Mom started painting all of her cream/beige walls pale grey and now I am obsessed. I am worried that a few years from now, once I've made every surface that is not white or aqua grey, I'll look around and think "damn, I'm so sick of grey," lol.
I totally agree! I think I need white walls in my future. I also hate painting……pair that with my very bad back and it's downright dreadful lol. I live on the lower level of a house, though it's all above ground it can be very dark, especially in my living room. The large window is covered by a balcony and the only other small window faces south and doesn't get a lot of light…..so white walls would make a huge difference. And like you said…..so much easier to change things up.
You really have some talent when it comes to design. I enjoy reading about all of these great plans that you have, they are sure to turn into something amazing!