My Bathroom Makeover Is So Cozy, It Almost Feels Like a Living Room
When it comes to buying a fixer upper, you have to pick your battles. In my 1895 rowhouse, there were two bathrooms I had no choice but to renovate because of leaks, broken tile, and rusted fixtures.
But the bathroom pictured above was fine … as in it still worked. Did the toilet flush? Yes. Were the tiles intact? Also yes. Did the shower leak? Nope. In terms of fixer-upper priorities, this dated bathroom moved down to the very bottom — but still, I kept the door closed to the room most of the time.
I didn’t like the tan paint, the holes in the plaster, or the general feeling of grime that seemed to cover the entire room. If anyone was going to use this space, I needed to do something. I called in painters to help me transform this tiny bathroom and, with two days’ worth of work on their part — and styling work on mine — we turned this into a bathroom I actually want to look at.
One big upgrade? The new toilet.
Rather than going in and ripping out the shower, sink, and toilet in one fell swoop (and many big dollar signs), I replaced just the toilet, which had seen better days a few decades ago. The sink still feels a little too large for the bathroom, but it’s fine, so it stayed, as did the fixtures. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was truly the motto here.
I color drenched the entire space.
As for what I could change quickly, I decide to focus on paint. Although it matched the tile, the previous mauve paint color wasn’t doing the space any favors. I decided to pick a dark, moody color that could turn the bathroom into a design moment despite its diminutive size.
I color matched Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke to Benjamin Moore (we’re on a budget here!), and went all in on color drenching because I think multiple colors would have made the tiny footprint feel even more cramped.
By choosing a dark color and color drenching the bathroom, I actually emphasized the existing trim in the bathroom. The rosettes on the doors, the dentil molding on the ceiling — it all looked more impactful when it wasn’t hidden by a lighter paint. The storage cabinet above the toilet that I actually would have loved to have ripped out even took on a new look once it was draped in color.
It feels like a continuation of the living room, not a bathroom.
This full bathroom is actually on the first floor of my home — not connected to a bedroom. In my day-to-day life, the number of times this bathroom will be used for someone to actually take a shower is very low.
That gave me a little more flexibility. I didn’t have to worry about a ton of moisture collecting from the shower, so I decorated it almost like a continuation of my living room. For example, in lieu of a wired sconce or somesuch, I brought in a tiny cocktail table from the living room and an extra lamp I had sitting in a closet. I put down a small wool rug that I’d previously used on a sofa to add color.
And I hung all my artwork that was still looking for a home in this room. I had a set of five dog prints I bought in London a decade ago with the dream of putting them in a green bathroom someday, and it finally came to fruition 10 years later. There’s the antique mirror I bought for $5 at an estate sale, the $10 oil painting of red flowers, and the hunt prints from the local weekend flea market.
They’re the perfect collection when arranged all together, and they make this little bathroom feel nothing like an afterthought at all.
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