Welcome friends! I am so happy to invite you to join me as I jump right into another official One Room Challenge! The One Room Challenge (ORC) is an event sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens where bloggers and Instagrammers have six weeks to complete a room makeover. Participants are required to document the step-by-step process in a weekly blog post over the course of six weeks.  I participated in the spring ORC by completing a Teen Bonus Room Makeover in our basement and it was a lot of fun. A bit stressful at times, but still fun!

 

 

 

 

Participating in this challenge is just the motivation I needed to get started on giving our tiny powder room a makeover just in time for the holidays. Today I am sharing a few before pictures and some of my goals for the makeover.

 

This tiny 1/2 bathroom (powder room) is located just to the right of our side door entry and around the corner from the kitchen. When we moved in almost six years ago the powder room had outdated wallpaper, an ugly wooden cabinet base, indoor/outdoor brown carpet and a small round plastic mirror. At the time we made some super fast basic updates and haven’t touched it since. The first update was ripping up the carpet and installing the faux travertine groutable vinyl floor tiles shown here.

 

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We picked out the basic floor tile just before the farmhouse tile craze hit. Had we moved in a year later I am sure I would have chosen some kind of black and white tile floor or tile stencil instead, similar to the picture above. The powder room is very small so I am not sure how a really busy pattern will look, but I think a bold and beautiful tile could make a stylish statement. I may experiment with stenciling on poster board and laying it in the floor to get an idea.

 

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One of the many “What were we thinking!?” home ownership moments came a few weeks after my husband had put down the new tile in the bathroom. We realized that we didn’t really think it through when we rushed to get the new floor put down, instead of trying to salvage the original 1920’s hex tile that my husband discovered when he was pulling up the carpet. The hex tile in the photo above is very similar to what is under our vinyl tile now.

 

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This photo looks a lot like the mess that was under our carpet. At some point in the 80’s everyone was  laying carpets in bathrooms which I don’t understand at all, but I digress. The original floor was covered in carpet glue and there was just the tiniest bit of the the hex tile showing under all that icky stuff. It would have taken some major time and effort to clean and restore the hex tile. We also would have had to open the windows due to any fumes from the adhesive stripper and this just wasn’t feasible in December. We had already bought the new tile and with Christmas just ten days away when we moved in, we decide to go ahead with the peel and stick groutable tiles.

 

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Now that we have more time however, my husband said he is willing to at least try to restore the hex tile floor! If we can’t get it cleaned up and restored during the first couple of weeks of this challenge then we will put down some other kind of new tile, possibly a vintage hex tile reproduction.

 

Another quick change we made when we first moved in was to wallpaper over the 1980’s mauve and blue wallpaper with heavy duty beadboard wallpaper that I am still loving. You can’t really tell in this photo, but it desperately needs a fresh coat of paint. Right now it is a creamy white but I think I want to go with just a shade lighter. The baseboards and door need to be repainted too.

 

When we moved in we decided to save money and time by keeping the existing sink and cabinet base. I gave the cabinet a makeover with gray chalk paint and painted a vintage mirror in my stash to match. I don’t dislike the gray but it is time for a change. I love the mirror, but I have always thought it was too small for the space. (Pay no attention to the photographer in the mirror or all the junk on the catch-all coat rack in the entry! I am going to update that little space too!) I will probably repaint the mirror white and use it elsewhere in the house. If we do remove the cabinet we will have to add new baseboard behind the cabinet. Using an  inch calculator might help since old houses aren’t exactly square.

 

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 I am still undecided as to what kind of mirror to use in the powder room but I definitely think a longer mirror would be a better choice.

 

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When it comes to interior design, bronze seems to be a popular choice for mirrors, frames and fixtures. I haven’t decided what color or finish for the mirror. It will all depend on what I luck into I guess!

 

The little shabby chic hook plaque on the wall serves no purpose since towels and washcloths just won’t stay on the little hooks, and it’s in an odd spot anyway. I never intended to keep it here (you can still see the price tag on the first hook to the left) so I will be taking it down too. I am totally at a loss as to how to decorate the spot behind the toilet, but I am sure I will come up with something before the end of the challenge. I also like the vintage light fixture, just not in this bathroom.

 

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I really would like to replace the vintage light with some kind of small, vintage looking farmhouse-cottage chandelier.

 

With the exception of this bathroom and a coat closet in the entry, all the doors in our home have the original 1920’s crystal glass knobs. A couple of weeks ago I lucked into some vintage crystal knobs for only $12.00, so my husband will be able to switch  out the existing door knobs on the powder room door for the crystal ones.

 

There is a little window in the bathroom that is right beside our back door entry. You can see right in the bathroom if the blinds are open so there definitely needs to be some kind of blind on the window for privacy. Right now we are using inexpensive vinyl blinds. I think cottage shutters would be adorable and they would add some character if we can find any to fit. Nice wood blinds are also an option, or even a stylish Roman shade.

 

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I could always try to sew a cute roman shade with my new sewing machine! By the way if you are in the market for sewing machine you might want to wait just a few more weeks since there will probably be a price cut on sewing machines and other pieces of equipment on Black Friday,

 

Powder Room Inspiration

I am not exactly sure what style of decor the powder room will have at the end of this challenge. Sometimes I think I want to go with more French cottage vibe, other times I am thinking more farmhouse. Here are some photos of tiny powder rooms and small bathrooms that I am using as inspiration.

 

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As much as I love ornate French decor, I am leaning toward a vintage farmhouse look. As with all my decorating however, the bargains and treasures I find over the next few weeks will determine the end result of the makeover.

 

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Another possibility that could really pack a style punch is to keep the bottom part of the wall beadboard, install molding 3/4 of the way up the wall, and use a beautiful patterned wallpaper on the top part of the wall. I am not sure how this would work since my husband would have to strip the paper off the top part of the wall (I can’t work over my head due to neck issues) and he would also have to hang the wallpaper. He despises stripping and hanging wallpaper and I don’t blame him a bit! Nevertheless it could be beautiful!

 

ORC Week 2 Goals:

• Repaint the bathroom, trim and door
• Replace existing door knob with antique crystal knobs
• Remove existing tile to determine whether or not we are going to restore the regular hex tile or lay new tile
• Shop around for a mirror
• Check on prices for new sink and vanity combo

 

 

 

Well friends I hope you love makeovers as much as I do and that you will follow along to see the outcome of our little powder room makeover in November! If you want to see some more really fabulous makeovers you can visit the ORC website to check out past makeovers and to follow along with the current ones. If you are in the middle of a makeover too, we can encourage one another! I know it can sometimes be hard to fit a DIY project around your work, but we must remember to just take it one day at a time and breathe!!!  I will be posting week two updates next Sunday so I hope you will stop back by again. You can also subscribe by email to receive a weekly newsletter with all my latest posts.

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Amber

 

Update: We successfully completed the One Room Challenge! You can check out the reveal here!