Project: Brick & Blue Bathroom

When we first walked through this house the one and only negative, in my opinion, was the main bathroom which also serves as the master bathroom. At first glance, the brick flooring and brick countertop was a bit much ...then add a blue tub and a blue stall shower surrounded by more brick with old brass fixtures and tell me how you feel. But the more I lived with it the more I liked it and like I've said before, I sort of let rooms dictate how they need to be decorated as to go with the groove of the house and not against it.


Along with the colors, including the paint-splattered rustic bricks, the splotchy white paint job with plaster drips, the vaulted ceiling and the small & narrow door, this bathroom reminds me of an old worn-out boat. So, like our master bedroom down the hall, I'm going with a beach look but instead of a tropical feel like the bedroom, the bathroom will have more of an old and tattered, rustic boat feel. Until now I've never ever been into the "beach" look but this house is just asking for it and what's really great about doing it now is it seems to be everywhere I look and in every catalogue that appears in my mailbox ...but I have a few old treasures of my own that will find a new home in there as well.



While I did pick up a few pieces of large faux coral at Pottery Barn yesterday, the bathroom is yet to be completed. But as usual, here are a few projects I've done since we moved in to get it to where it's at now.

  
A good scrub-down to this little white cabinet above the toilet and cute contact paper over the old wallpaper made a huge difference.


  
The original faucet wasn't horrible but it was leaking horribly underneath and at the base and since the sink wasn't grouted, it was easy enough to plop a new one in there as well {thanks to my step-dad, Barry} Faucet: $99 Sink: $64 {was $39 in-store} both Home Depot



Originally I was going to just replace this old vanity/medicine cabinet with a new one BUT it wasn't as easy as I thought to find the exact size without custom ordering it. My second thought was to remove the entire outter piece and find a large framed mirror to hang over it and not use the medicine cabinet at all ...which also wasn't easy to find pre-made without costing an arm and a leg. My last {and most budget friendly but time consuming} option was to take it apart and spray paint it to look like it was a rusty old coppery bronze color. Here's how I did it {using only a screw driver to remove the frame}.



  



  

   


Another HUGE improvement in my book. That brass vanity killed me. As much as I like the way our bathroom looks now even still incomplete, besides the Pottery Barn faux coral, it's totally and absolutely unique. I've never ever seen so much brick in a bathroom before, especially as a countertop but I love the way it's shaping up and I love the window and the light that shines in throughout the day. But I must admit that nothing AND I MEAN NOTHING, makes up for the worst water pressure in the entire world ...even a great big rain shower-head. But I've learned to live with that too.





Click Here to see a complete before & after.