As I’ve been busy working on the studio, I’ve had the chance to really take my time in making decisions about the hallway bathroom. This is still the main, most used bathroom in our house. It’s the one that guests use, and the one that I use the most during the day. But right now, it looks like a mess.
I finally did get a plumber here to finish installing all of the new bathtub/shower fixtures. So that part is done now. But other things look “in progress” even though I don’t plan to work on this bathroom until I’ve completely finished the studio. I’ve had this wallpaper sample taped to the wall for probably two months now.
And while the main countertop has been switched out from wood to quartz since the beginning of August, the other little countertop on the corner countertop just inside the bathroom to the right is still wood. I have the quartz countertop for that area, but figuring out how to get it into place has been a challenge.
So focusing my time and effort on the studio has given me plenty of time to try to figure out exactly what I want to do with this bathroom when I start working on it. And I think I finally have a plan in place.
First, I am 100% sure that I’m going to use this wallpaper in the room. It’s just too perfect for my house and for my personal taste to pass it up. BUT…I’m going to remove all of the accent tile around the room, finish up the top of the wainscoting in a very simple and understated way so that it’s not trying to be the star of the show, and then I’ll bring the wallpaper down to the wainscoting.
I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but I’m also going to get rid of the current mirror. I don’t have a new photo that shows the mirror really well, but you can see it in this older photo. I basically trimmed out a plain frameless mirror in the same way I trim out all of our windows and doors, and then I installed the sconces on the frame.
I like that mirror, and it has served us well for the past nine years, but I’m ready for something more decorative. And smaller. I want it to be a smaller mirror with a pretty white frame sitting against that dark wallpaper. And I want wallpaper visible between the mirror frame and the sconces.
But I’m pretty sure I’ve already shared all of that with you in previous posts. What I didn’t share is my decision about the corner cabinet and shelves. I’ve pretty much decided that the upper part of the corner cabinet (the part with the open shelves) needs to come out completely.
That will solve a few of problems, but it will also create a couple of problems.
Let’s talk about the problems it will solve. First, it will allow me to get that wood countertop out of there and swap it for the new quartz countertop. (That’s really the main reason that got me thinking about the possibility of taking the upper cabinet out completely and leaving it out.) Second, removing the upper cabinet completely will get rid of the tile on the back that I installed vertically. I liked that design decision at first, but have come to really dislike it. Plus, if I’m getting rid of the accent tile in the rest of the room, keeping the tile at the back of these shelves will make no sense at all.
But the third reason is probably my favorite unintended benefit. I would then be able to carry the wallpaper around into that little nook, which will balance out the look of the wallpaper in the room. Without that, I feel like that dark wallpaper mainly on two walls of the room would make it feel unbalanced.
What problem would it create? Well, the crown molding would have to be completely redone in this area since it wraps around the front of the cabinet, and I’d need to to wrap around to the back wall of the nook (i.e., the wall where the vertical tile is now). And once that’s removed, that means that the ceiling boards in this area, which end at the front of the cabinets just under the crown molding, would have to be removed and replaced with boards that go all the way to the back wall of the nook.
So the plans are starting to go beyond just a quick little makeover with some new wallpaper, a new mirror, and new vanity paint color, a new shower curtain, and some new plumbing fixtures.
But I don’t really see any way around it. With that cabinet there, I can’t get that countertop out. It all starts with the countertop. And there’s simply no way I’m going to have one quartz countertop and one wood countertop. That’s not even an option.
So it looks like the new countertop will set off a whole domino effect in this little bathroom. But that’s okay. It’ll be fun, and give me something to look forward to once the studio is finished. If you give a DIYer a new countertop… (Perhaps I should write a children’s book. ? )
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
