I shared our initial plans for this bathroom in an earlier post — I say initial though I swear this bathroom went through countless iterations in the months before it actually started. That’s what happens when your entire project is delayed for four to five months. It’s our second floor full bathroom and, while it gets used frequently because it’s on the same floor as the kitchen and dining room, it’s not one that we need to use regularly for showers (though I’m still getting used to using the same main bathroom as Adam — we each took a bathroom in our condo).
Here’s how this bathroom came together.
You can find a super in depth dive into the before and after in my story on Apartment Therapy!
Coming Up With a Classic Style
I wanted this bathroom to feel like it fit the era of the house, but I also wanted it to feel fresh. We were actually lucky that the existing tile was in such bad shape that there was no way to salvage it. Had it been better, there could have been an argument for keeping it. But the tub tile had been painted over multiple times. Floor tiles were cracked. The baseboard tile was just gross.
That meant I got to start from scratch, and I started with this black and white basketweave tile. I knew I wanted basketweave and everything else evolved from there. I found the baseboard, the wall tile (actually the same one we used upstairs), the pencil molding, and the chair rail. It was definitely a process, but I love the way it came together. It feels like a pre-war apartment in the city — and that’s exactly what I wanted.
The Rifle Paper peacock wallpaper was actually the first one that I looked at, and, in the end, after many, many samples, it’s what I came back to. I had some concern that it would be too busy, particularly blending navy with black, but it works perfectly.
Finding the Right Size Soaking Tub
Finding the a tub that would fit the space was the hardest part. We took down the wall that was on the end of the inset tub and moved the showerhead to the other wall to free up visual space, but we did still want a tub in here since we have a shower upstairs. But, it turns out, there aren’t many tubs out there under 48″. We finally found one from Vintage Tub & Bath, which also has gorgeous tub fittings. I did the telephone style handshower, but we also did a showerhead and shower curtain combo so that we can use it as a shower if we need to. I bought shower curtains that I love from Pottery Barn but decided not to keep them up regularly — it makes the room seem larger without.
Read the Full Story on Apartment Therapy
Okay, I could get into more details, but it’s all on my Apartment Therapy story — just go over there and read that! I get into all the decisions, all the nitty gritty little pieces that came together, and why we made the decisions we did. It’s in-depth, I promise.
