An Organic, Fresh, and Calming Renovation.
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We have a secret to share… we’ve found our house a bit drab from day one and really purchased it for the incredible 40 acre property it sits on. It felt drab and uninviting, making our top priority to bring those fresh Modern Organic vibes everywhere we can. Slowly but surely we’ve been making small to medium scale updates, building our renovation confidence along the way. This project was our most aspirational yet, incorporating board and batten walls, replacing a faulty toilet, implementing a more modern and spacious pedestal sink, as well as full light and hardware fixture updates. For such a small space, we took our time, tackling this effort in phases to allow for thoughtful problem solving and bespoke decor creation. Read on to see where we started, why we made the choices we did, what hero products we used to make it all came together.
As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, using what we have that isn’t necessary to change is always our starting point. With our home, these two anchors are the golden pine interior trim and the slate tile flooring. Neither of these are what we would choose if given the option, but they are high quality, in excellent condition, and do not merit creating unnecessary waste in the landfill. So, we have chosen to work with them and might I say, are even enjoying the challenge of taking these elements that may typically seem dated and bring them a fresh, new, and current life throughout our home.
The Sad Before.
For this project, the things that had to change were the:Startling neon green wall paint,Generic mirror,Rusty light fixture, Awkwardly placed towel bar,Pedestal sink with no soap and lotion surface area, and the poor functioning, often running over the night to drain our water reservers, toilet.
Powder Room Design Board
As we bring new design elements into any space in our home, we’ve formalized our goals to always balance the space, make it more relevant but also timeless, be cohesive across decor selections, and bring the outside in with thoughtful organic touches. To accomplish those goals we tackled the base elements of color first, then material, then styling. And of course, before we purchase anything or start demo, we begin with a design board.
Color: It’s all about undertone, cohesion, and a balance of modern and classic to make it timeless. I cannot stress enough to try out Samplize, like we did, to gain 100% confidence in your color choice without having to waste money or space in your home on sample paint pots! Here’s how our color selections from paint to hard finishes played out…
- To compliment both the trim and floors, we painted the upper wall and ceiling Benjamin Moore’s White Dove as it can play both warm and cool. This update alone has brought the freshness of the outside in, and actually made us appreciate our golden trim even more.
- For the board and batten wall, we choose to utilize Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty, which is a soft black that anchors the built in to the floor.
- To bring an element of softness in contrast to the darker walls and floors we selected a round brushed gold metal framed mirror. We selected a pivot mirror to provide space to hang in front of both the board and batten railing. We were also intentional in selecting a rounded mirror to provide visual distinction against the right angles of the square floor tiles and rectangle board and batten panels.
Styling: With the tall ceiling and additional feel of height from the board and batten wall, we wanted to ensure the space didn’t feel empty but also not overfilled. It required a delicate balance of adding very intentional touches that spoke to our natural and organic senses. Here we achieved this with greenery from live plants, applying a soft botanical peel & stick wallpaper inside the wall cubby, adding neutrally colored smaller elements such as a cream, vegan leather tissue holder, and creating custom made elements: 1) essential oil reed diffuser with a sprig of juniper from our land and 2) plaster art canvases (made by Monique!). We weaved more of the brushed gold throughout the space with these two charming thinking and listening gold figurines. We also wanted to ensure cohesion with our previous bathroom update, which is why we incorporated the same the black soap + lotion bottles, the West Elm stone colored waffle hand towel and a faux Ginko stem nailed to the entry wall.
Since our walls and trim have warm undertones, we wanted to ensure that the remaining finishes worked with the warmth while also bringing the “classic” (i.e. the right amount of elegance, modernity and timeless) feels to the room. Tall (and seemingly contradictory order), right?! I think we did it though… we selected a 9.8” Ripple Glass Cocoon Pendant light for the modern and Signature Hardware’s Pendleton polished nickel bath fixtures (faucet, towel rings, and tp holder) for the elegant and classic elements. Polished nickel has a yellow undertone, which is so delicate and harmonious with the golden pine wood trim. And Remember, YES, you CAN mix metals and tones, but keep the finish (i.e. brushed vs polished) consistent by metal.
And there you have it! We’d love to hear what you think of our renovation and we can’t wait to share our next project – wrapping up our primary bedroom with a grid patterned board and batten wall behind our bed (and some other finishing touches)!
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