I’m sharing with you the before and after of our small modern cottage powder room makeover. This was our BIGGEST project by far!
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I am so eager to share with yall this transformation. This was the first major remodel project we have done so far and I am so happy with how it turned out. But before I show you how it all turned out, here are some of the problems we had in this powder room.
Here is what the bathroom looked like before:
First of all, I HATED the tile, both the floor and wall tile. The floor tile was way too large for the space. The bigger tile pieces only accentuated how small the bathroom is. The tile was uneven and there big over-inch gap behind the door.
The wall tile seemed more of a floor tile to me and I felt like the color of the wall tile really clashed with the floor tile. I felt like the added long tile piece under the window sill and the pattern of the wall tile was odd.
The blueish gray paint clashed with all the different tiles. The wood trim didn’t go with anything either.
The wood trim was cheap and very fake. The toilet paper holder annoyed me so much because it was always loose and the toilet paper never stayed on.
The pedestal sink basin was awkwardly too large for my liking. We didn’t like that there was no space for soap or anything. Both Brian and I are not fans of pedestal sinks as a whole.
The faucet didn’t bother me too bad to be honest and the mirror was basic. The mirror had no frame, it was literally just a piece of mirror glass. Overall very boring. Because of the wall tile, the mirror was hung higher up which was hard for me and the kids to see ourselves.
MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE was the fact that the mirror was not even with the lights. This bothered me on so many levels!! I also want a fan of the lights in general. It gave me old Hollywood vibes but the knock-off trashy version versus old Hollywood glam.
A few months ago, we had a major plumbing issue come up. This resulted in us having to rip out the drywall in various areas of our house, including the powder. That is why there are huge holes in the ceiling and just above the lights.
I am sorta glad that the plumbing problem happened. This forced us to have to completely remodel the bathroom.
SIDE NOTE: It also opened an opportunity to move our washer into our spare bedroom to make that into a laundry room.
Now here is what the powder room looks like!!
Here is Our EXTREME Modern Cottage Powder Room Makeover
First I would like to mention the floor. We were so nervous about doing the floor because neither of us had ever laid tile before. This was definitely a new experience for us and a team effort. I laid the tile out while Brian cut the tile and did the grout.
For the floor tile, we went with these porcelain dark gray hexagon tiles from Lowes. The tile itself was $1 per square foot so doing the floor in this tiny bathroom was pretty cheap.
My biggest regret with this whole makeover is actually the grout color choice we went with. I love the contrast of the dark tile with light grouting but dirt shows so easily on the grout. It has been a huge pain maintaining the lighter grout. In hindsight, this wasn’t the best color choice for a large family of nine to put in one of our most used bathrooms.
All in all, I do love how the floor turned out and despite the minor grout problem, I do love how it looks.
My main goal was to add some sort of wall feature to this bathroom. We debated between adding wall trim or vertical shiplap. Ultimately I decided that vertical shiplap was going to give us that modern cottage vibe we were trying to achieve. We also contemplated if we should do all four walls or only one wall.
Since we wanted to go with a dark color, we thought doing the whole room would darken the bathroom too much.
We went with Benjamin Moore’s Backwoods for the vertical shiplap. This Backwoods color is such a gorgeous deep green. I love it so much that I have been looking for what else in my house can I paint green. The walls are painted in a Shermin Williams Infinity paint that was color-matched to Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace. Chantilly Lace is personally my favorite white paint.
For the shiplap, we went the faux shiplap route by using plywood that we cut in 4.5” planks.
RELATED POST: check out an easy weekend fireplace makeover using black paint
I really liked the idea of incorporating a little shelf ledge in the powder room to be able to put some small decor on. We add a 1 x 4 board above the vertical shiplap which we stained to add warmth and a natural element to this space.
We originally bought a different bathroom vanity for this powder room but it was too large for the space. It made the bathroom feel so cramped and it was way too close to the toilet.
Last-minute we decided to go with a wall mount sink. I really like the traditional look of this one from Aquasource. I wanted something small and minimal and this was perfect for this space.
It also turned out to be the cheapest option as far as sinks which is a huge plus. This was one of those moments when I was so happy that our original plan DID NOT go as expected.
One of my favorite features in this powder room is the faucet. How gorgeous is this antique brass faucet! It alone is so pretty that it in itself is a major design element in this powder room.
My other favorite feature is the light fixture. We went with this modern schoolhouse-style light fixture for only $60. It’s normally $120 but we bought it used from Amazon for half the price.
A little home decor hack, check to see if Amazon has any home products you’re looking into used. You can save a lot of money this way!
We both love the mixed metals of black and brass on the light fixture. The mixed metal design really helped tie together the black mirror and the brass accents.
We went with a black pivot mirror. I am a huge fan of the minimal sleek look of pivot mirrors. The tilting feature is especially convenient for us shorter people. The kids and I can use the mirror now while also being easily accommodating for Brian.
We added craftsman trim around the door and window which was such an easy upgrade. The craftsman trim added character and charming details to the powder room that helped us get that modern cottage look.
I am really impressed with the look of these faux wooden blinds we bought from Walmart. I actually plan on buying more for other parts of our house. We have gotten quite a few compliments on the blinds alone.
Oddly, I would like to mention the toilet. So something that was a big deal for us was to get this American Series Champion toilet. It was a necessity to have a toilet that would not clog. This toilet claims it can flush a bucket of golf balls without clogging and had one of the largest traps on the toilet market.
I don’t know if this is a large family problem or not but we have issues with our toilets getting clogged often. Especially because we have a little one that has a fascination with putting things in the toilets.
I came to realize that we hit a new level of adulting when we got excited over a toilet.
As far decor goes for this bathroom, I wanted it to be very minimal and I was super intentional with what I did put in here.
I love the look of amber bottles and bought one for the air freshener and hand soap. The air freshener and hand soap now look like part of the decor.
I also have this art print I got for free from the public domain on the National Gallery of Arts website. This is a great resource to find real works of art for FREE that you can print out.
I bought the antique tabletop crucifix at the thrift store for only a couple of dollars. The two candles we already had on hand.
We also have this woven basket to hold extra toilet paper. It was super cheap from Aldis, and I do have links to similar-looking ones on Amazon in the description below.
How Long And How Much It Took To Do The Modern Cottage Powder Room Makeover
This project took us a month to do. We actually started the demo in August but we had some things come up. We didn’t get to start putting up drywall and the rest of the work until October. Once we actually start working on it, it took us about two months. This was mainly because we could only work on it on the weekends.
Remodeling the powder room remodel cost about $1250.
Overall Thoughts
I am very pleased with how this remodel came out. I feel very proud that we were able to execute a major project like this completely on our own and learn a lot of new skills. The powder room is exactly how I wanted it to look and I am so in love with the modern cottage vibe.
This bathroom makeover definitely gave us confidence in starting other projects. We will be redoing the kids’ bathroom soon and I feel a lot less intimidated about starting that remodel.
RELATED POST: check out our easy DIY built-in cabinets with shelves around a window
SHOP OUR MODERN COTTAGE BATHROOM
- Antique Brass Faucet
- Dark gray hexagon tile
- Grout (biscuit)
- Wall mount sink
- Modern schoolhouse light fixture
- Black pivot mirror
- Faux wooden cordless blinds
- Brass toilet paper holder
- Oval towel ring holder
- Vintage picture frame
- Amber soap dispenser
- Large woven basket (I got mine from Aldi but this is similar) –
Paint Colors:
+ Vertical Shiplap – Benjamin Moore Advanced satin in the color Backwoods
+ Walls, baseboards, and trim – Sherwin Williams Infinity, color-matched to Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace
WATCH OUR EXTREME MODERN COTTAGE POWDER ROOM MAKEOVER
SAVE THIS FOR LATER!
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