If you follow me on Instagram, that is where I post e-very-thing I am doing! Well… to the stories. My main feed is a little more serious and showcases my design work. The stories is where you see my day-to-day happenings. And last year…this happened! We built about 800 square feet on to our existing home. We added another bedroom, a bath, and made our bonus room bigger. Those other two rooms are “works in progress” but this bathroom is complete and ready to be featured!
Welcome to our bonus bathroom!
This bathroom sits at the end of our second story hallway, between the new bonus room and my teenage daughter’s new bedroom. Because this bathroom is shared between those two very different rooms, I wanted to create a classic space that had a little whimsy.
Inspiration is EVERYWHERE!
The design scheme all started when I went to Palm Springs for a girls weekend and we had brunch at The Pink Cabana at the Sands Hotel and Spa. The tropical but girly feel just had my eyes popping out of their socket and my mouth watering from all the beautiful details: Palm wallpaper, rattan accents, brass fixtures, and big globe lighting. The mix was delightfully classic and I knew I had to have it in my life.
TRAVEL! It gives you so much inspiration!
Bring myself back to real life in the burbs of Portland, Oregon, I knew I couldn’t do pink and green and all things Palm Springs here in the Northwest (or at least, not in my fairly conservative home). So, I went a big more subtle with the navy palm motif wallpaper I found at Serena & Lily which flows nicely with the blues of the bonus room just outside this room (photos to come SOON!). And after I scored that Lanai mirror at the Serena & Lily outlet store, I knew my room design was ready to launch.
Let’s look at the DETAILS!
Mix your metals. Do it! Your space will feel more collected and less “builder-grade”. I knew I wanted to have that classic brass in the space and found those handmade brass hooks from a store on Etsy! The sconces were chosen specifically to go with this mirror for they had to be just the right size to fit alongside the bamboo detail on the side of the mirror (Thank goodness I had the mirror and sconces already before they put up the drywall. I was able to talk through the design with the electrician before the drywall went in). Lastly, I love the Champagne Bronze finish of the Delta faucet line. You may remember, I used the double handle style in our other hall bath seen here and we also used it in the bar area at the Lilywood project.
The second metal is the black pulls on the pre-made vanity. I really like the function and look of these pulls. Makes it feel like a piece of furniture vs. a bathroom vanity. Instead of changing out these black pulls that “technically” go with nothing else in the space, it actually works! It adds contrast to the stark white vanity that we are getting from the high contrast in the navy and white wallpaper.
Then there’s the TILE!
I can not remember where I originally saw this scallop tile but I fell in LOVE! And when you are doing an all white bathroom, it can be a challenge to create interest. So instead of the traditional subway tile like we did in the hall bath, I decided to do this scallop instead and I truly love the texture.
To minimize a bathroom space from becoming too busy, choose a grout color that is closest to the color of the tile.
The center photo is an arial view of the shower curb. I had my fabricator cut a solid piece of quartz from the same product I used on the vanity counter. This is my favorite detail when designing a shower surround. Why? Because of continuity and cleanliness. Grout can get really gross on the parts where water sits stagnant. I try to avoid grout on any flat surface when possible in a shower. In the niche (the product cubby in the shower) we put the penny tile on the back wall but for the frame, we used oversized porcelain tiles (from Home Depot) to get that clean flat, flawless surface.
Overall Look: from the FRONT
Overall look: from the SHOWER
Last Detail: ARTWORK
I knew I wanted a piece of artwork with character and color in this space. The older I get, the more bold I feel I am getting with my art taste. You also know that I love vintage and artwork is a great place to bring vintage into a bathroom where most items are brand spankin’ new. No, this is art is not vintage. I TRIED, y’all! I scoured vintage store after vintage store. Nothing felt right! So…I got an idea.
Last spring at my son’s school, I lead the Art Literacy lesson on Frida Kahlo. For the production, we had the kids take their school photo, collage items they love around themselves, and mounted it on a patterned background. They turned out AMAZING!
Fast forward to Fall 2022 and it’s homecoming week for my high school daughter. We had so much going on that weekend: tailgater, cheer pre-game performance, homecoming court presentation, homecoming dance pre-funk, homecoming dance, etc. I was running all over town planning and prepping. I came into contact with a lot of people that this girl, after 2+ years, finally came down with The Covid.
Well…what does one do when quarantining for 5 days? MAKE ART! :). I made this Frida portrait in the technique we used in the school project. Here overall look was inspired by Carmen Miranda and here fruit hats and large bobble necklaces. Brazil meets Mexico meets Palm Springs artwork now resides in a bathroom in the Pacific Northwest! How perfectly quirky is that?
I hope you like it! Warning: for those of you wanting to add wallpaper to your spaces, it can be addicting! Now that I’ve wallpaper in this bathroom, I am itching to do another!!! Stay tuned! 😉
xo, Melis
PRODUCT LINKS:
Wallpaper: Serena & Lily Palm Wallpaper
Scallop tile: Bedrosian Sorrento Wave Ceramic Wall Tile ordered through CFM
Penny tile: Le Cafe by Bedrosian
Faucet: Delta from Build.com
Shower fixture: Delta from Build.com
Sconces: Driscoll 12″ by Generation Lighting
Mirror: Serena & Lily Lanai Mirror in Navy
Towel hooks: Handcrafted wall hooks found on etsy.com
Vanity: Avanity 36″ White Cabinet from Build.com
Toilet: Aquia by Toto
Melissa K Manos Designs 