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VSC is a beautiful collaboration between Deborah @bvintagestyle and Brittany @white.farmhouse. They have found strength in their partnership and love to share everything to help you create a home and life you love.
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May 16, 2019
Farmhouse Bathroom Renovation
5 Proven Tips to Make a Tiny Bathroom Work
Living with a tiny bathroom isn’t fun, am I right?! A bathroom is one space in a home that needs to function well as it serves for so many purposes. It took 6 years for my farmhouse bathroom renovation to happen but… Friends!!! The day is finally here!! I have been waiting weeks to share my final bathroom reveal with you all and I couldn’t be more excited to have partnered with Wayfair for their One Room Renovation Challenge on this one!! The finished product is Ahhh-MAZING!!!! It actually turned out even better than I had expected, which is what every home owner wants right?! As big as this beauty of a house is, the bathrooms are SUPER teeny weeny so I had to come up some pretty BIG, small bathroom ideas to make it all work! Take a peek below at the before and afters as well as the top 5 PROVEN tips I used to make sure I got everything I wanted in this tiny bathroom!
It has been a hot minute since we bought this big ol’ house and for some reason our two year plan of renovating the bathrooms and kitchen have turned into a six year plan! Isn’t that always the way though?! One tip I always give my Interior design clients, is to plan a space to function for double the time you think you will be in it! I hear from so many people that say they are only going to be in a home for 5 or 10 years but that time quickly turns into 15-20!! You might as well make it beautiful, practical and functional even if you only plan to be there for a short time… always keeping costs in mind of course!
In the Beginning…. A Bathroom Disaster
This space was BAD people…. Like so bad that we almost didn’t buy the house because of it!!!! The first time I walked into this space I pretty much walked right back out and told the owner, thanks but no thanks!!! The drywall was falling off, there was black mold all over the tub surround, the vanity was SO old…. and like I said, it was such a tiny bathroom BUT after leaving the house and thinking about it non-stop for a few weeks in a row, we decided to take another look! Well fast forward a couple years and here we are now! We have renovated SO much of this house already and for some reason we left the bathrooms and kitchen for last… I guess because we knew that they would be the priciest and there were so many other things that needed the work, like the roof, the attic and grass/fencing so my kids could have a yard to play in!
Before the Renovation
We did our best to ‘spruce’ up the main level bathroom to be functioning for our little family but knew it wouldn’t be too long until we could rip it all out and put in what we really wanted! I simply used a DIY concrete counter top mix and went over the arberite and refinished the floor with a cork flooring we found at ReStore in Calgary. Then it was just a coat of paint and a pretty shower curtain and VOLIA no more yucky bathroom… well at least a less yucky one anyways! We continued to work on the areas of the house that needed it the most, but this year we couldn’t take it anymore! It was time to get going on the worst space in the house! Mr. Mac was even done with it, which tells you it was time! Take a peek at my best renovation tips and more before images of the bathroom here.
Before the Renovation
Game Changer Ideas for tiny Bathrooms with farmhouse style
I knew that I didn’t want a traditional vanity for this space! I needed something that wouldn’t feel bulky or big, like a standard cabinet vanity can. The space in this bathroom was so small and as much as the storage value is great in a cabinet style vanity, I knew I could come up with other storage solutions that would work for our family and still allow for an airy, open concept vanity. You can also achieve this feel with a wall mounted or pedestal sink. I suggest you weigh out the pros and cons of having a space that feels bigger with an open concept vanity or going with a bigger, bulkier vanity. To keep with the farmhouse theme I have in my home, the vanity is an old antique desk that I finished to raw wood using these steps!
I found this stunning farmhouse, vessel style sink on Wayfair and I can’t even tell you how happy I am with it!! I was nervous about the splash factor with a vessel sink but this one is absolutely wonderful! We positioned it just far enough away that the water doesn’t hit the drain plug below which helped eliminate the splash back as well. I love how wide it is and that it is flat so I can place objects and bottles in it without them falling over. I was also able to add a beautiful wall mounted faucet with a built in soap dish! One thing I have always tried to do through out the renovation of this house was to stay true to the age of the home. I feel like the polished chrome color of the fixtures and the added details of the soap dish and porcelain handles do just that!
In order to do the open concept vanity, I had to think outside the box on storage solutions. I chose to add a big antique basket below to hold some everyday toiletry’s, additional toilet paper and towels. I also found some beautiful antique jars that I use on my open shelves to hold Q-tips, cotton pads and Epson salts as well as an antique French bread prover that I use to hold all of my daily makeup and lotions. I love the texture and personality that all of these items give the space and they are honestly used by me EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!
3. Open Shelving
I knew I needed a bit more storage then what I had in the basket under the vanity so I decided on open shelving! As much as open shelves scare some people, as long as you keep your décor simple and intentional on them, they can be very attractive and practical! Like I said above, I use all the items on my shelves every single day and they really help to draw the eye away from the yucky toilet below that had no where else to go in the room!
It’s always a good plan when renovating or planning a new space to think about an area that you may want a bit of extra space! I HATE looking at a beautiful tub that is riddled with bottles of shampoo and conditioner or even worse, having to pull out your bath products every time you need to use them. We planned for this and added some major storage right beside the gorgeous shower faucet in the tub! I wanted the tub and faucet to be the star of the show in this space so making sure my hubbies razors and my purple shampoo bottles where hidden was essential. Although I didn’t add storage behind the mirror in this bathroom, I do love that spot as well for as much storage as possible.
A HINGED DOOR ELIMINATES AN ENTIRE WALL SPACE IN A SMALL BATHROOM, ADDING A POCKET OR BARN STYLE DOOR OPENS UP A TON OF REAL ESTATE!
I honestly wanted to add a pocket door in this space instead of a barn door because I wanted to add the gorgeous door trim I have everywhere else in the house but unfortunately that wasn’t an option for me so I went with a barn style door! I can still fit a hanging towel behind the slider and in the end I love the look of it. I kept the hardware very simple and hung an original door from this house we had in storage!
Farmhouse Bathroom Reveal
One feature that made me super nervous to change was the door to the bathroom entrance. It originally went right smack into the middle of my kitchen, which let’s be honest, is just gross and uncomfortable for everyone! The only option I had to relocate it was around the corner of the kitchen, right under the back staircase. I was worried about losing the natural light that the door opening into the kitchen gave and that opening up the wall on the other side we would find something we didn’t want to find, like asbestos! You can never be sure with an old house! We took our chances and it TOTALLY paid off! No asbestos, no hidden surprises! I also had some big beautiful leaded glass windows that I had salvaged from a house in Calgary so I decided to put a transom in the wall above where the old door used to be! This would look after my natural light issue in the kitchen!
I also LOVE the gorgeous countertop from Silestone by Cosentino that I decided to add to the top of the vanity. It was the perfect touch and once again much more practical then the wood surface which would require refinishing over the years and would show serious water damage with time. I wanted something that would be easy to wipe down, keep clean and would be beautiful as well! I went with a color called White Zeus, which is about as white as my beautiful sink to keep it consistent! I wasn’t wanting any competing textures or colours because I knew there would be enough going on in this small space already! The countertop was installed by the amazing and talented folks at LaPorte Surfaces! The customer service was incredible from both of these companies!!! I would highly recommend using Silestone products for a kitchen or bathroom!
The classic, freestanding soaker tub and stunning
shower faucet are surrounded by stunning Carrera Marble subway tiles that complement the matching Carrera Marble 1” X 2” herringbone tile flooring! I chose to go with a matching grout color, called Rain, to blend it all together! My favorite feature about my gorgeous new tub, other than just looking at it, is how DEEP it is!! My kids could go swimming in it which is exactly what I wanted (It makes it harder for them to splash the walls when it is that deep too ) The shower faucet is not only the diamond of the room but it is also so practical. We use this room to wash Jersey Girl, our 1 year old English Cream Retriever, so it is wonderful to have the hand held shower wand. Yes we wash our pup in here…. I planned for that, hense the deep tub and practical, (but beautiful) shower faucet!
One other area I was a bit nervous about was mixing all the antique brass with the polish chrome metals! I needed to have the right amount of both to make the small bathroom look balanced! I found my vanity sconces on Wayfair and honestly planned just about everything else around them! I LOVE adding a tiny bit of industrial décor into my home with contrasting elements like white shiplap and fancy chandeliers. These fixtures were just so me! When I found the stunning but simple antique brass mirror and the beautiful toilet tissue holder I was all set! The look came together just as I envisioned!
I used an 8” pre made shiplap for the walls to match the profile of the shiplap I have in other parts of the house! I decided to use an outdoor solid stain instead of paint on the walls for the protective value and of course it’s my fav white Oxford White by Benjamin Moore. I also got the central chandelier from a local antique store!
So that’s a wrap folks! I hope you have enjoyed my bathroom reveal and the Wayfair One Room Renovation Challenge! Hopefully my tips for a tiny bathroom have also been useful and my farmhouse style has inspired some of you! I would LOVE to hear what you think??! Leave me a comment below or send me an email! It always makes me happy to hear what you think!
If you want to see even more bathroom inspiration, head on over and check out all of the talented ladies who took part in this amazing challenge! I have listed them below and each one has such a unique and different style!
It’s ABSOLUTELY STUNNING DEB ! And the use of the old door hardware in the sliding barn door vessel is BRILLIANT!!❤️
Looks amazing,,,,congrats on a job well done. Enjoy!
Thank you so much! I am so happy with how it all turned out!
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the VINTAGE SOCIETY CO. team
What started out as a duo of Brittany and Deborah has now expanded into a TEAM!
Deborah McDOnald
CO-FOUNDER
AKA @bvintagestyle
Small town girl living in a 1903 Heritage home she dreamed of as a child.
Brittany Hislop
Co-Founder
AKA @white.farmhouse
Living a simple life in a rural Alberta town and painting her house white as she goes!
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