The Pivot House: First Bathroom Reveal

When we first toured the house, we didn’t give much thought at all to the bathroom just off of the dining room. It’s a small, cramped space that’s big enough for a shower, but its low ceiling is most definitely not up to code. We agreed that it was weirdly placed and the plan was to carve out a powder room elsewhere.

We all know how that plan went (womp, womp). So what are we going to do now? We’re going to keep it in the exact same place and make it work!

We started this room’s renovation from the ground up. The current vinyl sheet was old and peeling at the edges, so that obviously needed to go. I’m already second guessing our decision not to lay real tile on top of the vinyl, but at this point in our renovation, time is of the essence. I figure we can always lay real tile on top if we want to try to sell the house again and think it’ll help with resale.

And so I started searching for flooring that felt fun and durable and easy to install. When I landed on this darling buffalo plaid by Chasing Paper (my favorite peel & stick wallpaper company), I was smitten. I love that the pattern is classic, but in the purple colorway it feels modern. The lighter purple squares pick up on the purple walls of the dining room, so it’s a nice visual transition between spaces. Then I painted the walls crisp white (A Bit of Sugar by Behr) because this room gets nice light and it helped the space feel less dingy.

Not only was the existing vanity was literally falling apart from within, the baseboard behind the vanity had several holes in it…and access to the outside of the house from the inside of the house is what little critters love. So after removing the vanity, we had lots of patching to do. We also had to patch sections of the wall due to some wear and tear and neglect. To replace the vanity, I started searching for affordable options that don’t look super cheap and generic. It was a tough search until I found this Ikea cutie. I love that the beadboard doors feel historic and this white Ikea sink is cute and classic. The vanity is rather shallow, but it fit this bathroom’s floor plan. Paired with the darling brass faucet (which also has a historic shape and appeal), the whole set was $250.

Since storage is so lacking, we felt the need to install a medicine cabinet…but a much better looking one. I love that this arched West Elm option ties in the archways from the living room and has a modern sensibility to it. To coordinate with the mirror’s black iron trim, I hung some metal hooks for towels (hand and bath) and black shower curtain rings. As you can see, none of the items in this space have a dark or heavy look/shape because we want this room to feel as light and fresh as possible.

I pulled a vintage rattan shelf from my parents’ attic for the wall (perfect for stashing make-up, toiletries etc), which coordinates so well with these rattan cabinet pulls, this roller shade (which we still need to hang), and a vintage-inspired toilet paper holder.

I love that this bathroom went from a drab afterthought to a charming little spot with personality.

Jourdan Fairchild