The guest bathroom is something that has been on my mind daily for the past two months now. For some reason I was so stumped by it. I started out with a vision in mind (this post/these photos make me cringe but I keep them as a reminder for “where I started”) but quickly realized I was going the “farmhouse” route because it was easy for me, I suppose. It just didn’t feel right to me at all. It was too modern and didn’t have enough character/charm so I completely gutted by plan and decided to start over. I also made a promise to myself that I would never work on another room/space in our home without a design plan so after a lot of thought and debate, here I am sharing my plan!

The vanity in the bathroom is gray and while I do love it, I think that’s what was stumping me the most because it’s so easy to take the “modern farmhouse” route. Think… @ourfauxfarmhouse! That vanity would be perfect in their home. Needless to say, I love the color but it also feels very modern to me and I typically lean towards chippy, distressed character. The gray floor also had me thinking a lot. I should’ve chosen a floor that contrasted with the gray vanity, such as the dark brown flooring in the rest of the house. I guess when I picked out the details in the bathrooms I just really liked the vanity in gray and I also loved the floor. I specifically remember in the design showroom seeing the vanity color and immediately saying, “That one!”  I did the exact same thing for the bathroom flooring. Obviously I didn’t think that one through enough…

Oh well! I am going to work with it. I’ve thought through multiple options… First I thought of painting the vanity either darker (navy or black or charcoal or dark green?!) or white to create some contrast against the flooring but I really do love the gray vanity color so I’m not doing that now. I also thought about adding a fun tile flooring but I don’t really want to spend that money when the existing flooring is really pretty… And brand new…

I thought about this for hours and hours. The main question… “How can I incorporate character in a space that has a clean, modern looking vanity (on a budget)?”

I think I did it…

Since we already replaced the light in the bathroom, I wanted to somehow work that into the plan. I also wanted to figure out a way to make the existing “spec home” mirror work. Not only would another mirror or two cost quite a bit, but there is only one sink in the vanity so I think two mirrors would look funky. It mainly came down to budget though. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I have a plan worked out in my head to add some character to the current silver frame. Whether or not it actually works out will be a different story… I’ll keep you all updated.

As for the cottage charm, I think the wallpaper, bead board, and HARDWARE do the trick. The touch of vintage-y brass and glass is really what sealed the deal for me. It ties it all together perfectly (in my head at least)!

I can’t wait to get started on this project next month! What do you all think so far?

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Some other posts you might enjoy:

Guest Bathroom Inspiration

Guest Bedroom Current State + Inspiration

Guest Bedroom Sign