Happy REVEAL Day, friends, and especially to my fellow ORC-ers out there! There are so many inspiring spaces this ORC, and you can go see ALL the other rooms over at the ORC Blog Page! What’s even more exciting is that Better Homes and Gardens is the media sponsor for this ORC! So amazing!
If you missed previous weeks, you can check them out here:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
This was a very different ORC for us than the last two we have participated in. One, because I approached it from a very different mindset – design for US, not what anyone else wants to see. Two, because I was on a VERY limited budget – $500. We did go over a smidge, but I’ll discuss that a bit more below. And three, because I was determined to still LIVE my life during this ORC (the past two, I ate, slept, and dreamt ORC for 6 weeks straight, and it was downright exhausting)! Now, that’s not to say I might not go HAM for the next ORC I tackle, but I wanted to approach this one a bit differently.
And the best part about this new approach, is that I think it is more accessible for the everyday homeowner who might want to transform a space completely, but at a more realistic price point.
**This post may contain affiliate links – see my full Disclosure HERE**
Full disclosure: I was gifted our cabinet paint, cabinet hardware, and new faucet/drains. I actually didn’t plan to change out the faucets and drains, but when Coles Flooring here in San Diego and Kohler offered to provide them to me free of charge, I JUMPED at the chance (special thanks to Jenny for making this happen)! But had I purchased the cabinet paint and hardware, we would have capped out at just under $600, which is still a steal for the transformation we got if you ask me!
To remind you of my original inspiration for this room:
And now, without further ado, here is our finished bathroom, space by space:
The Mirrors:
Per usual, the inspiration for this whole project started on a resale app. I found these AMAZING mirrors (similar to the ones I found for our master bathroom) on OfferUp for $40 for the pair. Originally, I planned to just frame out the original builder grade mirror, but when I found these beauties, I had to have them. And for the price?! YES PLEASE!
I painted them a taupe color and then waxed them with dark wax to give them a faux wood look, but because the wood under the original ugly gold paint was pretty beat up, the natural wood actually shows through and they look super realistic!
The Cabinets:
Once I had the mirrors, my entire vision came to be. I knew I wanted an old school house/brick building vibe, and I think I accomplished that!
I’m loving green these days, and I knew I would need a subtle pop of color in this room to balance out all the brick. Enter Giani’s Nuvo Cabinet paint. Y’all have heard me rave about this cabinet paint before, and for good reason – it’s AMAZING. And this Old Sage color is perfect. It reads a grey green in this space, and it add that perfect color pop without being obnoxious! We just love the color! And a huge thanks again to Giani for sponsoring this ORC!
The Brick & Feature Wall:
I LOVE the german schmear faux brick we did on our fireplace, and I always knew I wanted to add it somewhere else in the house. Once I decided to go with the schoolhouse vibe, I knew this was the perfect place to go for it. And because it was going to be A LOT of brick, I knew I wanted to break up the space a bit. So I gathered inspo from one of my favorite Instagram accounts – Laura at @threesonsfarmhouse – and decided to paint what I wanted to look like an old advertisement on a brick building, bathroom themed of course.
Initially, I hoped to buy a custom stencil. But that wasn’t in budget. So then I hoped to MAKE a stencil, but that wasn’t possible in the time I had left. Then, I hoped to use a projector, but the space was too small. So, (fourth times the charm!) I imposed a grid on a compilation of a couple of photos I merged together online, recreated that grid with tape on my wall, and freehanded it! It was a doosey for SURE, but I LOVE how it turned out! I then distressed and sealed the entire wall again with 2 coats of concrete acrylic epoxy sealer.
The Floors:
Stenciled floors are my jam. It’s such an amazing way to transform ugly tile or linoleum floors on a MAJOR budget. And after three rounds of this, I feel like I definitely have got my groove going on floor painting. It’s such a satisfying project, to be sure!
The Shelving:
Deciding to take out the giant builder grade mirror also meant we were able to add some more practical storage in here, which was fantastic. These pipe shelves are a bit pricey (though cheaper and obviously more custom than if you purchased already made ones online), but I love the industrial vibe they add. I also left both the galvanized and iron finishes exposed to tie in the chrome fixtures we have in the shower. I hope to eventually replace those, but on out current budget, it just wasn’t possible! And I always encourage you to WORK WITH WHAT YA GOT (and WITHIN your budget – as best you can)!
The Details:
Lots of little details went into this space too. I added an authentic vintage Turkish rug (all the way from Turkey, and only $45!!! Good ole Etsy!), a new shower curtain which we hung near the ceiling to visually add height, new faucets and drains in the sink, and a matching industrial pipe TP holder. The wall sconce, ceiling light, and medallion cost less than $100 total, too! They are just beautiful and add that perfect old schoolhouse vibe!
The medicine cabinet also got a refresh, with a simple wood frame, marble contact paper, and spray painted black shelves on the inside. It just classes it up a bit, and covers up some of the rust stains inside that were there when we moved in.
I also added my favorite plastic amber shampoo bottles that I labeled with our DYMO label maker. This is probably my FAVORITE way to easily upgrade the look of ANY bathroom on the cheap! It adds such a luxe look – because does anyone really like how those mismatched shampoo and conditioner bottles look?!
And lastly, the cabinet hardware was also gifted to me by D Lawless Hardware, and I just love the old school (literally!) look.
The BEFORE (a look back!):
And just as a little reminder, here is the BEFORE that we were dealing with. Can anyone say “BLAH”!?
So what do y’all think? I love how it turned out. Truly a HUGE transformation! Admittedly, its such a tight space so it’s super hard to photograph, but it’s the perfect charming little space for us and our guests!
And now, for the budget:
So we actually did super well if you ask me. We ended up at $543 and some change! Id’s say that’s pretty darn good, considering I usually pop on here like “well… we spent 1K more than expected!” :P. So just under $44 over? I’ll take it!
Overall, I’d say this was a very successful ORC! I managed to get everything we wanted done, with some help from hubs and some amazingly generous companies of course! Thank you to all of you who have gone on this journey with me! Until the next ORC! (Oh, and all sources for products listed below)!
XO,
Ana
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SOURCES:
Cabinet Paint | Cabinet Hardware HERE & HERE | Amber Bottles | Label Maker
Shower Curtain | Shower Rod | Towel Hooks | Faucets/Drains
Wall Sconce | Overhead Light (both lights we have are the white frosted glass, not opal) | Overhead Light Medallion
Mirrors – OfferUp
Have you ever helped someone else that needs assistance doing something like this and would like to blog about it? Can I contact you privately? I believe you said you are a military spouse (me too!)…I loved to do things like this but need a little focus and have some other questions. You can email me since I believe you can see my email address. Love how your bath turned out!
Thank you so much! I am not a military spouse actually; my husband is from Colombia. You are welcome to contact me with any questions you might have and I’ll help the best I can!
Love how you pulled everything together, the faux brick, and flooring look absolutely amazing! Loved following your progress. Well done.
Thank you for your kind words Amanda!
I am constantly amazed by the sweat-equity you put into everything you do Ana! I’m also obsessed with the graphics you added to the faux brick wall – genius! Well done girl
Thank you so much Lindsey!
The brick walls are my favorite! Love the mirrors too!
Thank you Loralee!
This is so gorgeous – we have a similarly sized master bathroom and it is in dire need of a refresh! I love the plastic amber bottle idea – it definitely helps with those mismatching bottles like you said. Love it and congratulations on your One Room Challenge!! It turned out so amazing!
That means so much Michelle! Thank you!
Ana,
This is BEAUTIFUL! I can’t believe you were able to pull this together with your budget. You should receive some sort of ORC award for that! Love the rustic, warm vibe here. Good job!
You are too kind Libbie! Thank you!
Oh my goodness this is beautiful! I need to paint tiles asap!! need to dig deeper.
Thank you so much!
This is easily one of my favorite ORC makeovers! You got great bang for your buck and it is so inspiring to see how you can transform that basic builder-grade bathroom we all have and loathe! Question, can you expand further on the brick? I didn’t see it sourced and you didn’t talk much about installing it. Is it sliced brick veneer? Or panels? Thanks!!
Thank you so much Katie! I have a tutorial on the brick (made of joint compound) HERE on my blog and also on my instagram @fiddleleafinteriors saved in story highlights! The German Schmear technique is detailed on my Instagram!
Your bathroom looks so cool! The brick wall looks so real. Loving the cabinet color and the industrial touches. A really fabulous transformation!
Thank you so much for you kind words!
This is so warm and funky — I love it!
Thank you Brianna!