Spring 2020 One Room Challenge - Week 1- Mudroom Guest Bathroom Remodel
I’m so excited to participate in my first One Room Challenge for Spring 2020 as a guest participant. Through the years I’ve watched fellow designers and their journey of renovating a room in their own home within a completion deadline of 6 weeks. The One Room Challenge was brain child of owner and creator, Linda Weinstein. Linda’s role as director of the ORC, has enthusiastically facilitated the transformation of hundreds of spaces across the interior design related online community. Better Homes & Gardens is the official media sponsor of the ORC. Thank you Linda, I am excited to be a guest participate in the Spring 2020 ORC.
This spring, the completion time is 8 weeks, due to the pandemic, for designers to show their creativity and inspiration for a faboulous and stunning design project in their own home. I’m looking forward to supporting my fellow designers and seeing what creative design projects they have to feature.
My Backstory
For those of you who know me and my design journey you know I’m a creative soul all day and every day. For those who are just reading and following along for the first time. A littler backstory about myself. I have been in the interior design industry for over 30 years. My focus throughout the years was to build a design business that would support myself and my daughter, being a single mom with sole financial support for her. Now looking back through the years, I’ve accomplished more than I set out to. My design career has built a business that has help put my daughter through college, purchase my own home and has given me strong independence. My focus has always been my daughter, my clients and providing the best service that I could possibly give. The stresses were not small for sure.
Now a seasoned interior designer, I have become more involved in my design community, with my daughter and her career and independtly on her own, off and married, I have more time to focus on what I’ve been missing out on within my design world. Through my journey I have become an educator for women who want to begin their career in interior design, an installed designer at the Boston Design Center in their Design Services program, in my 5th year now, a writer of a weekly lifestyle column and author and influencer. With that being said, I will introduce you to Week 1 of my One Room Challenge project and a little history of our home.
The Cedar Bungalow
We call our home the little cedar bungalow which is located on the banks of the Piscataqua River of Portsmouth, NH. A little seaside retreat. It has not always been a cedar bungalow. Originally built as a camp in the ’30s and then renovated in the ’90s with full 90’s design and decor by the previous owners. When my fiance purchased the home 11 years ago, little by little a transformation of our style has been put into the home through additions and remodeling. We call it our art project. Between renovating and landscaping with a created hydrangea alley and beach roses, one room in the bungalow we haven’t touched is the large pink 1990’s bathroom. I am excited to announce that is pink elephant is my One Room Challenge project. A bathroom that was 10’x10’ in size all open with a pink toilet, dated vanity, pink ceramic 8” tile floor, a large shower and washer and dryer all in the same space. When we added the garage addition, the bathroom window was removed and replaced with an entry door from the garage, a straight shot to the kitchen, but first stepping right onto the pink toilet. However, budget constraints and other projects became a priority over the pink bathroom and it has never been remodeled, until now!
The Before
The Bandaid
Last year my daughter was getting married and we had hosted a garden party shower for her and her now husband. I panicked and had to do something to the pinkness and dated look of the bathroom, knowing that we could not make the bathroom renovation time-frame work for the party. I took a can of gray porch and floor paint I had in the basement and painted the pink floor tile gray. I also used waterproof white paint to paint over the 2” tile vanity countertop which was a yellowed white with pink grout. The pink sink, and yes the pink toilet, (only the outside bowl and tank were painted white). Tackie yes, however it was a pleasing bandaid for the party (until the cover was lifted on the toilet and the pink hit you in the face). I also framed out the dated sheet mirror with white primed strapping and replace the ugly brass vanity light with an updated look. The faucet was also replaced with temporary chrome fixtures.
The Plan
Proposed New Layout for Mudroom-Bathroom
The Vision
One space divided into two.
The mudroom and a first-floor guest bathroom, with privacy is the vision. Having the walk-in mudroom lead directly from the garage to the kitchen would be ideal for bringing in the groceries since this is the only entry from the driveway and the front door is on the side of the house. This mudroom will have built-in bench seating with cubby shoe storage underneath. The walls will be built-out molded panels with crown molding. The bench seat will have a fantacy brown leather finish granite top. The existing closet will be built-out to house the stackable washer/dryer hidden behind a pocket door and out of sight.
The guest bathroom will have a large 4’x5’ shower, vanity and toilet also with a pocket door entry off the mudroom. The vision is to make this bathroom a warm and charming space for guests with privacy off the mudroom and the first-floor guest bedroom. Mixing metal finishes in this space was a key element. Combining, black iron sconces with recycled glass pendands, polished nickel sink faucet and shower fixtures as well as bronze hardware on the distressed wood vanity. The walls in the bathroom will have a Sanderson Iridescent King Protea wallpaper. I find lighting in everyspace should have an interest of charm. The bathroom main light will be clearwater glass dro[s with a white distressed metal basket flush mount base. The floor will be carried in from the mudroom in a pearl white with ming green hexagon thassos marble pattern
About Debbe Daley
Debbe Daley is New England’s leading interior design expert in the fields of design, decorating and styling of interior spaces. She is a professional speaker, educator, influencer and business coach in the field of interior design. She also educates and coaches creative interior design and home decor enthusiasts and change-of-career-minded individuals at her School of Interiors through courses, mentoring and hands-on training. Debbe is currently an installed Design Services member for the Boston Design Center.
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