Week one of my pink bathroom remodel project for the One Room Challenge has brought a rush of activity in demoing this 10’ X 10’ space. The 8” Pink floor tile and pink toilet, gone in the dumpster along with the white 4” x 4” shower tile with pink flower appliques, gone! Now the fun part has begun, and the vision starts to come to life.

Week 2 - Demo and the Trades

The demo is done and framing has begun. The division of the 10’ x 10’ pink bathroom space has been separated into two spaces. A 5’ x 10’ space for a walk-in mudroom off the garage running directly into the kitchen with water views from front to back of the house. A pocket door will also be installed in the existing closet area for the stackable washer and dryer to be placed, in the mudroom, out of sight, and not out in the open as it was in the pink bathroom.

The second space is the guest bathroom with a pocket door off the mudroom for private shower, toilet, and sink. A space for guests to enjoy off the guest bedroom and all on the first floor.

Week two has brought us into the framing of the space and rough plumbing and electrical. That involved, relocating every fixture in the bathroom. The plumbing for the toilet had to be relocated to the opposite wall along with the sink to be installed on the same wall as the toilet. As for the shower, the plumbing was relocated as the size of the shower was cut down to a 4’ x 5’ open walk-in space from the sink area. The plumbing here was relocated to the new divider wall between the mudroom and the bathroom and which now has become the wet wall. Rough electrical entailed a new location for shower fan lighting, additional ceiling lighting for the bathroom, and wiring for the sconces over the vanity. Baseboard heating has been removed kick space heaters will be installed under the bathroom vanity and another one in the base of the built-in mudroom bench.

It will be nice to utilize the private guest bathroom off the mudroom and off the kitchen on the 1st floor of the house. The privacy gain is immeasurable when not having to worry about someone walking in on you from the garage sitting on the pink toilet.

Materials and Surfaces

Mixing of the metals and finishes was important for the guest bathroom. Now that the vanity style was determined and already had bronze cup pulls installed on the pull-out drawers, I wanted to bring is some darker metal for contrast. Currey and Company’s Sethos black old wrought iron sconces with green reclaimed dangling glass pendants will add a bit of an antique nostalgic touch needed for this bathroom. For the vanity mirror, I wanted to choose one that had a shelf. The mirror I had found was from Shades of Light and has a shelf with frame all in a dark bronze finish. Perfect for guests to put their beauty products when visiting. The ceiling light fixture in the mudroom is the flush mount Braithwell from Currey and Company with recycled glass discs that dangle in layers. The base is wrought iron with a silver leaf finish.

The shower door would be a stationary glass panel on the left towards vanity and with mat black hardware on a rolling track to pull in the iron finish from the sconces and mirror.  The ceiling light fixture is also from Shades of Light.  A distressed washed metal frame base with a clear water glass shade designed to look like water droplets.

Accessories to go into this bathroom are always something I like to incorporate from something I already own, usually found pieces. A copper Verdi green set of three banana leaves in metal for wall décor is one. These banana leaves will hang between the mudroom and the guest bathroom to tie the two spaces together.  The copper Verdi green leaves will also be a lead in to the kitchen and tie in with the custom copper Verdi green range hood.

Mixing of Metal Finishes

Materials and surfaces have been viewed and selected and previously ordered for this project. I’m excited about the combination and mixing of metals and various surfaces chosen. The style is somewhat traditional with a bit of a mid-century vibe happening on the Thasos hexagon marble floor that will run from the mudroom into the guest bathroom in Ming green color.

The wallpaper selection as Sanderson pattern, King Protea in the color of linen/mica from The Martin Group at the Boston Design Center. The shower walls will have a 2’ x 4’ porcelain tile stacked vertically to expand from the floor to the ceiling for fewer grout lines, in a large format of varying gray veins on a white field. The shower floor mosaic tile was chosen in Jerusalem Heights mini ivy in Carrara.

The vanity for the bathroom was found at Fergusons Kitchen Bath and Lighting showroom in Portsmouth, NH. When researching bathroom vanities, I knew what I wanted in style. Combining a casual feel for the guest bathroom with traditional elegance was the vision. When I walked into Ferguson’s, there was a floor model for sale that also included the sink fixture in a polished nickel finish and a white sink with quartz white and gray vein countertop. All was already installed wich saved additional steps for the contractor and plumber. It was exactly what I was looking for. Something casual with a distressed reclaimed wood look. I snatched that for $700.00. Choosing the shower fixture finish was easier now that finish on the sink faucet fixture was already determined. I matched a rain shower head and a single control valve to keep it simple, also in polished nickel.

I hope you will follow my ORC on Facebook and Instagram as well. Come back to see Week 3 of the Mudroom Guest Bathroom Remodel updates as we go through demo and dividing the spaces. Better Homes & Gardens is the official media sponsor of the ORC.

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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