it all started with a pinterest board and a purchased console sink

An idea. A concept. A challenge. A project. It was ours with no one to help, to confide in or to consult with. (My late grandfather would cringe every time I end my sentences with a preposition. I am sorry Z. I really am!) We only had each other to cry to, yell at or place blame. 😳 

our 36" vanity in our 28 sq. ft. powder room

that 16" beige tile will never be missed

how it all began

We bought our first house back in 2012, fully gutted and redone -- quite beautifully if I may add. We are even still friendly with the couple who redid our home!! We've done things over the years to add more character, since it is a 1950s split, and make it truly into our home. (Photos of those projects will be another post another time.) I live for making things beautiful down to every last detail and with us not being millionaires, each corner has been on a long to do and wish list...renovation dreams big and small. Eight ears later and some of the items on our list haven't changed in the least; some have been completed and some I am glad were not yet started. Why glad? Because my taste has evolved. And I like to say evolved rather than changed, because I do not feel that my taste has really changed. I still love everything I've always loved all the same (if not more), it has just matured and grown more thoughtful in terms of design.

With that being said, I have never ever been keen on trends of any aspect. My personal opinion is that following your heart, or what you think is your heart but in all actuality is just a digital heart that you click to pin a pretty picture to a virtual board, and choosing the latest trend is only setting yourself up to become quickly outdated in a few years. You'll be left being filled with regret saying what you'd say to that old picture of you thinking you are so cool back in the day --- "what was I thinking???" For some reason, when it comes to interiors, the best or first example my mind always pictures is chevron. Pillows, stair risers, rugs, bedding, ugh it's all bad. Thankfully, the only thing chevron that I ever "invested" in, was an etsy dog bed cover for Charlie.

    omg. saddest photo of charlie bear ever. :(

The second I was over it, it was gone. And that is how I like to incorporate the latest trends -- something easy and inexpensive to buy and just as simple to part with while lacking any hard feelings or regret. For more permanent structural choices and expensive furnishings, I always strive to go with things that are historically classic and timeless. This is how I blend my eclectic style together with layers -- a classic, neutral base (like a canvas) with modern touches from different eras and trends, in addition to splashes of color. When you stick to what you really really really love and also take your time with a design, I feel that you will love it and grow to appreciate it so much more than a room your forced together because of a deadline you set for yourself. Masterpieces weren't built overnight or in one week or month. Take your time! That's my advice. I obsess over every little detail for weeks on end, and as I'll get into below, it often works in my favor. Sitting on an idea can either grow into an eyesore that I am so glad I didn't dive into, or it can make my heart grow fonder, ultimately making me absolutely certain I need it in my life. Nothing is forever, but I try my hardest to choose things I will love for many many years!

Where were we? oh yea...

starting with inspiration

I made pinterest boards for each space in our home, constantly evolving over the years -- deleting and adding -- and now being locked up in our home I wanted to check SOMETHING off of our list. I am a stay at home mom and other than keeping our house clean and children alive, I need something for ME. (I was about to go off on one of my tangents again, yet I reeled myself back in and deleted it! 😛) We can't go out on date nights, we cannot escape anywhere beyond or even within our little house's walls, and so creating this project together has given us the time together to bond, grow and challenge ourselves and each other in ways we had not even planned. I needed a distraction, project and something to keep me motivated. We both always wanted to change the paint color, get rid of the light and get a smaller sink (because the big vanity seemed to swallow the beige and brown room and was unnecessary for a powder room). The room was decent and well renovated, but lacked any personality or style. I would rather have a tacky room from the 60s than a bland space, or at least I like to think that's how I feel.

I have been in love with shiplap since Joanna Gaines entered all of our lives and boy, I wanted it everywhere. Namely, our powder room. And this is where I refer back to why I am grateful we hadn't done the room sooner. I am partially over shiplap. I know, to some of you that may sound like the devil talking, but to me it's like I came to my senses and I feel grounded again. I still like it and love it in a lot of homes, even mine, though it must be done right and work for your home's style. We have it on the exterior facing wall of our mud/laundry room and it works there and it's one of my favorite rooms in our house. I wanted it on every wall of our basement (thanking the lord David didn't let us waste our money on that) and still want it on our lower stairwell (I think!). I ruled out shiplap mid design of the powder room though. I read for endless hours and browsed photos until my eyes felt like they were actually bleeding and couldn't stay open at 2a. That's when I finally decided its roots were just too shallow in the history of interior design. Adding it to our powder room would be adding it to a second space (potentially 3rd space if we end up doing it in our stairwell) and that felt like not-a-smart commitment. In terms of resale, but primarily my taste, it just didn't feel wise. Too trendy! Here are those photos I had been drooling over for years, gone out the window in almost the blink of an eye. Well, these are just some of them that I still am hanging onto for other elements in the photos. I deleted a bunch already to keep my inspiration accurate, organized and current.

I still love these designs in their entirety, but I can't commit to that much shiplap in our house.

I love architectural details and had always wanted to put beadboard somewhere in the house. Moldings and wainscoting transform a space like nothing else. I came across some photos of floor to ceiling beadboard and it clicked instantly. It is historically accurate to have beadboard in bathrooms and with the sink we chose, it naturally fit together. I know we don't have a historic landmark to preserve, but I like to pretend I do. Hehe A girl can dream...

then the spiral happened!

Now, we had the sink, sconce and wall detail minus the paint color picked out. It was all happening and we felt so excited and at ease. However, as soon as he removed the sink and everything started to feel real very fast, I stared into the room envisioning this beautiful polished nickel console sink, brass sconce, richly painted beadboard...and then......the 16 inch square beige porcelain tile still there, glaring back at us, inevitably underwhelming everything we had put into the space. It came naturally to me to suggest the idea of replacing the tile (something in which we both have zero experience) with something that would truly help transform the room and compliment everything else we had chosen and already purchased. I saw a glimpse of hope from the slightest glimmer in his eye when I mentioned it, so that night I ran with the idea and worked out our options. I searched the tile shop's site, measured and calculated a $700 floor for our 28 square foot bathroom and knew I'd have my work cut out trying to convince him on that. Though, that didn't make me hesitate from giving it my all. He was pretty much mostly, if not entirely, not for it AT ALL, and with my heart quickly sinking but hanging on for dear life, I started to think of every potential option. Painting the tile? Yes, that is apparently a thing; except it goes against everything I stand for so it was a hard pill for me to swallow. I still, however, continued desperately looking for inspiration pictures and even stencils to make it a desirable option. It simply was not coming together at all. A quick fix and needless to say -- a trendy diy mistake that I was confident would be regretted much sooner than later. After that idea seemed hopeless, I recalled how fond I grew of facebook marketplace over the past year, thanks to friends and bloggers, and a lot of luck selling and buying large items. I figured, "what the heck?!" So I logged in and typed "hexagon marble tile." One came up that caught my eye. It was a photo of a single square foot of white hex marble tile listed for $5. I messaged the seller asking for details on it and if he had more than the one sheet. He quickly replied and every message since the first one he sent turned into music, like an epic opera that would have me humming for weeks. I learned he actually works at a tile warehouse, 30 minutes from us, with plenty to choose from at that same price per sq. ft. Everyone talks about and buys carrara marble, but the lovely A Glass of Bovino, coincidentally posted about calacatta marble counter slabs for her bathroom makeover a couple of days before! It was love at first sight. Fate. Destiny. My luck felt pretty stable with this guy, so why not push it a little further, I thought. That same day, with the go ahead from DM, I  drove there, with Coco in the backseat (my almost 3 year old, typically a ball of sunshine, begging, or rather screaming absolute bloody murder, to go back home), and waited with my pink dental mask for the man to meet me outside with the samples. He came out with 2 to choose from, and despite the incredible price, I couldn't feel content with this gift from the facebook marketplace gods. I asked if there was anyway he'd have some calacatta options for the same price. He told me it'd be double the price. But after flustering and squirming over the need for a decision, I asked once more and he said has one he could give me for $5/sq. ft., only it was a 2" square instead of a hexagon. It took me zero milliseconds to say "OMG YES!!!" And that was the end of that success story. Long story short, we drove home singing that new Tyga song "bored in the house" on full blast with the windows down, crossing the GW bridge, wind in our hair, on a real high!!

Let the full on, not quick nor simple, renovation begin!!! The One Room Challenge goes for 8 weeks and I will be updating our progress weekly. Will be sharing the design details tomorrow!!

stay tuned 💋💋

xo,
lizza