Title image of the vanity top with sink and decor pieces in front of a blue tile wall and a large framed mirror. Reflected in the mirror is the coral board and batten wall with gold pegs on on one peg is hanging a small wreath accented with dried lambs ear

Powder Room Remodel —

Amazing DIY Before & After

 

Our Powder Room Remodel reveal is here!!! You won’t believe the changes and ALL the extras touches you can add to your powder room, half bath, or full bath. It’s a great post even if you just enjoy a great Before & After, and who doesn’t?

As a reminder, we started this powder room remodel as a guest in the One Room Challenge.

You can read all about our starting point, and our inspiration board right here.

Just a bit of a flashback:

Image of the Powder Room when we bought the house

This is the Powder Room on the day we bought the house. YIKES!

(By the way, that lambrequin (or cornice board) lasted about 6 hours.)

This doorway was right next to the dinner table and looked straight into the family room. And to make matters worse, the toilet was all you saw of the bathroom when the door was open — not even a pretty vanity.

Prior to moving in, we had a contractor do the jobs meant for the pros — gutting the kitchen and two full baths, moving walls and converting a carport into my studio . While he was here, we stole a few feet from the utility/laundry/hobby room, creating a hallway to an existing glass panel exterior door bringing much needed light into the family room.

view of the original vanity and mirror with thee wallpaper cornice board reemoved and the toilet and door moved

This also gave us the opportunity to swap the original powder room door and the toilet.

So this is was our starting point 8 weeks ago.

Now you’ll be able to appreciate how far we’ve come!

First Things First — A Vision For Our powder Room Remodel

Inspiration Board showing a blue tile wall with the red brick floor, a custom DIY Vanity with open shelves and a vessel sink with gold faucet, above hangs a dark wood mirror flanked by sconces. Accessories include baskets, bins and earthenware jug with lavender

Why Mediterranean? Because the house told us so!

Don’t believe me? Check out our patio and the lake side exterior right here.

Yep, she wannabe Mediterranean Villa.

I’m all about empowering dreams, not busting them. So we had her vision to work with.

Tile Wall

Image of the finished powder room remodel showing the vanity top with sink, faucet and decor pieces in front of a blue tile wall and a large framed mirror. Reflected in the mirror is the coral board and batten wall with gold pegs on on one peg is hanging a small wreath accented with dried lambs ear

We started with the gorgeous blue tile wall. This was my first time tiling, but once I cut my first piece, I was hooked. It’s oddly satisfying! Kind of like wallpapering.

There will be a blog post out soon with all the how-to’s I learned along the way. particularly a trick we came up with for drilling holes in the tile to hang the mirror.

Powder Room Vanity

View of the Open Shelf Vanity

The one thing we salvaged from the original bathroom, was the shape of the countertop. I loved the gentle curving front a basically square room filled with lots of linear aspects.

I wanted to bring in the warmth of wood.

I liked the open shelving concept for the curved countertop. Since this is a half bath (and changing room for our lake guests) we didn’t need drawers and drawers to hide all the toiletries and cosmetics of a full bath.

closeup of the finished powder room vanity showing two legs with two shelves showing baskets, bins and rolled towels

I knew I could make baskets and bins that would be coordinated and sized perfectly to hold the extra rolls of TP, cleaning supplies and rolls of paper towels (our overflow from the kitchen pantry).

You won’t believe how we came up with this. We are both novice DIY-ers. And we built this ourselves. AND we designed it and came up with the plans ourselves.

Full disclosure: I took our plans to our architect son who converted it to the files I needed to send to a local fabricator who used a CNC router to cut the two shelves and the four pieces of the countertop. We knew those tricky cuts were beyond us.

But we built it from there.

And you won’t believe what we used and how we did it. Fortunately we took lots of notes and pics. There will be a full how-to post on this coming soon.

super close up image of the top of the vanity focusing on the thick apron front. Decor pieces are out of focus in the background

Look at the finish on the countertop!!! You won’t. believe the wood we used and how i finished it.

Yes, you guessed it. Another how-to post on how I finished the legs, shelves and top will be coming along also.

Dominating Mirror

Closeup of one side of mirror showing old gold nail heads next to wall sconce and wall pegs all of a similar finish

If you have not read the before post, you may not know that this mirror was the inspiration for the whole room.

Yes, I bought the shoes first and then needed the outfit.

I couldn’t help myself. I fell in love with it and it was a steal of a deal. I actually bought it before we even closed on the house. It’s been patiently waiting in the storage room for . . . well, for embarrassingly too long!

The nailheads inspired all the old gold trimmings: the faucet, the pegs the light fixtures . . .

closeup of the toilet flusher handle, now in old gold

. . . yes, even the flusher handle.

Of those, only the faucet started life that way, but I used the same product on all of them.

You guessed it, another how-to post coming your way.

Board & Batten Wall With Wall Pegs

Closeup view of board and batten wall treatment with the old gold pegs and a wreath with dried lambs ear hanging from one of the pegs

We added a board and batten accent on three walls.

This references the board and batten exterior of our house, but it also is more functional for our powder room to be used as a changing room for all our guests who come spend the day at the lake with us.

Change of clothes, beach towels, swim suits. The pegs work great for all of those.

Or for a sweet wreath.

In planning the board and batten, I was astounded by the number of questions I needed to answer to effectively plan the treatment. If you might be considering a wood accent wall, I created this checklist to help you out.

That color! That coral color! It’s was the biggest frustration of the entire remodel. So frustrating it almost became white. And I still think white would have been lovely, but we set out to add some. excitement, some unexpectedness to this room.

That’s the fun of powder rooms. You can do adventurous design in them. They are standalone rooms, and the decor can be also.

But if you need help picking colors for a small, single window room (this is the hardest kind of room as the light is radically different throughout the small room and throughout thee day. I made this blog post to help you discover your perfect shade of whatever color you are wanting.

Mural

Image of an upper corner of the powder room with a blue tile wall on one side and the other wall is a dark taupe wall with a white chalk painted mural of olive branches

I wanted to add some unexpected softening, something with curves to break up all those straight lines.

I was going to try my hand at a giant, oversized flower or two, but then somewhere along the way, I settled on olive branches — the quintessential flora of the Mediterranean.

I’ve never tried this before. “It’s only paint! It’s only paint!” became my refrain. I could always paint over it.

I’ll be posting a how-to for this one also!

Decor Styling

super closeup of large sculpted urn with rattan handle next to wood framed mirror
super closeup of a pottery urn with an olive tree and some lavender in front
super close up view of a made over vase with a fern on the bottom shelf of the vanity

I love these pottery pieces! Aren’t they fabulous!!!

All three of them received a facelift bringing them to this new life — look just like the high end inspiration pieces that start at $79 and top out well over $300 each.

I’ll be sharing how I did each of these very soon!!!

Did You Catch the Recurring Theme?

YES! All DIY’S With How-To’s Coming Soon!

I hope you enjoyed this powder room reveal. We are thrilled with it. There were a LOT of projects going on in one little space.

Are you interested in any of the how-tos? Interested in more projects like these?

Then think about signing up for some inbox fun so you don’t miss out on any.

Of course, your email will never be shared or sold and you have complete control over your subscription at all times!

There’s a lot here! I get it.

So pin this to your

Before & After Board, or to your

Bathroom Board, or to your

Dream House Board, or to your

Vanity Board, or to your

Wall Treatment Board.

Pin it to whatever board makes sense for you.

(this helps me too, so, many thanks)

Pin Tower showing a view of the mirros,lights and vanity top with sink and decor pieces and above that a close up of the. countertop apron front with a caption that reads "Reveal Powder Room Makeover"

I also encourage you to jump over to the One Room Challenge and check out the other participants. So much incredible inspiration waiting there. They have all worked hard. If you see something that intriguing, interesting or inspiring, please take a moment to spread some love and leave them a comment.

As always, I appreciate you joining me here. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Here's to Joy-Filled Living, Diane

30 Comments

  1. Lynn

    It turned out beautifully Diane! So many fun DIY projects and I can’t wait to see them all.

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Lynn! That means a lot coming from you!!!

      Reply
    • Diane

      YEAH! So glad you approve. YES, those how-to’s will be coming along soon.

      Reply
  2. Traci

    I can’t wait to see all your how to’s, especially on that vanity! It looks beautiful! 😍😍

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Traci! We are thrilled with how it turned out. And you won’t believe what it’s made from.

      Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Traci. You can bet the how-to’s will be coming along soon.

      Reply
  3. Renae

    Wow! You have worked so hard! I love the tiles. They are gorgeous. I’m looking forward to seeing the DIY projects.

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Renae! They will be along soon.
      I love the watery feel of those tiles. I had to search high and low for that blue — my happy blue. There were lots of aqua and teal, but not as many options in more of a soft blue.

      Reply
  4. Cindy

    Diane, what an amazing job you did on this bathroom! That vanity is just stunning!

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Cindy! We are thrilled and I am particularly thrilled to have YOU admire the vanity. Thanks for steering me to General Finishes!

      Reply
  5. Cindy

    Diane,

    This gorgeous and love the tile. I’m with you, I often buy the shoes first too. When you see a piece, you love to grab it, or it could be gone.

    Love the touch of lavender and the small addition to the wall.

    Reply
    • Diane

      You’re so kind!!!
      I’m glad I have a kindred spirit!
      What says Mediterranean more than lavender and olive branches?

      Reply
  6. Donna Allen

    Wow! This is an amazing makeover! I love everything about it, from the tile to the cabinet, and your mural! Great job! Enjoy your beautiful space! Blessings, Donna

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks so much Donna! We are very excited with how it all came together!

      Reply
  7. Marieza

    Diane, it is pure perfection! Every little detail is just gorgeous. You did an amazing job, well done!

    Reply
    • Diane

      Oh my goodness! That’s so sweet of you.

      Reply
  8. Lynne Zemaitis

    Wow! Diane, this is such an amazing transformation! I love the tile and all of the gorgeous details!

    Reply
  9. Barbara at Mantel and Table

    Gorgeous! And I love the Before pix – it’s so fun to see the transformation, and you did a fabulous job! Thanks for sharing it! 💛

    Reply
  10. Danielle

    Your bathroom turned out beautifully! I think my favorite parts are the vanity and tile!

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks so much Elizabeth. I’m so grateful that I signed onto One Room Challenge to hold my feet to the fire to take this on and get it done!

      Reply
  11. Rachel - Rachel - Tea and Forget-me-nots

    Absolutely love this design, please come and do my bathroom!

    Reply
  12. Joanne

    OH wow; what a beautiful remodel!

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks bunches Joanne! We are so pleased with how it turned out!
      Have a wonderful weekend!

      Reply
  13. Meagan Trento

    This update came out fabulous! Great job

    Reply
    • Diane

      Oodles of thanks Meagan! I appreciate you taking the time to comment!

      Reply
  14. Linda

    Wow! Great make over full of inspiration too.

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks Linda! I sure appreciate hearing that. Hope you’re. having a great weekend.

      Reply
  15. Anna

    Holy Crow! I am so impressed! It is a complete transformation. Fabulous job. Thank you for taking the time to share and photograph the changes.

    Reply
    • Diane

      Thanks so much Anna! You just made my day! Hope you have a day to match.

      Reply

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