Our One Room Challenge is Complete!

Did you forget about us?! Well, we got the flooring done right, level up and bright white, ready for the rest of the details that had to get placed in order for us to complete our very first Better Homes & Gardens One Room Challenge.

It's not how I work (I am OCD to a fault and work on tight timelines and budgets all the time, but I wanted and NEEDED our flooring done RIGHT for the integrity of the entire room and resale value of this historic charmer so we were at the mercy of our handyman!)

That being said, better late than never! We have accomplished updating our sunken powder room chocked full of character, charm, history and a bit of drama! Take a look back at where we started when we purchased our historic Victorian home that needed a personal stamp along with some added modern-day function.

Where we started...

Boring beige and very little charm like the direct outskirts with the amazing original millwork and wood just made me cringe as I walked down the stairs to a super generic bathroom. The mirror was too small, the pendant was lackluster and our large window serves up so much amazing light that the dark paint color for added drama was an instant MUST for this bathroom.

BEFORE

Design Concept

A little bit of drywall fixes and patches, sanding and...

With some hiccups through the process like the wall mount faucet leaking in our wall down into our cellar and the floor being super uneven and having to cover our original tile with self-leveling concrete (Ah, it was so pretty but such a horrific job!) so the vanity feet would all be touching the ground when placed against the wall, the 8-week deadline quickly came and went! Trades are swamped, the scheduling took some patience and thus, here we are with a finally complete, working and oh so MOODY powder room! I wasn't sure when it would be done but we have updated every surface in this space and I love the final feeling when I am in it!

Our gracious sponsors, Milton & King were such incredible people to work with and their fabric and wallpaper MADE this bathroom with their quality products. I love the combination and smile every time I step foot into this space. The box from Australia was such a cool treat in my ORC journey and there generosity is truly appreciated! Thistle was the perfect fabric and guided everything else in our powder room. Finding a complimentary wallpaper was easy, and I picked Hounds tooth in dark green!

Thistle was the fabric I chose to highlight the large window in our space and boy, I was beyond pleased with the quality, feel and overall aesthetic this amazing piece of fabric created against the high gloss paint! It brought all of the drama, gorgeous colors I was working with and gives so much vibrant impact when you see it!

Now, for the wallpaper, I wanted a subtle texture to be granted while not being overtly or blatantly loud. The green Hoodstooth gave me exactly enough pattern without being too much and adds just the right amount of color and interest to bring the space together. Oh, and you know that I had to add an unexpected pop on the newly revived stairs leading you down into the space so when Nick pulled the old boards up and put down fresh boards, I primed and painted the stairs and added the wallpaper to the risers of the stairs as a little touch of pattern to make them pop on your way out of the bathroom. Loving the moodiness it sets, I can't help but smile when I see the stairs and how it made them feel anything but ordinary.

The wall mount faucet was also graciously sponsored by Insideast and sent all the way from Morocco and seeing the unlacquered brass cross-handled faucet in person made the whole concept made me BEYOND excited to see the finished product in place with the vessel sink!

I wallpapered the large section opposite the window to bring some life to the space and immediately knew that I wanted to frame it with a touch of glam and gold, the same mixed paint as the mirror and radiator pipes that are such a focal point now that they are painted and the hand-painted ceiling medallion that I added for the chandelier/ceiling moment. I just grabbed two DecoArt Metallics paints and mixed Glorious Gold and Rich Espresso together to bring the same finish as the incredible chandelier that I found at one of my favorite spots, Hip & Humble in Berryville, VA.

Before Panoramic View

After we took the toilet, vanity and mirror out and patched the hole I busted in the wall hoping to find original brick that I saw in our cellar (no such luck, they covered it up!) and sanded it down, we were ready to paint!

The paint selection was taken from the colors in the Milton & King fabric selection and I knew that a deep saturated color was the only way I wanted to go for this small space. It has high ceilings, lots of natural light and I knew that a dark and moody color would bring all of the elements together in a cozy way while actually making the space feel LARGER. The ceiling was going to be wallpaper and I am so glad we painted it the same color as the walls to add another layer of coziness to the space. Plus, the time table was against me learning how to install wallpaper upside down on a ladder, so...

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS COLOR!

Salamander by Benjamin-Moore

This is the deepest color option on the card that also offers up my home office paint color, Dollar Bill Green! The whole house color scheme is really pretty much this whole vibe in various saturations. I 100% LOVE the mix of comfortable yet strikingly gorgeous moodiness this color is giving and will continue to find places within our home to incorporate this color.

Week 2 saw lots of gunk with the paint stripping of our FB Marketplace-find-turned-vanity that we picked up for $60 bucks. I couldn't beat it, but it was a bit too small so we added some wood on the bottom after removing the castors and done!

The Aegean Teal painted vanity was exactly what I wanted, something old and repurposed that would be new but not look brand new in the space! The new hardware, knob and feel made this feel aged and interesting and the vessel sink came by necessity due to the narrow depth of this piece. I wouldn't have gone with a vessel sink but I love the final look!

Not a ton of progress happened during Week 4 so without much to showcase, I did an impromptu photo shoot with Maui and myself to show off my amazing pants from Anthropologie, my necklace my sister gave me that I haven't had an event or occasion to wear it for and a full face of makeup that I immediately took off once I got some photos taken on my handy timer. (Don't I look serious about spackling?!) Ah, but in all honesty, this has been so fun for me and a real test in patience along with loving the community I have discovered in the four weeks of the ORC!

The flooring was an issue so I am going to skid over the fact that it's the reason the 8 week deadline wasn't met. Uh, anyway, it's a lesson learned, don't hire anyone you don't know who you've been referred to unless you have actually seen their work! My lovely Grecian White Carrara Marble tile was covered with self-leveling concrete in order to get the floor level and secure for years to come. Ugh, it still hurts seeing all of that material and time wasted but it had to be done. The new tile was flat white, not marble but will be more functional for the family so that is what I went with! It won't chip, discolor, or scratch unlike the marble.

I loved the vintage inspired toilet once it was installed but the original hole was a bit too close to the wall so we decided to move it over before covering the tile to get it 100% right.

Next up once the new flooring was to complete the fresh new stairs! I wanted a touch of the amazing wallpaper on the risers as a sweet addition, so the priming and painting of the stairs had to be done first.

Parachute was our second amazing sponsor, who sent the most amazing towels to compliment the colors in the window treatment. Ah, I had discovered them while watching Netflix's Stay Here and decided to reach out to their DC store. Cristina hopped on a Zoom and we made the selections that she swiftly sent over. Like I said, they were AMAZING to collaborate with!

So for the finale, here we are, with every surface being painted, sanded or updated entirely.

My favorite part aside from the mood that's set is the gallery wall that was created on the far wall that lends your eye as soon as you look down and into the space. I wanted it to feel layered and eclectic with a mix of art, photography, vintage plates and mirrors and the kids art. The Milton & King houndstooth wallpaper was the perfect backdrop to give the wall some depth and interest and then I added a cool trim that I painted the mix of two golds to compliment the mirror and radiator pipes.

Gallery Wall

Our finished result was everything that I wanted for our Moody Powder Room. We couldn't have done it without the sponsorship from Milton & King, Parachute and Insideast and we are excited to share that we will be undertaking our historic KITCHEN for the Spring 2022 One Room Challenge! That's right, you heard it here first! Until next time, enjoy our ORC finished product below!

Completed Panoramic View

This project was a major labor of love and a test of patience but I have to thank Better Homes & Gardens for this opportunity and we are super excited for the Spring 2022 One Room Challenge to continue to update our historic home.

Until next time...