Primary Bathroom Inspiration
A few months ago, building an addition was just a pipe dream, now it’s very much a reality. When I found out I was pregnant in June we decided to convert our garage into a primary bedroom/bathroom. Right now our house is a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath. The half bath is in our current primary and the full bath is across from what is now the nursery. Building up a level isn’t an option because it’s too expensive. And while we do have a guest bedroom in the basement, we didn’t want to add a bathroom down there because it really doesn’t add a ton of value to the house. The best way to increase the value of our house and get the most out of the space was to add a primary bedroom and bathroom, particularly since Craig could do almost all of the work himself.
I’ll be sharing a video to our YouTube channel this week with a sneak peek at the space right now. Craig has done a ton of work so far. And we’ve had the electrician and plumber in here to get all the hook-ups in place so we’re close to being able to start finish work (ceiling, flooring, tiling, plastering, etc). We’ve spent the last few months planning how we want to utilize the space and the look we’re going for and I really love what we’ve come up with. To be honest, it’s hard to nail down our specific style to one genre or word. But we definitely find influence from New England, Scandinavian, and California design. That probably sounds a bit all over the place but I think we make it work.
Today I’m sharing the inspiration for our primary bathroom. I have to say it’s been a whole different experience than renovating our existing bathroom a few summers ago and then the half bath in our bedroom. It’s fun to design a bathroom from start to finish, but it also comes with a lot more decision making and planning. Between coordinating with contractors (plumbers and electricians) to getting inspections from the town it has been quite the learning curve. That said it’s exciting to see it all start to come together and Craig really gets to flex all his construction muscles given how many different types of work he’ll be doing in the space.
Primary Bathroom Design Inspiration
This bathroom from Almost Makes Perfect was one of the first images I found that really resonated. While it’s quite different than how our bathroom is going to look, it has a lot of the design elements we love. We decided pretty early on we wanted to do a plaster shower. Craig has experience with that material and we both just love the look. Depending on where you buy it, it’s also a very eco-friendly and sustainable material to work with.
The hardest thing to find was a vanity. We searched FOREVER. Craig just happened to stumble upon What We Make, A Chicago based company that focuses on using reclaimed materials and non-toxic finishes. We immediately fell in love with this vanity and it was the first thing we bought for the bathroom. Everything is custom made so it took around two months but it is shipping tomorrow and should be here soon. We decided to go with a white concrete countertop.
We’ve done a lot of gold and brass accents throughout the house. But for our primary bed/bath we gravitated towards matte black. I think it’s going to look really nice against the white plaster and light wood tones. We chose this 3 light wall sconce from Mitzi to go above the wooden medicine cabinets.
Of course one of the things I’m most excited about is to collaborate with Fireclay Tile.
I’ve been dreaming about using their tile for years and this bathroom was the perfect opportunity to do so. They’re a California based Certified B Corp committed to using sustainable manufacturing practices, using recycled materials, and taking care of their employees. On top of that their products are SO beautiful. We landed on one of their hand-painted tiles called Summit (you may recognize it from this bathroom by Justina). We chose Summit in white and I love the resemblance to mountains or waves. The nature-inspired design is what sealed the deal for us.
The only thing we haven’t landed on is bathroom storage. Craig is planning to do something custom, but we want to wait until the bathroom comes together a bit more before we decide what to do in the space. We’ve pinned some initial ideas to our primary bed/bath Pinterest board, but our main goal throughout the entire space is to have minimal furniture and utilize built-ins so we can maximize the space we have.
Next week I’ll be sharing our primary bedroom inspiration. In the meantime, you can see more of the ideas we’re loving on our Pinterest board here. This is by far the biggest project we’ve ever taken on but it has been fun to learn so much during the process. I’m always impressed by the things Craig manages to figure out, haha.
Primary Bathroom Products
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Just gorgeous! I was always my happiest doing projects in the farmhouse and making it authentic after 200 years of changing it to look more modern. It was fun! We used local woods and contractors and did the plastering of the walls and wood floors ourselves. It’s exciting to see it come alive and to learn so much!
I love the whole vibe of the new bathroom. Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds! Craig is killing it.
xo Jessica
My Style Vita
He really is! So Charming and Modern at the same time! I simply love it❤️
Thanks so much Lynn
Thank you Jess!
Hi Jess! I’ve been meaning to ask – how’s it going to be without a garage? Especially with those real New England winters 🙂 Thanks!
We only used our garage for storage, not our cars, so I don’t think we’ll miss it. We have a big storage shed in the back for all our stuff that was in the garage.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a plaster shower before. The one in the photo looks awesome and so clean! The plaster would have to be sealed, right? So that the water doesn’t penetrate? Very cool.
It actually doesn’t have to be sealed I don’t think but we plan to seal it. There’s a special additive you add to the plaster mix that makes it appropriate for the shower.
great idea for bathroom
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