Well! I certainly didn't mean to take a week off from my blog. Has it really been a week? My days are all blurring together. :) Kenny has been living at work (or traveling for work) and all three of my kids have been sick. If you're a mom, that's all I need to say. You understand. No need to go into detail about dr. appointments and clingy toddlers and the best way to clean throw up off of the car floor. No need to get into what nights of little sleep and worry can do a person's sanity. Am I forgiven? :) I need a serious pick me up after the past few days so I think it's time to share my powder bathroom with you all. FUN. I'm so happy with how it turned out! I hope you all like it too!
Our powder bathroom is the main bathroom on our main floor. It's close to the kitchen/living area and the bathroom that everyone will use. This room is in the shape of a rectangle so it was a little tricky to photograph! The picture above is the only shot I have of the whole space (as much as I could photograph at one time) and the lighting is a little off. The rest of the pics I took with the ceiling light turned off and they are spot on with how this space really looks.
Oh my word. So much planning went into this one tiny space that I don't even know where to begin!
All of the cabinets and built-ins throughout my house are the same Shaker style. I love the look. Inset panels - clean, simple, straight lines. For this powder bathroom I wanted drawers on the sides and a cabinet in the middle to hold larger things. Like lots and lots of toilet paper. :)
I came up with this look for the top of my kitchen cabinets and liked it so much that I carried it throughout the house with most of my cabinets and built-ins. I know what I like so I didn't switch things up much!
Sconces on the sides of the mirror. Figuring out electrical decisions were hard for me. You have to do it so early on in the building process. It's smart to really have a good idea of what the design of your room will be so you know where light fixtures/sconces should go. But it's hard to plan that far in advance!
I love the Carrara marble countertops! This has been a perfect spot for marble. Nothing ever gets set down on these counters.
Two inch mitered edges for all of my countertops. I just like them to look clean and "beefy." Nice word choice - I know. :) I left the space at the bottom of the cabinets for baskets. I'm hunting for two long baskets that fit the space to hold miscellaneous items. Not really. I just want them to look pretty. But if they also end up holding miscellaneous items - like more toilet paper - bonus.
All of the wainscot in my house is simple like the cabinets - inset panels. We decided to add the columns to help separate the toilet from the vanity. Originally I had a wall with a door there, but ended up taking it out of the plans just before framing. The room isn't that large and I didn't want it to feel too cut off. I'm so glad I did because I love the way the natural light fills the whole space. Nice and open!
Top detail of the columns. I was worried about these columns because I didn't want them to look too fancy! I like things so simple. They had a lot more detail in the original design and I kept taking things out making them as basic as possible. Same with the crown molding. This crown is throughout our house in rooms we didn't do a ceiling treatment and oh my word it was a pain figuring it out! Apparently they don't pre make crown this simple. Everything my carpenter showed me was so swirly and fancy. Kenny was like "don't you just have a straight board? That what she wants. Something as plain and boring as possible." :)
Ok. Can we please talk about this wallpaper!? Do you love it as much as I do? Oh my word. I adore it more every day. If that's possible. I knew early on I wanted to wallpaper this bathroom because it's a smaller space and I was too big of a chicken to make a bolder move with wallpaper in a big space. I also knew I wanted something grey and white with a geometric pattern. I looked at so many options on-line that I liked, but they just didn't feel like "the one." Then when I was in a local design store picking out fabric for my girls' bed pillows, the designer helping me mentioned she sold wall paper. I looked through several books with her and when I opened the page with this sample I heard music playing! K. Maybe I just heard myself singing. Or squealing. I'm not sure which one. But it was loud! I knew the two of us were meant to be together. :) So many of you have already asked about this wallpaper and I'm happy to give anyone the info. you need to order it! Like I said, it's not on-line so just send me an e-mail and I'll explain who you need to call. The store designer and I clicked and have become fast friends. She is helping me with a few other things throughout my house.
Tissue paper holder is also the same as the one in my girls' bathroom (Top Knobs).
The hand towel holder is part of the same set. The white towel is from Tarjey.
I adore latches and pulls. This is the same hardware I put in my kitchen.
I'll have to give you all the story behind my latches but I'll save it for another post since this one is already too long! That's the funny thing when you build a house. EVERYthing has a story.
Every room. Every decision. Some are funny and happy. Some you just wish you could forget. :)
Most of the lights throughout my house are clear glass - another look I love. I fell hard for these sconces when I found them for this room. You can order them
here.
They take an edison bulb. I'm a big fan of vintage touches so I have a lot of lights with edison bulbs. LOVE the look. The only downside to lights like this is how badly they show dust. I will have to stay on top of keeping them clean. Kenny thinks I'm crazy for ordering so many clear glass fixtures but I say small price to pay when they make me so happy! :)
I decided to order a raised sink bowl just to mix things up in this one space.
Same vintage style faucet as my girls' bathroom. You can find it
here.
And one last close-up of my marble.
Because like I said earlier, I'm in desperate need of a pick me up.
:)
I've been thinking about a fun way to display our Christmas books in the new house. In my previous house I always put them in a basket in front of the fireplace. I always think about wrapping them individually each year (a fun idea I've seen on several blogs) so my kids can open one to read each night. But then I think about how much time (and wrapping paper!) that will take and I never do it. Much easier to toss them all in a basket! :) These have been our all time favorites for years!
(cookies and cheese from Christmas 2009 along with letters and pictures for Santa)
A Christmas Dress for Ellen retold by Thomas S. Monson - a gift from my mom. We especially love this book because it reminds us of my grandma Ellen who Ellie was named after. The illustrations are beautiful.
Santa Mouse Where Are You? Part two of the original Santa Mouse.
