The Lettered Cottage

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Cottage Bathroom

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This post is all about our previously purple bathrom turned cottage bathroom- but I did want to mention that since our last post we’ve had several really great appointments with potential buyers so *fingers crossed* we’ll be pulling up the for sale by owner sign in our front yard by the end of the week!

Ok, onto the cottage bathroom! Remember what it looked like when we moved in five years ago?

(We didn’t have a wide angle lens back when we shot our before pictures- sorry for the chopped up views!)

Here’s what we ended up doing with the space, little by little, over the past however long…

Since we’re hoping to move back near our old neck of the woods sometime soon, we left the wall above the tub blank. That way, the new owner(s) can do whatever they want to up there. I always thought it would be fun to open it up and add a wall full of salvaged windows there…or maybe extend the half wall up near the ceiling, add more subway tile on all three tub walls, and make it a tub/shower combo. Lots of options for the next owner to think about!

(Note: We used a hinge stop on the top hinge of the door so it doesn’t hit half wall behind it.)

We got our subway tiles from Lowes for 26 cents a piece. We used their “warm gray” unsanded grout in between them…

The tile and grout only set us back about $120 total, and we absolutely love how it all turned out. The house hunters that have seen it so far have really seemed to like it a lot too. #Yay!

We placed a tiered storage stand on the floor next to the tub…

Kev and I both loved the look of it, and I had way too much fun shopping for sea sponges and handmade soaps to fill it with on Etsy.

#IHeartEtsy

I’m absolutely wild about the sea sponge soap. The sponge is actually nestled right into the soap during the creation process…

How fun is that?! It smells amazing too.

The rug on the floor was on clearance at Pottery Barn:

…and up on the wall above it, we hung a bent wood wall shelf…

I’m a sucker for bamboo and bent wood items (both natural & painted), and I was determined to win this one on eBay when I saw it there a couple of weeks ago. At first, I was the only bidder at $9.97. I was pumped, and I didn’t think about it much for the next few days. Then, about a half an hour before the auction was going to end, I got an email saying that I had been outbid. Zoinks! Another bidder placed a bid of $13.43. I upped my bid to $15, and was glued to my eBay screen for the next 30 minutes. About six minutes before the auction ended, my adrenaline got the best of me and (impulsively) increased my maximum bid to $20. (I was really hoping to stay under $15.) Thirty seconds before the auction ended, the other bidder changed their maximum bid to $15.78, so I ended up winning it for $16! Whew!

Show of hands comments- Isn’t it funny how a down-to-the-wire bid-fest can instantly either make you totally afraid to commit to an item, or totally HAVE to have it? Wacky.

While I was e-shopping, I found some numbered wooden toothbrushes online, too…

Fortunately they’re available for purchase on this website, but I definitely would have jumped into another bid-fest for those bad boys if I had found them on eBay- ha!

It may have taken five years to complete, but it was definitely a labor of love!

 

Hope you enjoyed the (tiny) tour!

Resource List:

Wall mirror – Local flea market
Galvanized stand – Farmhouse Wares
Wire magazine basket – TJ Maxx
Glass apothecary containers – We’ve had them for so long, I can’t remember!
Hollviken sink – Ikea
Wall tile – Total Liquidation in Montgomery, Alabama
3″x6″ white subway tile – Lowes
Sea sponges and sea sponge soap – Natural Sea Sponges on Etsy
Honeycomb soap – BathHouse on Etsy
Honey oat soap – DomesticLove on Etsy
Maison-Home bath gel – TJ Maxx
Tiered Storage Stand – Pottery Barn
Kate rug – Pottery Barn
Ceiling light above sink – Lowes
Bent wood towel rack – eBay
Numbered wood toothbrushes – Izola.com
Wall color: Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams
Door color: Mourning Dove by Sherwin Williams (an old Martha Stewart color you have to ask them to mix)
Trim color: Moonlight White by Benjamin Moore
Farm table: local flea market
Branas baskets in cubbies: Ikea
Golden oak vinyl plank flooring: Lowes

(To read more about our cottage bathroom redo, just scroll down to “guest bathroom” under the Categories tab in our sidebar.)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nightowl_72

    I absolutely love what you’ve done with this room. I remember being excited when you bashed that hole through the wall and disapointed when you said you closed it back up. I take that all back now. It is just beautiful and useful too!

    I’m so glad you have found some interested potential buyers too. I wish you all the luck in the world.

    From a fellow anxiety sufferer xxx

  3. TiaChocolate

    oooh…your bathroom is perfect…do you mind me asking the size? I’ve got plans to build a new bathroom and this layout is so cute!! I am planning to have the door open away from the bath’s inside (did that make sense?) but otherwise…KAYUTE!! 🙂

  4. Tracy

    My mama always said to leave a place in better shape than you found it – you all have definitely done that! Beautiful job!

  6. Girl Child

    oh no no.. that is not how you do it my dear.. my hubs is an ebay addict and the trick is to NOT up your bid until the last 30 seconds.. this way the bid stays low and the person who bid the low one thinks they have it in the bag.. then at the last 30 seconds.. you place YOUR bid and it’s too late for them to match it.. dog eat dog world.. =)

  8. Shari Sunday

    Congratulations on the sale of your pretty house. What a story the new owners will have to tell. I can’t wait to share in your new adventure with your new house.

  9. Danie

    Oh my goodness! That was one purple bathroom! I love the upgrade you did here. The house my husband and I moved into a year ago had a similar purple on the walls of the master bedroom. Needless to say, husband did not like it and it was one of the first things to get painted!

    And good luck with the sale!

  10. Ter'e Crow Lindsay

    You mean you guys didn’t like the original purple bathroom? I can’t imagine why!!!!!! It was LOVELY! haha
    If you love those wonderful old sea sponges, you should go to Tarpon Springs, FL one day!!!!!! The divers still go down and harvest the sponges. It is a beautiful sight to see. Anytime you want some more, let me know………I’ll pop over to Tarpon Sprigs and get you some (now that I am back to living in Parrish, FL).
    Tarpon Springs is a wonderful old Greek village………you feel as tho you have gone to Greece. It is spectacular. And the food? The octopus????? YUMMO. Be sure to GOOGLE it!
    Love love love the bathroom!!!!!!!! I love your little shelved cubbies the best! Super!

  11. Gayla Templeton

    I don’t think you will ever be sorry you bought the shelf. I’ve had one that is very similar for 40 years and it has been painted to match many bathrooms. I’ve even antiqued it back to look wood tone like it came. I really enjoy your blog. My husband and I redid more houses than I can count or remember and like you we lived in every one of them while we did them. We kept the equity rolling over into each one until we could keep each one and use it for a rental property and it was very lucrative. I’ll stay in this last one, an art deco era cottage that I love. It has its’ original stained glass windows and beartiful built in china cabinets, book shelves and buffet. I still get itchy fingers now and then wanting to redo another one but then I look in the mirror and remember how old I am and alone now. There is just no way! So I just watch your generation take your turn. Thanks for sharing so an old lady like me can reminisce. Your bathroom is beautiful but I kind of liked the lavender, it being my favorite color. I have it in the shower curtain in my main bath with the rest being white and I think those walls would be very wearing. So, enjoy that shelf. You’ll never be sorry.

  12. Lisa

    Love what you’ve done with the space! What “brand” of vinyl plank flooring did you use? I want to do a “wood” floor in our bathroom but was worried about water damage. Is vinyl the best way to go to be safe? Good luck with your potential buyers… I’ve got my fingers crossed for you guys!!

  14. elspeth home blogs

    Beautiful attention to detail! I am currently undertaking a long put off bathroom makeover in my house and looking for some inspiration which I have certainly found here.

  17. Jude

    Wow! What a difference! I love everything you did in here. Will the next guest bath be this nice? 🙂

  19. Kim in MD

    I’m so excited that you may already have a buyer for your home! I knew you would sell it quickly…it’s so gorgeous! Good luck with the sale, and good luck with your new home. I can’t wait to see what you do with your next house!

  20. Brandi T..

    Hi Layla,

    I was wondering if you might share the size of this bathroom. Our master bath is very small but you picture is giving me hope. I love the layout and LOVE LOVE LOVE every single design detail. Wish I lived in the area because if so, you’d already have that sold sign in the yard 🙂

    • Layla

      Thank you! There are actually cubbies on both sides of the sink. I talked Kev into building them at some point along the way! 🙂

  27. Mia B

    Hi Layla, it looks beautiful! I’ve tried searching this out in the bathroom posts before but cannot find it… did you all remove the soffit where the light was over the sink or did you just incorporate the soffit into the design with the built-ins and beadboard?

    We have a similar situation in our house in three bathrooms (curse you 1970s soffits!) and I’m wondering if it would be difficult to remove it and how hard it would be to fix whatever mess it makes of the wall!

  29. Nicole

    Your bathroom looks great! I love how clean and organized it is! The new homeowners are going to love it! My husband and I are improving our small bungalow bathroom right now.
    btw– thought i’d share that Walmart has a sea sponge (on a suction cup/rope) for under $2! Such a fun and cheap find! I just cut the rope and suction cup part off and put them inside an apothecary jar.

  31. Jenny B.

    Ha ha! Love the toothbrush cartoon. So cute. I’ve been on ebay a LOT this week hunting for vintage Fisher-Price little people furniture. I found an old house at a flea market, and just had to have it, and then of course, had to furnish it… Anyway… 🙂 I discovered a WONDERFUL tool that takes away most of the last-minute bidding stress. It’s called Auction Sniper. There are actually several similar sites that do the same job. Basically, you tell the site what you max bid is, and then they “snipe” the auction, placing your bid for you within the last few seconds of the auction. So far, I haven’t lost! And it’s been nearly stress-free. The site I’m using gives you three free snipes, and then you pay per snipe – something like 1% of the selling price. Anyway, just thought I’d share since it has been a lifesaver for me this past week. 🙂

  34. Christina

    LOVE this bathroom! Love the tiered stand next to the tub and the sink on top of that wood farmhouse table!

    I love your style! Don’t you want to come decorate a room in my house?? I don’t live that far from Atlanta Ikea 😉

  35. Sonja

    I was going to comment and ask where you got the sea soap sponges… they look so amazing!! But of course they are from Etsy! You can really find some great things on that site. I really like what you did with the bathroom though, what an improvement!!

  36. Amanda

    Looks great!
    Question for you…did you treat the wood top the sink sits on top of? We recently did something similar and I have noticed a couple water spots on the wood top. I am unsure the best solution. Thanks!

  37. Pamela

    Could I please ask what height you guys ended up making your vanity to have the vessel sink on top. We are reading vanities with vessel sink are often 6″ lower than regular vanities. Thank you for the help- part of our remodel bathroom vanity remodel took inspiration from your guest bathroom remodel.

  38. gena

    Love sw sea salt! I am thinking of painting our kitchen this clolor but need to find a cordinating tan/beige color. Any suggestions?

  39. Anna

    Hi, I’m new to the blog and just catching up. Is the tub original or did you replace that? If you did, what size is it and where from? Looks like a beautiful room!

  41. margaret

    did you list the back splash tile?? was that from lowes or home depot also?

    love the finished result!

  43. Carolyn

    Hi Layla,

    We are currently renovating our master bath and I stumbled upon your site. Love love love your bathroom and style!! Quick question for you about your subway tile – did you use 3″ bullnose edged tiles at the transition from tile to wall? You guys did a great job and it looks amazing!

    Thanks,
    Carolyn