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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Comments

  1. Barb @ Grits and Glamour

    Loved the tiny tour. That is the coolest sea sponge soap ever. I am making rosemary soap this weekend. I may have to give that one a try. Love every single element about this room. Some lucky homeowner sure is gonna be happy to call this home….soon I hope. 🙂 xxoo

    • Layla

      Thanks, Barb! 😀 I miss making soap…may have to give that a whirl again, too! Hope you have fun with yours this weekend!

  2. MelO

    Cracked up laughing at those Ebay charactures, as I can sooo relate!! Love the bathroom!!

  4. Chrissy Floyd

    So glad to see how this room turned out! I love the built-in shelves you made and the vanity and tile around the mirror. It’s definitely the inspiration I needed for my master bath remodel. 🙂

  5. Jules

    I love that you shortened the vanity and built in the cabinet to the left of it. Brilliant!

  6. kellley

    Hi there Layla, have not stopped by in awhile but…. wowow
    love your bathroom
    fingers crossed that you get an offer

    best, kelley

  12. Steph.

    The bathroom redo is so fabulous! I also have those wooden toothbrushes, which are compostable by the way…only I spent much more for mine! Anyway, this bathroom is one of my favorite redo’s of yours….good luck with the sale!!! fingers crossed! 😀

  14. Andrea

    SO not surprised that the showings have gone well so far! Fingers crossed for some good news soon! I’m sure all of us who follow your blog will miss this home, but look forward to seeing your next one =) Love the accessories in the bathroom. Definately going to have to refer back to this post when I’m ready to add a liitle bling to my potty room =)

  16. Angela S.

    Wow!!! I love it! It’s so open and clean looking now, with all the light colors. I’m sure your home will sell super easily!

  17. Krystal

    I have a question…
    In one post about the bathroom door you said you painted it Fieldstone, and here it is Mourning Dove. Did you end up repainting it or are the two sides different colors?

    Thanks! I wish I could move to your neck of the woods and buy your cottage! Just beautiful!

    • Layla

      Hey Krystal! We repainted the whole thing Mourning Dove because the poly we sealed it with the first time around had turned yellow. No more poly over paint for us! 😀

      • Krystal

        I love Mourning Dove….My kitchen & office are that color. I love the idea of painting the door though 🙂

  18. Marie M.C.

    Love your bathroom, in fact I LOVE everything you’ve done. If I lived in your neck of the woods, I’d be making an offer. Many thaks for giving us the web links to the products you use. SO helpful. Wish you had a store (etsy, eBay) so I could just go there and . . . spend heaps of money. OK, maybe little heaps.

  19. Katie

    I had a feeling you’d sell quickly…
    I’m looking at the possibility of moving to someplace I could actually afford to buy a home, and this blog in particular has really inspired me to go with frame/layout and location over having a well-designed interior. If I love it when I’m done, stick around… If not, sell and move on!

  20. Karen B

    You’ll have an offer in no time! I’m lifting prayers that you actually have multiple offers so you can get the money you need out of this beautiful home. I sold my house in one day out here in Foreclosure, City. A beautiful home, well priced will go fast. Best wishes!

  21. Jody

    Love the changes to you bathroom and your ebay photos/captions cracked me up 🙂

  23. Maria

    I love the finishing touches! It came together perfectly!!! I am so excited for both you and Kevin on your next new home adventure… I am for sure keeping my digits crossed for you 🙂

    Have a wonderful holiday!

  24. Megan

    I love the idea of making a shower by extending the half wall! Even if it was just done with glass to keep it all open, it would look great. But like you said, it’s a good thing to have the next homeowners finish. Good luck selling the place, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble!

    • Layla

      Ooh! I love the glass idea, Megan! I’m not sure how it would work with the shower head, but I love the idea of keeping the room open!

  26. Kim

    Such a beautiful transformation! I love all the little touches 🙂 And the wire basket with magazines was just the hit of inspiration I needed. We’re moving into a teeny tiny casita (two rooms and a bath) while we build a house over the next couple years. I have a skinny wire basket that will fit perfectly (I think) beside the toilet for some handy reading material 🙂 ¡Me encanta!

  27. Marianne in Mo.

    I knew I would love this when it was finished! And I’m glad you listed your grout color, since we’ve been trying to choose one for the same tile! We’d almost settled on avalanche, but I like yours better! As for the glass and the shower head, how about a stud wall wide enuf for the plumbing, surrounded with narrow “windows? But then you probably won’t have to worry about that since I’m sure your sale is pending as we type! Best of luck! Do you have a new place picked out?

  28. Holly Shult

    Layla & Kevin, I love what you’ve done with your cottage! Good luck with selling your house! We’ve had our house on the market a year now and I can hardly wait to settle into a home that I can add some cottage charm to! Thanks so much for sharing, I’m really looking forward to seeing what you guys do with your next home! 😉

  30. MimiG

    Awesome. You both have such a gift (and yes, I think it is a gift/talent) for styling. I hope you have much fun on your new endeavor..
    Have the 4-legged creatures started suspecting something is up? Mine used to always get a bit nervous when we had people coming by to view and when they saw moving boxes. Lots of soothing/cuddling and petting during the day for them.

  33. LaVonna Tetzlaff

    Layla & Kev: Hope you close house this week! How fast was that? I would have bought your cottage if I had been near your state. The update is so great and I woud go for the wooden toothbrush. Love U guys P.S. having trouble with letters postng in comments today they keep erasing.

  34. Sally

    Layla, I love this bathroom!!! Great job. The 3-tiered storage stand is a wonderful piece. Would you mind sharing where you found it?

    • Layla

      Hey Sally! It’s from Pottety Barn. There’s a link to it in the resource list I included at the bottom of the post. Thanks for the sweet comment! 🙂

      • Sally

        oops! My bad. I didn’t scroll down far enough to see the resource list. Thanks for the info. (pin, pin, pin!) =)

  37. Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality

    Layla, I adore this bathroom, what a transformation y’all did! Whoever buys your house will be so lucky to get all those fun rooms already done. I’d love to personalize my bathrooms like this one of these days. Right now I’m trying to make them presentable. You gave me lots of inspiration on this little bath!

    My stairs are done, Yippeeeeeee!

  38. Inge

    Adorable and stunning as always! But my favorite is the tiered stand, gotta have something like that for my own bathroom… 🙂 Good luck in selling your home, and I’m already curious to see how you will be decorating the new home! 🙂

  39. Diane | An Extraordinary Day

    Oh, I too love all the little details like the sponge and wooden toothbrush. So fun!!! Love the new look! Your creativity is amazing. I really am smitten with the vanity and sink…and how you gained so much storage in the process. I have a tiny bath….wouldn’t I love your creativity to make it work.
    Best wishes on the sale too!!!

  42. Cindy

    I did not know this cottage was for sale! Where is it??? We have been looking for a cottage and after following, or somewhat following your progress… wouldn’t it be cool if we purchased it! What a story that would make. Please send details…..

    • Layla

      It’s actually already under contract, Cindy. Thank you so much for inquiring about it though! 🙂

  44. Caren

    In the BEFORE picture the bathroom looks dark while the AFTER picture it looks like there is a lot of light. Was the BEFORE picture taken at night? Did you add a window? What made the difference?

    • Layla

      Hi Caren! We used a photography light in the after photos that we didn’t own when we took the before photos. 🙂

  45. Jessie

    It is absolutely gorgeous!!! I love your attention to detail:) Super jealous of those lucky new homeowners who get to live there!

  46. Missy

    Hey Lay! You had me cracking up over the Ebay thing…I totally have that exact conversation in my head whenever my auction is about to end and I’m second guessing myself! LOL 🙂 Thanks for the giggle!
    The bathroom looks great too! Congrats on the sale of the house…now I can’t wait to see what you guys buy! woot!
    Love ya girlie!
    Hey…I’m writing my post on Tybee Island right now! (my computers been down, or I’d have had it done already) 🙂
    HUGS!

  50. kathy

    finally, a site I can relate to. great renovation and giving the bathroom respect it needed. a much more user friendly and calming space. great job.