I’ve been having a blast planning out the different design elements for this home. One of its best features are the elegant trim work on the first level. So to stay true to that detail, we are going for a modern-traditional design. We’ll primarily do a light and bright asethetic.
Master Bath
The nice thing about this bathroom is that is has plenty of space. Once we removed the giant built-in tub, the room really opened up. Originally, there was a single vanity (even though these is space for a double), and the toilet awkwardly faced the vanity. So we plan to install a double vanity and turn the toilet to back up to the same wall as the vanity.
The foot print of the shower will stay the same. And we are going to install a freestanding tub on the back wall adjacent to the shower. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together… in my head it looks pretty amazing! So here’s to hoping it translates… 😉
I picked a wood-look tile for the floor. I’ve never done wood tile before, and I don’t like when it butts up to real wood flooring. But the bedroom connecting to the bath will be carpet, so this is the perfect scenario for it. I think it will have a kind of ‘elevated rustic spa’ feel? This tile was on clearance at Floor & Décor for just $.99 a square foot.
I’m pretty pumped about the vanity for this bathroom. It’s from Lowes and they have a great special on it right now, so I want to use this style in all the baths. I love that it’s floating!!! (I may have an obsession with floating vanities) And over the vanity, we plan to have two separate mirrors and lights.
In the shower, we’re adding a little pattern with my favorite ever tile (used in our kitchen). I’ve seen other bathrooms with this tile on the walls, and I didn’t find it overwhelming. So I’m hoping that is the case in this one as well.
And as a last little design feature, I plan to do some picture frame molding on the walls. I think this is a great way to elevate a room on the cheap. It will definitely be some extra work, but I feel strongly that it’s the details like these that really make a house special. (And hopefully convince a buyer to pay top dollar for it!) Besides, it’s way cheaper and easier than tiling the walls 😉
Kid’s Bath
We’re keeping this design fairly simple. The floorplan will stay the same. But we’ll install a new tub and tile the surround. I’ve picked out a larger subway-esque tile that I think will be clean, but also easier to install.
I plan to get the same vanity but in 48” for this bathroom, and carry the floating look throughout the house. We’ll also use the same wood-look tile on the floors. Beyond that, we’ll just need a new toilet, mirror and light fixture.
Half Bath
We actually haven’t demoed this bathroom out yet because we use it when we are working at the house. I really like that this half bath has a pocket door that is super cute. We’ll be extending the main floor wood flooring into this room. We’ve done it before, and I think wood in a half bath is totally fine.
Then, I’m planning on using the 36” Allen & Roth floating vanity in this room as well. Plop in a new mirror, light, and toilet, and this room is good to go!
Kitchen
The kitchen design was an interesting predicament. The current U-shaped layout made it feel small and closed off. Some people would just remove the top cabinets above the peninsula and go with that layout. But I really felt like we should expand the footprint of the kitchen if at all possible.
The basic layout of the appliances had to stay because it would be too costly to reshuffle everything. But that meant the cabinets on the sink wall could only go to the sliding glass door. And we can’t move that either for cost reasons (you get into re-siding the exterior and it’s just a mess).
Scrolling on FB one day, I saw this kitchen layout plan by Adair Rox Interiors. And I thought, YES! That is what this kitchen needs. An island that extends into the eat-in kitchen and serves as a breakfast bar as well. This would effectively double the kitchen footprint, significantly increase prep space, and add back some more storage.
A few months back, I saw that IKEA finally came out with a white shaker style cabinet door. Hallelujah!!!! So, I am super pumped to try that out. I’m still working out the rest of the details, but I’m feeling like black handles, pendants and faucet, and white quartz counters with a herringbone mosaic backsplash.
General Design
Overall, I plan to have all the walls painted a slightly off-white and have the trim in a semi-gloss true-white. The doors will provide an accent in a very dark grey color. I’ve actually already picked the colors:
- Walls – SW Site White
- Trim – SW Extra White
- Doors – SW Iron Ore
We’re going to have the painters spray the fireplace as well, in the same dark gray as the doors. I think that will look so chic!!
All the outlets, switches, and their trim will be replaced with new white ones. All the lights will be updated as well. And we’ll swap out the door hardware. Nickel is always a safe choice, but right now I’m actually leaning towards black door handles and hinges (or oil-rubbed bronze technically).
We’ll be carpeting the whole second floor and basement. I know carpet is really hated-on from everyone on HGTV, but in reality it’s a practical solution for bedrooms and second stories. And although it may not be the most preferred option, it’s the most cost effective and practical one. And the market bears it. Most comparables in our area still have carpeting, so to upgrade everything to wood would be pricing us out of the neighborhood.
And finally, we’ll be doing an engineered hardwood floor on the main level which is yet to be determined. Overall, I’m so excited just to get paint on the walls because it will finally start coming to life! A lot of rooms only need paint and flooring, so they will come together nice and quickly.