Powder Room Misfit Makeover: WK 1
Do you have an ugly or uninspiring power room that is in need of a makeover? Follow me on a 6 week journey as I turn my misfit powder room into a beauty!
Honestly, the pictures of my powder room hurt my eyes and give me a stomach ache. It’s become a misfit in my home never having been touched or decorated in 8 years! It’s time to makeover the powder room and to tackle my first renovation in life! Well, with a contractor of course…
Porch Daydreamer Makeover Maven
If this is your first time to this website, welcome I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Tracey the Master of Chaos at Porch Daydreamer, in Charlotte, NC. Yes, that is my official title 🙂
Using a career in textiles and home improvement I’ve been creating a beautiful life – one project at a time.
A single working mom for over 15 years I’ve had to be scrappy to stay within my budget. Making over spaces is a pure soul consuming passion of mine!
During that time I’ve built two spec homes doing all of the design work and most of the home improvement projects.
I created this blog to share and teach what I’ve learned and continue to learn, as a way to inspire others to tackle their own projects.
Welcome to that journey!
The Fall One Room Challenge™
This 6 week powder room makeover will be documented as part of the One Room Challenge™. It’s currently in its fourteenth season running twice a year every April and October.
This is my THIRD time participating in the ORC using it as motivator to makeover a room. I love the pressure of the short time frame and watching the progress of others as we post our projects each week.
If you are interested in my previous two room reveals with before and after photos, they are linked below. Here is my spring dining room makeover and that’s my sweet dog Mick.
The One Room Challenge culminates with the 20 Featured Designers and hundreds of guest participants (that’s me) sharing their completed spaces on November 7th.
This year, Better Homes & Gardens is the media partner for the ORC and will be documenting the event on their website.
What’s Wrong with the Powder Room?
Well, everything. Funny, one of my good friends asked that very question. I’m like it matches NOTHING in my house and I’ve shown it no love.
All the things that hurt my eyes…
- Espresso cabinets that were all the rage in 2010.
- Wall color is the same color as my pre-makeover dining room now looking “off”.
- Builder grade tile that is plain boring.
- The toilet is the brightest item in the room.
- Why was the chandelier hung in the middle of the room?
- Very busy granite counter.
- Traditional artwork that doesn’t fit the softer style in the rest of my home.
The only thing I still like is the mirror, but I want a whole new look so it’s going to live in the attic for my 2nd home someday 🙂 Don’t you love that random side backsplash?
Another fun feature, the poor curtains could never hang as panels because they put the toilet paper holder smack up against the moulding!
However, I do love the gauzy curtains and how they filter the light.
See it’s all kinds of weird causing a stir in me to turn one of the first rooms people see as they enter my home into one I am proud of.
Non-Powder Room Makeover Inspiration
Oddly enough, the inspiration for this powder room makeover didn’t start with a powder room at all! If you read other posts, you will quickly learn that color is a design element I love to focus on at the core of a room.
As I was scrolling my Instagram feed, my thumb suddenly stopped on this:
See not a powder room! Literally inspiration can come from anywhere. Marie Flanigan’s Instagram feed will draw you in and hold you!
She is definitely an account to follow for gorgeous design that is unique to her. I’ve been lucky enough to meet Marie and she is just as nice and pretty, as she is talented.
All the things I saw in this room and I wanted to incorporate into my powder room…
- Blonde or bleached out wood tones
- Dramatic gold and bronze light fixtures
- Wainscoting in bright white
- Deep colored walls
The room is bold, bright and soft all in the same sentence. I love EVERYTHING about it!
Next, realizing that tall wainscoting wasn’t the right fit in a powder room I went in search of a board and batten treatment instead.
My thumb landed on this beautiful powder room using Schumacher wallpaper and set the direction for the type of board and batten I would use. Sadly, there is NO room in the budget for wallpaper.
I’m sure I have you scratching your head as to how these two very different rooms will mind meld into a beautiful design. Will my room look like either? No, but the design elements will be combined with my own unique spin and I can’t wait to see it unfold!
Powder Room Makeover Plan
Of course there is a budget and I’m going to do all of the painting! If you didn’t know, I actually like to paint because it saves money and frankly I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years. My dining room makeover color changed 3 times and that wouldn’t have been affordable, if I’d hired a painter.
What is staying:
- Vanity
- Faucet (if I find an affordable option, this goes on the update list)
- Drapes and drapery hardware
- The toilet 🙂
What’s getting an update:
- Tile
- Mirror
- Wall color
- Vanity color
- Vanity top
- Adding board and batten
- Lighting
- Cabinet hardware
- Artwork
Luckily, the heavy lifting will be done by my contractor Kip. We plan to move out the vanity about an inch, demo the tile, remove the vanity top, and hopefully swag the light to center over the vanity sink. He’ll add the board and batten, then I’ll paint.
My biggest challenge? Photography! I’m not quite sure how I’ll capture the full reveal of this tiny space. Wish me luck.
Track My Progress
It’s amazing a little room is going to get so much love! I’m excited to see the demo and watch the room slowly transform over the weeks. Please consider signing up for my weekly email newsletter, so you don’t miss an update.
Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, REVEAL
Next week it will be all about product selections! Follow along with my Instagram stories for a behind the scenes look.
Check out the amazing designs from both the featured designers and guests by clicking here!
Until next time…
Porch Daydreamer
Tracey
This is very ambitious for six weeks! I love your inspiration and am excited to follow along.
Thanks, Linda! Sometimes I wonder why I do these things to myself 🙂
Can’t wait to see what you do!! <3
Thanks! I’m excited about the plan 🙂
Tracey,
The ORC is always such fun to follow. I am always inspired by the results of everyone’s project. I will be following your progress. I had hoped to be involved this fall with my laundry room, but exterior projects got bogged down forcing my laundry room re-do further down the to-do list.
Bon chance on your plans and work,
Judith
Judith,
Thank you and I need some good luck 🙂 It is amazing what comes of these projects and I am always so inspired, but what is dreamed up and executed! Hope to see you in the spring!