One Room Challenge Week 8: Nautical Guest Bath Reveal

Hi Hi! Welcome back to week 8 2.0 of the One Room Challenge. As a reminder, The One Room Challenge is a biannual forum -Spring and Fall- for participants to have a fun and supportive way to share their room transformations over a six week period. This time around, an additional two weeks were granted to account for COVID delays. I participated for the first time as a Featured Designer (pinch me!) to renovate our guest areas, both a bedroom and bathroom. This is the reveal of the nautical bathroom but you can see the accompanying bedroom here.

Interested in checking out previous week’s post?

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8: Guest Room Reveal

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Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen and non-binary folks, I give you the nautical bathroom…

Befores of the Nautical Bathroom

Nautical Guest Bathroom Reveal

This bathroom made me so happy, I literally had to refrain from crying. There is this feeling that I get when I have something in my head that only I can see. And then making it happen and come alive in the world where I can share it with others. That feeling always moves me.

It also doesn’t hurt that this bathroom is such an example of so many of the things that we hoped for and thought about when we were young and first got together. A life together, a home of our own, the ability to be creative and have that creativity and our gifts make room for us. It’s just a bathroom but I never want to lose sight of how grateful I am for all that we have and the moments where we get to share these things with you.

Okay back to the topic at hand.

The Tile

This gorgeous 2×8 wall tile from Fireclay Tile is called Nautical. Subconsciously, I must have seen the previous wallpaper border in this space as a personal challenge and an inspiration all rolled into one. Fireclay Tile makes this gorgeous custom tile right here in the US in their California factory. Ordinarily their tiles are custom and made to order (it’s how they can be so good to the environment) but this color and size is apart of their quick ship stock so it’s available to ship in 5 days or less! This is such a great option if you are just looking to get tile in fast. I’ve used other Fireclay Tile quick ship options like the hex tile in our ensuite bathroom.

I didn’t actually use quick ship this go round. We had more important fish to fry. Marcus was certain that he didn’t want any sort of Schluter or metal trim on the tile in here. We have it in our other bathroom and it looks great but to get the look he wanted, we’d need tile with color edges to create a finished look. We ordered them and used them in the niche and the shower’s edge. We also snagged the Sardis molding to finish off the half wall tiles. We ordered these special pieces at the same time as our wall tile so they would come from the same batch and have as close to the same coloring as possible. The Nautical color does have noticeable variation in color though even coming from the same batch. Make sure if you are using it yourself, that you mix up the boxes and individuals pieces as you mount.

I talked so much about my love for the Nautical tile. But this room isn’t actually based on that wall tile. It’s based on the floor; a Marcus choice. I’ve mentioned before that Marcus has very few opinions as I’m designing. So when he has one, I do whatever I can to make his dreams come true. He had an inspo image saved of a simple mosaic tile, and I knew Fireclay Tile was the only option. No other tile company on the market has the range of color and shapes (hello, Sardis trim) that Fireclay has.

We chose the 1×1 mosaic sheets from Fireclay Tile in Daisy, a matte finish, non reflective tile. Perfect for bathroom floors. We then selected four different color 1×1 squares to use as accents (Hunter Green, Mustard, Blue Velvet and Dusty Blue). Marcus and I played around with the colors on the site, mixing and matching and pairing arbitrary sets of four until we landed on this color combo.

The only non-negotiable color was the Dusty Blue which is the wall tile in our en-suite bathroom. I firmly believe in the concept of having bathrooms in the same house be cousins (not twins) and calling back to other areas in your home either in theme or color. For this bathroom, we chose color and theme since we have nautical touches in other places.

The Vanity

If you were around for the last time I used a trough sink, just know, this one was just as difficult. We obtained this very rough sink in a 10 p.m. post work Facebook Marketplace run two hours away from home. Marcus spotted it for $75 so we couldn’t resist. We chose to build it into this vanity that we found in yet another Facebook Marketplace run for around $50. The drawer on this vanity is still operable due to some handy cutting around the central pipe of this sink.

This sink is rough but that is what we love about it. We chose to flank this sink with this classic sconce from One Room Challenge sponsor, Hudson Valley Lighting in age brass to add more warmth, And then we topped it with this brass arch mirror in front of the tile. That’s a lot of polished in one space. The sink keeps the space gritty and loved.

That last panel on the vanity front was added last minute as a way to raise the height of our too short vanity. Our contractors came up with this brilliant solution so that we didn’t have to build a platform to raise it. Instead they cut the vanity open and tucked this section into it. Genius!

The Tub

This shower brings me so much joy. The Bancroft tub paired with this chrome thermostatic shower system is the stuff of all of my wildest dreams. I worked with the One Room Challenge sponsor, Build With Ferguson, to make sure that not only was I selecting items that were my style but that they also functioned well in this space. In a virtual consultation with an associate at my local Ferguson, we walked through my selections to make sure that not only were the aesthetics correct but that I had the missing pieces (like the drain that fits this tub) and that the item was in stock and would be ready in time for my shoot. And thank goodness for it because even with us checking, we still waited a bit longer for the tub due to lead times.

The tub was worth the wait! It’s so pretty in this space and meets all of my qualifications, the most important being that my chest and knees fit under water in it at the same time. What a win! And the faucet? A total showstopper.

I finished off this shower with a niche in the back. The niche is so important to me. Not just because of how much space it saves but because I use it to prop up my ipad for Netflix while I detangle. (Always with the water off). This niche is made larger and taller for that reason.

The Art

After seeing a bathroom in the Post House Inn in Charleston, I just knew that this corner gallery wall was a necessity. We’ve amassed a number of ship and nautical knick knacks over the years. This wall was the perfect place to display them. Each piece is vintage special to us and marks an interesting time in our life for one reason or another. The only exception is this stunning multi sailboat painting, Coastal Sails by Blakely Made which is still available as a print.

And there you have it. The official end of my first One Room Challenge as a Featured Designer and a brand spanking new nautical bathroom. This has been a wild ride and I am so grateful to Linda Weinstein who created the One Room Challenge and Better Homes and Gardens, the media partner. I also have to give a huge shout out to some of the best sponsors around.

Loloi Rugs | Build with Ferguson | Apt2B | Calico | Hudson Valley Lighting Group | Fabricut | Kichler | Jill Rosenwald

Want to see some incredible spaces from some amazingly talented designers? You do!

Ariene C. Bethea | At Home With Ashley | Banyan Bridges | Bari J. Ackerman | Brit ArnesenBrownstone Boys| Cass Makes Home | Dominique Gebru | Gray Space Interiors| Haneen’s HavenHome Ec. | Nile Johnson Design | Pennies for a fortune | Rachel Moriarty InteriorsSachi Lord | Susan Hill Interior Design | This Is Simplicite | Tiffany DeLangie | Victoria Lee Jones  

Complete List of Sources

• Lights: Hudson Valley Lighting (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Toilet: Build with Ferguson (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Tub: Build with Ferguson (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Exposed Showerhead: Build with Ferguson (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Shower Tile: Fireclay Tile in the Color Nautical (Gifted)
• Floor Tile: Fireclay TIle in the Color White Wash (Gifted)
• Tile Trim: Fireclay Tile (Gifted)
• Vanity: Vintage
• Mirror: Regina Andrews (Gifted)
• Paint color: Sherwin Williams “Oyster White” (Gifted)
• Trough Sink: Facebook Marketplace (New: Build with Ferguson)
• Faucet with Soap Dish: Build with Ferguson (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Bench: Target (Old)
• Art: Mostly Vintage
• Sailboat art: Blakely Made (Gifted)
• Seagrass Basket: Ikea
• Toilet Paper Holder: Moen
• Robe Hook: Moen
• Shower Curtain: Fabricut (One Room Challenge Sponsor)
• Towel: Weezie (Gifted)