Hallway Bathroom Plans Are Coming Together

My mind can never be still. I’m always thinking, always planning, always dreaming. And after mentioning the other day that I want to make some changes in the hallway bathroom, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s been our main bathroom ever since we bought this house. It’s been the only bathroom for showering and getting ready for the day for 9.5 years now. But now that we have a real, finished, functioning master bathroom, this room only needs to be a guest bathroom.

So with its new purpose as only a guest bathroom, it just feels right to make some changes. I decided that I wanted to do some updates because, after living with the vanity in its current color for a couple of years, I’ve decided that it’s just too orange for my taste. I’d like it to be a bit more pinkish coral. Here’s what it looks like now.

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And then I shared that the shower curtain is a little too “primary colors” for me as well. I dug into my fabric stash, found the leftover fabric from the living room pillows (aka, my favorite floral fabric ever), and draped it over the shower curtain rod to see what that would look like. I added this picture to the post a few days ago, but I added it as an edit later in the day, so many of you may have missed it.

It’s perfect. I love that fabric so much, so I’m definitely going to use that. And that gives me lots of colors to choose from for the new vanity color. I’ll choose a color from those big pink flowers.

Well, after I shared those upcoming changes a few days ago, I remembered that I still have half a slab of the Vicostone Elysian quartz that we used for the master bathroom countertops. I had to purchase a whole slab, and they only used half of it for the bathroom. It’s been sitting at the countertop place with my name on it, and I’m sure they’d like to get it out of their way. The plan had been for them to deliver it to my house, and for me to store it until I’m ready to use it (I had been thinking about our future laundry room), but I could use the rest in the hallway bathroom!

I still need to go pick up the sample and test it out in this bathroom, but I’m very hopeful that it will work. The floor and the accent tile in the wainscoting both have gray in them. I’m just hoping it’s the right gray.

Here’s a reminder of what that countertop looks like…

It’s gray, but it reads as light and bright, rather than dark. While I’ve loved the warmth of the wood countertop in that bathroom, and I’ve been absolutely amazed at how well a pine countertop has held up in there (especially considering that it’s been our main bathroom all this time), I think I’m ready for a change. And since the slab is already paid for, I’d just have to pay fabrication costs.

I’m not sure what to do with the wood ceiling, though. I still love the way it looks, and I like the warmth it adds to the room. But y’all can tell me what you think. Keep the dark stained wood? Or paint it white like the music room ceiling? I feel like once the wood countertops are gone, the wood ceiling will seem a little random since it won’t relate to anything else in the room.

Here’s another peek of the room as it is now where you can see the ceiling…

And for comparison, here’s the same ceiling (both are made with 1/4-inch plywood cut into 4-inch strips) painted white…

So you can let me know what you think. Keep it stained, or paint it white?

I also mentioned the other day that I want to change out the fixtures to gold/aged brass. This bathroom is the only room in the house that has brushed nickel metal in it. The rest of the house has either black or gold/aged brass metal. So I’ve spent a little time looking at faucets and sconces.

Faucets aren’t that exciting, but sconces are very fun to shop for. I’ve been keeping my eye out for some pretty sconces while I scroll Instagram, and the other day, I was stopped mid-scroll by some amazing sconces in a bathroom. I stopped immediately and searched for them to see how much they cost. Here’s the sconce…

That is the Visual Comfort Alberto wall sconce in Plaster White, and it costs $439.00. Of course it does. And y’all know me better than to think I’d consider paying almost $900 for two sconces for a guest bathroom.

And then I saw this one by the same company. This is the Visual Comfort Alberto wall sconce in the medium size, also in the White Plaster finish.

I liked that one even more, but it’s $579. As much as I love it, I could never justify paying $1158 for two sconces. They’re little works of art, so there’s nothing wrong with their price. I’m just not their target customer. I’m more of a Target customer. 😀

But I wasn’t quite ready to give up on the idea of flower wall sconces, so a bit more searching led me to this sconce…

That is the Meridian Lighting 19-inch LED wall sconce from 1-800Lighting. Do I like it as much as the Visual Comfort light? Nope. It doesn’t have that hand sculpted plaster look to it. I doesn’t look as substantial. And it doesn’t have the gold inside the petals. But at $122 (on sale right now for $103.70), it’s more in my budget. And if I really wanted to, I think I could do some DIYing and make the cheaper sconces look more like the expensive ones.

All of the sconces also come in a gold finish. Here’s what the inexpensive one looks like in gold.

After seeing what the expensive sconces look like in a gold finish (a really beautiful gold leaf look), the inexpensive sconce in gold looks cheap to me. The funny thing is that I probably would have loved it had I seen that sconce first. But seeing the expensive ones first set my expectations too high.

So as of this moment, I’m leaning towards the inexpensive white ones with some DIYing to make them look more like the expensive ones. I like a challenge. 🙂

I still don’t know when I’ll make these changes. I’m really focused on the home gym right now, and I don’t wan to lose momentum on that. And I really do need to get my studio finished. But the studio will be such a big job, with more cabinet building than I’ve ever done, so I might need to take a few days here and there to focus on other fun projects so that I can stay motivated. I have a feeling that it’ll be during those breaks that I’ll tackle these projects in the hallway bathroom.

 

 

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61 Comments

  1. I do really like the wood ceiling in that bath. However, if you decide to change the countertop to what you have in your master bath, in my eyes it will look somewhat out of place. The white ceiling in your piano room will be just as nice.

  2. I’d keep the ceiling stained until the other changes are in place and then see how it fits. It’ll be easy enough to paint (and would look nice too) if it feels heavy after the changes. I do like having some wood in a room and if you replace the countertop the ceiling is the last of the wood, isn’t it?

    1. I, also, agree with JENW – the dark strokes in the new floral shower curtain pick up the wood staibed ceiling…perhaps after the other elements have changed, you moght look for other ways to bring in more oof the rich wood’s color via accessories in frames, curtain rod or rings, dark baskets, caning insets on the vanity doors(?), etc…
      Or you might end up painting the ceiling white!

      1. I agree with this. When I first saw the pic of the new curtain material draped over the rod my thought was how it reflects some of the dark tones in the ceiling so nicely. I’d leave the ceiling alone (you can always paint it later) and think about introducing some dark wood accents – maybe a tray on your soon to be new counter.

    2. Joining the chorus w/JenW, Jeannie & Patrice. I’d wait on the ceiling…. Until all the changes are made…. White is bright and certainly guest would appreciate a bright Bath… but you may decide that it is too harsh once you replace the lighting…and perhaps if the gray countertops are a go… look towards a light gray instead…. Take your time w/this renovation….
      PS: Over the mood with Joy that you’ll be using the Pillow fabric for the shower curtain…

    3. I really like your wooden vanity top and every time I see that bathroom my eye is drawn to the dramatic wood ceiling. The new shower curtain will really steal the show. Since there is no construction to do this time each of the changes can be made one at a time. The shower curtain absolutely first, it will change the whole room. From the shower curtain to the vanity. You may like the wood of the ceiling and countertop as they are but you could Leah’s do them at a later date if think the lighter colours will be better. And then to the lamps…if you haven’t heard of it yet I may be letting the genie out of the bottle but check out AquaCast. It is a powder that is mixed with just water and any colouring agents you choose, put it into a mold and it hardens in 45 minutes. You could make a sand mold of the petals you want and make a silicone mold from those. You could then paint some of it onto the metal parts to give them substance and it will be another Kristi Original. It comes in 1kg to 25kg sizes. I am in BC, Canada and I am planning to stock it in my new studio where I will give classes on it and other art forms. It is originally from the UK and I am not sure where it is available in the US. Elichem is the UK company

  3. I love the wood ceiling in your bathroom! Could you change the frame of your art to the same wood tone to add brown wood in another place? May help to tie it all together.

    1. I was just going to say exactly this and also suggest to add a waste paper basket in the same wood tone. It will all tie together. Don’t paint it!!!

    1. My 2 cents: I think the counters will look nice in the gray- if you do that, I’d do the ceiling white. I also love the idea of a gold faucet. I actually like the gold sconce best. Lol. Can’t wait to see it what you do with it all!

  4. My vote goes for a white ceiling. Fresh, clean, bright and more intentional than the wood finsh, now that the countertop will change.

    I once read that the smart way to shop for anything is to begin your search with high end products, and then move on down the price scale until you find the sweet spot between what you love and what you can afford. If you start by loking at cheap stuff and knockoffs, everything looks good after that and decisions are more difficult. Makes sense to me.

  5. I love the wood ceiling. Aren’t your shelves wood also? I think that would keep the ceiling from looking out of place if you kept it the way it is now.

  6. This was always one room I loved. The coral/orange is so bold and different. I would only paint the cabinet another color (one of the pinks, if you must) from the shower curtain. I think the new counter top will go great with the tile border you have around the room and the floors but if this was my room I would leave it and just buy a new brown tone granite counter top.
    Also, I wouldn’t worry about the fixtures. Most of the houses I grew up in had chrome in the kitchen and baths, this included door knobs and hinges while the other rooms would have brass, usually unfinished because most of the houses were pre-1930. I enjoy the mix of fixtures and hardware in my house and have been considering going back to chrome in my wet rooms. All fixtures and hardware seem to change as fast as apparel these days.

  7. “Target customer “! You’re a hoot!!!😂😂😂
    I’ve always loved the ceiling in the bathroom so we’re it me, I’d wait to repaint it. Though I do love a nice bright white ceiling or a pale, pale blue one.
    Using the counter in there is brilliant. I love almost everything you do😉

  8. Sconce..meridian in white would be beautiful as it conveys a flower shape like the more expensive sconce. The wood ceiling is nice but once you paint out the vanity and change the vanity top it’ll compete with that and your eye won’t have a place to “rest”..so, IMHO…paint the ceiling white, go with the (far) less expensive sconces and this bathroom will be a knockout! The fabric for the shower curtain is absolutely gorgeous! So impressed with all the work to be done and design decisions that you’ve made! Well done!!

  9. Paint it white. It will recede into the background and the vanity and shower curtain will stand out. Just like your custom “wall drawing” in the music room is what stands out. No competition from the ceiling.

  10. I’ve always loved that beautiful wood ceiling. With the deep crown molding, it is stately, natural, timeless …really out-of-the-box thinking on your part that put the room on a different plane. JMHO. What I’m having a difficult time picturing in terms of cohesion is the gray countertop material. Maybe the right idea is your original, to save it for the new laundry room? As to the lower priced sconces, layers of gesso would easily give the plaster effect that you love on the higher priced ones. Gesso with gold leaf applied would also be fabulous, if you decide to go gold.

    1. Every point JJ made is exactly what I was thinking! The ceiling is beautiful as it’s stained. Tie some other things into it. I ‘m also having a difficult time with the gray countertop. Ditto the gesso and gold leaf. I think it would be a fun project! 🙂

      1. And I forgot to add… in the pic of the music room the color of the loveseat caught my eye. I think it would be perfect for the vanity and would match the fabric for the new shower curtain!

  11. If all of us that love your posts and admire your hard work and determination sent you $1.00 or $5.00 we could bless and gift you with those beautiful sconces. You deserve a blessing. You bless us. I’m in!!!!

    1. You’re very sweet. Truly. It’s not a matter of not being able to afford them. I told Matt about them, and his response was, “This is our forever home. Make it what you want. If you want the sconces, get them!” It’s just a matter of me not being able to justify spending over $1000 for two sconces that I may grow tired of in a couple of years and want to swap out again. Y’all know how much I change my mind! 😀

  12. Option one: Paint the ceiling white. The stone countertop will definitely look much darker without the natural light like you have in the master bathroom, so a light ceiling will brighten the room. The cabinet can be any color you like. Definitely like gold fixtures for this room.

    Option two: Leave the ceiling stained and make the cabinet look like stained wood (stripping and staining is a lot of work I know.) It will have a darker, moodier vibe that might be interesting. Others have said to add wooden shelves and trashcan, etc. and I agree.

    I can’t wait to see what sconces you choose! I’d buy the inexpensive gold ones and modify them with gesso, textured paint, etc. to get the stone look you like. (Then the inside of the petals will already be gold.) You’ll definitely customize whatever you buy I bet!

    This is a great space to change up. Have fun!

      1. I so totally agree with vicki. Painting the ceiling a rich hue from the fabric (maybe the same color you choose for the vanity) would be “designer-esque” and a special surprise for your guests!

  13. Before I even scrolled down, when you said you were going to change the countertops, my first thought was “oh, that will look nice! The wood ceiling will still give it some warmth.” So I am team stained wood ceiling.

    You’ve probably heard this 100x before, but have you ever considered doing Ikea RTA cabinets (or something similar) in your studio? Maybe just make new door and drawer fronts? That might be a way to tackle that huge job without it feeling overwhelming. Just a thought.

    1. I have considered it, and I’ve even looked at several different places (not jus IKEA), but I couldn’t seem to find exactly what I was looking for. I may search again, though. I’d much rather do that than build everything from scratch. I’ve already built cabinets, and I have nothing to prove to myself. 😀 I’d be happy to let someone else do all of the cutting and preparing for me, so that I just have a quick assembly to do.

  14. I too love the dark ceiling, but a fresh coat of white paint might just be the ticket. Maybe a light gray. As for the scones I had to make ones that we could afford look like the fancy catalog ones that I would need a second mortgage for, and I used this amazing gold leaf paint I found at Amazon. It is made by Plaid and is called Liquid Leaf. It looks just like gold when it is applied and then dries to an amazing glow. It is fabulous and I have covered acres with this stuff…my husband is worried that he might be next if he sits in one place too long. I can’t wait to see what color gets the final approval for the vanity…secretly I love the orange too…very bold and beautiful, but with everything you do, it always looks so amazing. Keep up the great work.

    1. If you changed the ceiling, and I love the wood, Maybe a warm gray would be better than white.
      I’d leave it till the last, to make that decision. LOL! I’d add wood back in, in the accessories and not change it, now.

  15. From what my computer is showing your leftover fabric is more pink and magenta so it really does not go with the color of the cabinet. As for the ceiling i love it but since you are doing a couple redo in there you need to go white. I really like the bath room as it is.

  16. Ohh Kristi, this sconce by Julie Neil is my favorite. She has lots other pieces in this design, even chandeliers. I have saved so many pictures of it! love it in both colors but think the gold I would choose for my hall bathroom! It is very pricy and I could not bring myself to spend that much also. It seems I pick the more expensive ones before I look at price!
    I am going to consider the less costly one for our bathroom revamp. Thank you.
    I think the grey granite will look very nice blending with the border on your tile. Also I hope you will share pictures and instructions how to work over the flower sconces if you order them. I admire your work ethics and your perfection. I don’t know how you do all you do. You are a great example to follow. I enjoy reading your post much! Thank you!

  17. Can you do the sconces in gold leaf? You can buy it in sheets and from memory it is not at all costly. I have applied it to wooden furniture so not sure if it would adhere to metal but I don’t see why not.

    I would also paint the ceiling white. With all the changes that you plan on doing in this room I think the wooden ceiling will be too heavy looking.

  18. Those little flower sconces don’t seem to put off very much light. They seem more like an accent sconce in a living room or something, rather than a light source in a bathroom. I know it’s a guest bathroom, but I feel like it will look awfully dim, since the lighting has to shine through/around the metal petals. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are super cute, I’m just not sure how functional they will be.

    I think waiting until you’ve made all the other changes to decide if you want to paint the ceiling white is the right way to go. I loved the ideas of adding some dark woven baskets or other natural materials to pull that warm color elsewhere, but ultimately, I do think painting it white will be the right way to go.

    I think using the gray slab that you already own is a great idea – it’s such a win-win-win situation! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

    1. You’re right. They don’t put out much light, especially compared to what I have now. I guess I’m not worried about it since I won’t be using this bathroom to do makeup anymore, and we so rarely have guests who would need this bathroom for that purpose, so I’m not concerned about it. If we plan to host a guest who needs more light to do makeup, I’ll purchase a separate tabletop makeup light to keep in the guest bedroom desk drawer. 🙂

  19. White ceiling would look lovely. And I think you could use Rub ‘n Buff or a gilding wax to bring the one-dimensional, shiny-brass look of the Meridian sconce more in line with the goldleaf look you like in the Visual Comfort sconces. If you go for the white plaster look, looks like they might blend in with the white background they would be mounted on.

  20. I would wait to make my decision about the bathroom ceiling until the new countertop is in. You might decide on white or maybe a very pale grey. It will be easier to decide when the new countertop is installed.

  21. I love the stained wood (the painted is great, too, but the stained really is different). I’d agree with others that you should wait until you’ve made the other changes and then make that decision. And I really kind of like the look of the gold “cheap” sconce (I’m not a gold hardware person but I do realize it’s going to be popular for the next 10 years) and I don’t see that it looks any cheaper than the original. Get them and paint them! I’m with you on being a Target customer rather than somebody’s target customer – LOL!

  22. I love everything you do. Wether it’s the first time around or the third time around. All the decor is wonderful to see. I think your bathroom ceiling is unique and I agree with changing the frame to match the wood ceiling and perhaps the white shelves to dark wood. Thanks for the inspiration.

  23. Love the bathroom, just gorgeous as it is. I really like the stained wood ceiling as it is but you made a strong point about painting it white. Everything you have done to your home has “wowed” me!

  24. I think you would do a dandy number on those less-expensive sconces. Any of the ones you showed us are great though. Yes, a light countertop will be just grand. (I always hoped that change would come.) As for the ceiling, I’d like to see it lighter in that space. But, won’t that be easier to decide once you have that gorgeous fabric in there? How about just taking the other fabric down and draping the new choice over the bar and then wandering by it for several days? The solution will come to you intuitively as a whole, not in pieces. It will be just lovely and I am excited to see the end result.

  25. There have been many valid points made thus far. Here’s mine. Is the leftover slab big enough for the total laundry room? If it is, then in the long run you’re saving money by buying new for the bathroom. And yes the current slab would look great in the hall bath. Go slow, one thing at a time. Curtain, cabinet, countertop. Your dark ceiling is FAB but my second choice would be a pastel. White is boring. I think the sconces are too mini and you will be surprised at how noticeable the absence of light will be. Don’t discount the experience your guests will have in that environment. They may not be spending the night but they will pop in during your social events. Lastly don’t feel the need to change out metal to match. These are great looking accessories. Save the money and energy for something more important. (Like that yard that is waiting or fun activities with Matt). Down the road a few years when life is more settled will be the time to make a change.

  26. I like the wood ceiling. If you decide to keep it, then I suggest staining the picture frame for the colored circles the same brown. The grey quartz countertops are going to look great!

    Previously, I suggested painting the door to the exercise room the same flamingo pink as the wall in the closet. What if you painted that door and the vanity the same color?

  27. I love the wood ceiling. It’s so different & unexpected for a bathroom. It also makes the ceiling feel so much higher, which is nice in a smaller space. I’d leave that decision for last. Once it’s done it would a major pain to undo. I think you could make the wood tie in with the rest of the room through décor pieces.
    I like that you’re using that fabric to make the curtain. It’s ok to repeat a pattern in your house if it’s done sparingly & tastefully.

  28. Love the ceiling as is. But, painting it white or a really pale grey will work and make the room look larger. You could di stripes of white and grey or a darker grey with whitewash over it.

  29. I’m the minority and like the wood countertop and ceiling. It’s warm and unexpected. Yes, a white ceiling and gray countertop would look super bright and sleek, but you already did acres of that in the master bath. The vanity will be colorful no matter what, and a new vanity color pulled from the new shower curtain fabric will still go well with the wood tones currently in the room. The gold hardware and/or sconces you’re planning will also mix well with wood.

    I think it will be a very cohesive room with some color/hardware updates and – bonus – not a distraction and likely timesuck from the gym and studio.

  30. I absolutely love your wood bathroom ceiling, so unusual and rich looking, almost gives a nautical feeling (to me). One other idea is to spray paint the metal on your current light fixtures the same gold you want to swap out your faucets. They are so pretty and you wouldn’t have to worry about dimmer lights. I spray painted some old gold lamps to black to go with newly painted rooms, turned out great. I found a poster of Niagara Falls that I put in our remodeled bathroom, really love the look in there, now. Guess I love a water theme in a bathroom.

  31. I love the wood ceiling…if you added some wood accents in the room, it might seem less random…I’m thinking of the teak you added to the master bath. There wasn’t a lot of it, but it added a big punch!

  32. I absolutely love the stained ceiling and I think the gray left over counter top would be beautiful in there.

  33. I absolutely love the tension that the beautiful dark wood ceiling brings to this room. A white ceiling…ho hum, at least to me. I also think gray is going to be passé in 2 years and so your piece would be more suited to the laundry room. I look forward to whatever you choose because that shower curtain fabric is the bomb!

  34. keep the ceiling as is until all other redecorating is done, then reassess. It may surprise you how good it will look.

  35. Hi Kristi,

    Long time lurker here. I found your idea of mixing wood accents and tile accents together so inspiring, that I’m doing it in every bathroom of the house! Would love to show you some pictures, but I don’t know how to include them in this comment section!

    Thank you for being such a unique inspiration! Thank you for bucking the trend and *not* doing everything farmhouse, white and with shiplap!!

    And thank you for showing us how to achieve that luxe look on a budget!